independent
exploring creative possibilities beyond established institutional structures
artistic freedom is key | room for experimentation | not scared of collapse
F.E.A. | ΦΑΙΑ initiative
Based at
MINI MARKET ΦΑΣΗ
Virginias Mpenaki 23
104 36, Athens GR
2026
--"Maybe everyone forgot about it"- During a previous occupation of the space, the industrial floor began to yield, peeling back to expose what lay beneath, an Athenian mosaic, a fragment of the city’s architectural memory embedded in the ground. What the floor revealed was not merely a decorative remnant, but a meditation on what cities conceal and what they involuntarily preserve. The works presented here engage with this tension between the visible and the buried, the contemporary and the archaeological, the infrastructure of the present and the sediment of the past.
--"IS THIS being IN LOVE WITH EVERYTHING?"-- "From a young age I felt a strong need to keep, categorize and put dates on different kinds of objects that happened to carry some kind of special meaning to me. I always got a rush of adrenaline whenever I was going through these fragments of everyday life years after. And at some point I realized there had always been a purpose in this keeping. Each object carries: a vivid memory connected to a specific person or a moment, some unresolved grief of losing this person or the moment, this one step closer to knowing myself better with every time I was holding it again after years, the bliss of -still- remembering. Sometimes it even felt like the proof I needed that something had actually happened and I did not just imagine it. The human brain is a tricky little muscle, of course it forgets, it fills gaps to make sense, it can even create false memories, like when confusing a dream of the past as a real moment. And I found out I could trigger parts of it and challenge it whenever I was holding these objects. So what’s another way of looking at things?"
2025
The Collective of Collectives Art Festival returns to Athens from 2–12 October 2025, bringing together the city’s independent, artist-run spaces for a two-week programme of exhibitions, workshops, screenings, and performances. Self-organized, non-profit, and artist-led, the festival transforms Athens into a living map of underground and experimental culture. By moving from venue to venue, audiences are invited to discover the city’s vibrant network of self-funded initiatives and project spaces that drive its contemporary art scene. The Collective of Collectives Art Festival 2025 is more than an event — it is a platform for visibility, collaboration, and cultural exchange, showcasing the diversity and vitality of Athens’ artistic voices.
--'"METROPOLIS AND MEEEENTAL II"-- “METROPOLIS AND MEEEENTAL II” is part of a series of exhibitions aiming to explore the modern individual's sense of estrangement, shaped by spatial frameworks beyond their control. The outset for this endeavor is based on an interest in the ways in which artistic practices contribute to the understanding of the urban and its psychological dimensions. Each exhibition stands independently yet remains interwoven with others, creating a dialogue across specific works, perspectives and places. COI is a curatorial project and non-profit initiative that aims to present a series of exhibitions in diverse urban spaces. The city as an overall theme is not surveyed in general, on the contrary, it is analyzed and portrayed from diverse, consciously fragmentary points of view. The city could thus be described as a loose-fit framework from which to create presentations that implicitly or explicitly engage with the subject of the city and the ways in which we make sense of, or attach meaning to the multifaceted aspects of urban culture. The name “COI” is borrowed from a billboard advertisement –It was part of a real estate slogan attempting to pitch potential buyers and investors with the message: “CITY OF INTEREST”.
2024
--''Ride or Die''-- Survival social identities emerge through the formation of a self responsible for integration into social networks. In this context, kagkoures emerge as a mainstream subculture, characterized by elements such as machoness, eccentricity and devotion to vehicles. Although I tried to fit in, the eccentricity of this subculture was a challenge in seeking recognition while trying to maintain my authenticity. The need for social integration and recognition outweighed the desire to define my true identity. Therefore, by creating “survival identities,» I was trying to attract what I desired, rather than conform. This personal experience highlights the thorough effort to find a balance between self-recognition and social acceptance. The need for security and inclusion leads to a constant search for the ideal social group and the creation of the self.
--"Swirling Up from a Crack"-- Have you tried swirling your intestines around your home? You can make it safer. Shaking hands with a persimmon will immensely catapult your career. You just don't know when you'll need to squeeze through an ear, so always carry around a cat. Go on and beyond your journey of digestion and bring your flowers some joy with a bouquet of toes. No worries. There's a crack where the whole world is leaking from and your cup is empty.
2023
--"Revisitors"-- Eleven works by creators with different backgrounds present some aspects of tourism in the revisitors exhibition that are not always apparent in our perception. What is tourism really? Entertainment, photos of landmarks, souvenirs, and new flavors with an idyllic view? Can someone be a tourist in their own place, visiting the culture that has been inherited? Is the image that a visitor of a new place receives incomplete or fragmentary? To what extent do hosts transform the environment in which they themselves live to make their guests feel more familiar and secure? Are the above necessarily negative? In the revisitors exhibition, the works, each on its own and in combination, can serve as prisms that introduce phenomena of tourism with a different level of understanding and create grounds for conversation on the subject.
