Images and Sounds of Coexistence
from the audiovisual workshops of Curing the Limbo
The audiovisual workshops of expression and creativity of Curing the Limbo, which included photography, video art and music classes, were part of the training program which took place in Serafeio building, aiming to help participants develop skills and get acquainted with the city. The workshops held a special place in the program, because they added color to the daily routine of both participants and employees with music and artwork. I will not forget a December afternoon in 2019, when a few days before Christmas, the music class “flooded” the floor with Christmas carols, and we joined them singing along. The participants shared a part of their lives with us and made us laugh and cry. At the same time, these workshops had a unique connection with the city, visiting cultural spaces, museums, recording studios and radio stations, creating powerful experiences and memories for all the participants. Above all, they gave an important outlet for participants to express themselves and their feelings. They lead to artwork which we had the chance to see live in mobile installations throughout the city, digital exhibitions of cultural institutions and finally, in this virtual museum, which brings together the refugees’ voices and visions during the period 2018-2021.
Antigone Kotanidis
Project Manager of Curing the Limbo
I look at the photos and they are like an extension of my heart
The Workshops of Audiovisual Expression and Creativity belong to the activities undertaken by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in the context of the Curing the Limbo project. They introduced refugees to the acquisition of skills in the art of photography, video and music playing, and to means of expression that reinforced the development of social networks. In line with the broader scope of the project, the Workshops contributed to the participants’ mobilization, engagement and empowerment, towards their integration in their new home. Above all the Workshops provided the opportunity for negotiation of their identities and sense of belonging.
An internal journey spanning from there to here and vice versa, is reflected in the works presented in this virtual museum. They showcase the gradual construction of a hybrid identity where elements of the past are intertwined with those of the present. Comforting affinities between the Athenian cultural context and one’s birthplace are highlighted, as well as differences that challenge and arouse the desire for the exploration of the city. As refugees say, they want to capture “everything, the passage of time, the friendships, the enmities, the joy, the violence, every emotion…”. The process of expressing oneself releases feelings, sharpens the gaze, makes one notice what couldn’t be seen before, provides self-confidence, opens up new horizons, creates a connection with the city.
All of us who were involved in and invested in this activity are indebted to those who trusted us and provided us with their personal, precious testimonies.
Thalia Dragonas
Emerita Professor, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
In charge of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens activities
Art delights, moves and surprises, but it also plays a unique role in questioning and imagining different ways of how we can live together.[1]
The virtual museum "Images and Sounds of Coexistence" is a digital depiction of artworks created in the audiovisual workshops of the European pilot program of the Municipality of Athens Curing the Limbo, from March 2019 to July 2020. With the ultimate goal of a gradual social integration of the participants in their new life in Athens, the workshops functioned as "culturally safe spaces" where our new fellow citizens were encouraged through various art forms (photography, video, music) to express themselves openly and share feelings, thoughts, needs, memories, hopes, and dreams for the future. Through photos, personal stories about themselves, the city of Athens, their country of origin, art, music selections and videos, we met the individuals behind the television images, newspaper headlines and anonymous numbers. We met people with dreams, with stories, with a past and a present, carriers and creators of culture. The images and sounds that come from the audiovisual workshops of Curing the Limbo are paths that, if followed, enable us to discover differences that enrich us, hopes, anxieties and dreams that unite us.
The virtual museum "Images and Sounds of Coexistence" gives priority to the creativity of the participants, to their experience and perspective. It is a "space of memory", recording and communicating the actions and the artworks created during the workshops and at the same time integrating their creators in the wider history of Athens, conveying the message that not only they are accepted, but also that their perspectives and experiences have a special weight in our coexistence. Moreover, the virtual museum, free from the boundaries of physical space and additional to the basic feature of all museums, which is to mediate what they have to offer to their audience and create bridges of communication and ways of meeting with the other, becomes accessible to all, contributing in raising awareness in a significantly wider audience.
Evangelia Kourti
Professor, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
In charge of the Audiovisual Workshops of Expression and Creation.
[1] Koldiz, A. (2017). Engaging with refugee and migrant experiences. In M. Vlachou (Coord.). The Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees: The Role of Cultural Organisations. Acesso Cultura, Associação Cultural
