The Space

Part of Common Strangers lives online, in poems, photos, articles and shared ideas. The other part has a door you can knock on. We wanted a place to make things together, not just share them, where we can organize, experiment and create side by side, and where those who have never heard of us can simply drop by. So, we went looking for a roof.

We found one in Metaxourgeio, an old working-class neighbourhood of Athens named after the silk mill that once stood here. It has long been a place in transition, home to craftsmen, newcomers and people from all over the world. We co-host the space with Parea Radio, our twin collective, whose booth lives here too. The website and the space have been growing side by side. Topics posted online turn into conversations, events announced on the site fill the room, and little by little, people who found each other through the network end up around the same table.

When we first walked in, it was close to empty, and we liked it that way. We didn’t want to arrive with a finished plan and ask people to fit into it. The space is being built by the people who use it, and they will keep changing it. On any given evening, you might find a discussion, a screening, a listening session, or simply people staying longer than they meant to. The space is open to your ideas. If you want to show your work in an exhibition, run a workshop, host a talk, a reading or something we haven’t thought of yet, let’s make it happen together.

This room is for everyone except those who would deny that to others, so there is no place here for fascism, racism, harassment, homophobia, transphobia, or any aggression against people for who they are. Treat the space and the gear as if they were yours. The full house rules are posted inside.

See the Agenda for what’s coming up!

Come by

Chiou 27, Metaxourgeio, Athens