Residencies

Elen Demirian is an Armenian painter and illustrator currently studying for her degree in Visual Arts at Deree, the American College of Greece. She was awarded an Education Unites scholarship by the university in order to pursue her studies in Athens. 

Elen is currently in ongoing mentorship for presenting and developing her work with Kasia Maciejowska, founder of the Dila mentoring network for young refugee women pursuing creative careers. In addition Elen has been receiving mentorship through Dila’s community under the guidance of experienced graphic designer Patil Tchilinguirian, who worked with Elen to develop and present her graphics and illustration portfolio with a view to strengthening Elen’s capacity to support herself while in college.

Before coming to Athens, Elen studied printmaking at the State Academy of Fine Arts in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. After completing her degree at Deree she plans to pursue an MA, before continuing on to a PhD, because alongside building a career as a painter in her own right, she would like to teach fine art as a university professor later in life.

Puja is an independent journal platforming writers from East and South-East Europe. Presenting theory, philosophy, poetry, and cross-genre writing, the journal is rooted in the experience of those living on cultural peripheries. In creating an inter-regional discourse, Puja provides an alternative to the mainstream narratives imposed by imperialist history and contemporary nationalism. Through an annual theme, the journal explores the stories, customs, and secrets shaping peripheral existence.

During her time at the Work in Progress Studios Residence, Dimitra will work on a hybrid project called “The New Animals.” Using written and visual poetry the work will explore inter-species communication, mutual care, and coexistence in modern dystopias.

Dimitra Ioannou experiments with narrative or anti-narrative forms in various media (language, photography, publications). Her books “Terminal Mimosa” and “The Mink List” are forthcoming in 2024. She is the author of the chapbook “Electric Sarcasm” (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2020) and the experimental novella “Soy Sea” (Futura, Athens, 2008). She had poems published in Still Point Mag, Splinter, MAI: Feminism & Visual Culture, and ZARF, among others. She has exhibited her (video)poems and photos in solo and group shows in Greece, and translated from English into Greek contemporary radical poets. She is the editor of the journal A) GLIMPSE) OF), coeditor of brossura/ a Manual of Pirates Languages, and runs experimental writing workshops called textlab

@the_textlab.

Κατά τη διάρκεια της παραμονής μου στα Work in Progress Studios, θα δουλέψω πάνω σ’ ένα υβρικό έργο που ονομάζεται «Τα Νέα Ζώα». Θα έχει τη μορφή γραπτής και οπτικής ποίησης. Θα διερευνήσω τη διαειδική επικοινωνία, αμοιβαία φροντίδα και συνύπαρξη στη σύγχρονη δυστοπία.

Η Δήμητρα Ιωάννου πειραματίζεται με μορφές αφήγησης ή αντι-αφήγησης χρησιμοποιώντας διάφορα μέσα (γλώσσα, φωτογραφία, εκδόσεις). Τα βιβλία της «Τερματική Μιμόζα» και «The Mink List» θα εκδοθούν το 2024. Είναι συγγραφέας του βιβλίου ποίησης «Electric Sarcasm» (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2020) και της νουβέλας «Μια θάλασσα από σόγια» (Futura, 2018). Το έργο της «Πώς τα ποιήματα-πόλεις» σε μουσική Στράτου Μπιχάκη επιλέχθηκε για τη ραδιοφωνική σειρά Radio_OCC της Στέγης Ωνάση (2018). (Video)ποιήματα και φωτογραφίες της έχουν εκτεθεί σε εκθέσεις Ελλάδα. Επιμελείται και εκδίδει την πλατφόρμα A) GLIMPSE) OF), είναι συνεπιμελήτρια του Εγχειρίδιου Κλέφτικων Γλωσσών «brossura», και διοργανώνει τα εργαστήρια πειραματικής γραφής textlab @the_textlab.

@hotel_repertoire

Shafi Style is in the early stages of becoming an independent womenswear label by Shafigheh, a former refugee building her life in Athens. As a teenager Shafi trained and worked as a tailor, always dreaming of moving into the more creative aspects of fashion such as designing collections, producing shows, and building a client base. Once in Athens she gained work experience in costume design and production management, and through Díla receives Zoom tutorials from London College of Fashion tutor Olivia Hegarty.

With Díla’s support Shafi designed and showed her first collection FLAME, presenting initially to an intimate audience at Action for Women and then more formally at Athens Fashion Film Festival. An image series to represent and promote the collection was produced by Greek emerging fashion photographer Maria Koutroumpi starring Athens-born model of Kenyan-Ugandan heritage Elena Casablanca. The dress selected for the shoot features a chest panel in Shafi’s native Tajik embroidery style "perfect stitching".

As a tailor Shafi now has a steady stream of clients and she has so far completed one professional design job. She’s highly skilled in tailoring and dressmaking and aims to expand her experience in design conceptualisation and development with a view to applying her existing craft to a contemporary commercial context. Shafi is now designing her second collection while also working on her digital skillset, illustration abilities, understanding of aesthetics and cultural codes, and knowledge of the fashion industry.