On April 25 Balkans Beyond Borders organised a day event titled “Creative Intervention in Public Space: Artistic Approaches and Challenges in Greece” as part of the EU-funded project Unfold. The event took place at one of the Athens Municipality’s buildings in Ampelokipoi.
We brought together stakeholders from across Greece to gather experiences and ideas, and to create a platform for collaboration, exchange, and co-design on the topic of creatively reimagining public spaces—transforming them into vibrant gathering places.
The event included participants’ presentations regarding public space intervention experiences, presentations of best practices from Portugal and Serbia, keynote speaker and an interactive workshop.
Participating organisations:
- SAN Team
- Viometaschmatismos (Larisa)
- Τo Aesthate
- ARSIS Kozanis
- ΑΝΟΜΙΑ
- Lemon Skates
- and independent curators and artists
More concretely, the event started with the presentation of Balkans Beyond Borders and the results of the online survey in terms of the characteristics of artistic interventions in Greece, the challenges and the strategies the organisations implement. Next,we had an online connection with the two partner organisations of the Unfold project: Klara i Rosa from Subotica, Serbia and Iminente from Lisbon, Portugal, presenting their work and best practices from their countries. After the organisations’ presentations, all participants coming from Athens and other cities from the Greek periphery such us: Kozani, Larisa, Kastoria, Thessaloniki and Kalamata presented their experience in order to set the basis of a creative dialogue. By the conclusion of the presentations, our keynote speaker Amerissa Giannouli, researcher and consultant, talked about the definition of the public space, the participation and the sense of belonging as well as the role of the political and financial boost and support. Then, the workshop started in which all participants were divided in 3 groups in which they discussed upon different thematics concerning the events in public spaces:
- Challenges in organising events in the public space
- Artistic interventions and environmental sustainability
- Artistic intervention and community participation
The event concluded with each group’s presentation of their discussion visualised in a graphic map.
The event served as an opportunity to strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration, build relationships, and explore the role of art in shaping public spaces, engaging communities, and developing audiences. It gave a networking opportunity for future collaborations among the participants.
Unfold project:
The UNFOLD project is a transnational initiative that aims to revitalize communities through innovative cultural interventions in unexpected public spaces co-funded by the European Union,Creative Europe programme. By engaging artists, cultural professionals, and non-cultural stakeholders, the project seeks to explore new ways of fostering audience participation and inclusion, especially among groups traditionally excluded from mainstream cultural events.