Villa Araucaria is an active venue of Avtonomi Akadimia launched in 2021 when an entire semester was dedicated to the tree Araucaria growing in the center of the inner yard. Beyond the Akadimia’s program, the first year of the Villa Arauraria’s existence hosted a renowned feminist project Room to Bloom (RtB) with European Alternatives and AthenSYN, of which Joulia Strauss had pleasure to curate an ecofeminist part, inviting Indian and Colombian shamanesses to teach.
The participants of these workshops have developed a relationship with the place which goes far beyond the logic of cultural funding. A solidarity network around the RtB has therefore been able to convert the villa into a refuge for Ukrainian artists and activists. The residents in 2022 and early 2023 were Natalka Diachenko, Anna Ivchenko, Yustyna Kravchuk, Maria Mayor, Anna Nasina, Alina Nealina, Olga Papash, Nastey Teor.
The temporary residency has now taken a hybrid form between a permanent home of some of the initial residency participants, as well as a residency space, a form of protest against touristic extraction, and an affordable place for the international cultural workers and activists to stay and engage with Athens. Villa Araucaria’s junglish premises are a venue for screenings, parties, talks, and other actions, with a strong focus on ecofeminism and solidarity with Ukraine.
If you are interested in being involved on any of the above mentioned levels, are looking for a space to think and explore Greece, for a high vibration place for a ceremony, workshop, healing session, video presentation, or revolutionary talk, or, if you love Athens but hate AirBnB, you are welcome to approach an activist, cultural theorist, DJ, and translator Yustyna Kravchuk via email: yustynakravchuk@gmail.com
For practical solidarity with Ukraine, please, donate here: Emergency Support Initiative, Freefilmers, Solidarity Collectives
For long term membership involvement with the Villa Araucaria and shared living space in Athens, please, contact Yustyna Kravchuk via yustynakravchuk@gmail.com
For an accommodation during a short stay in Athens, and to support the residents, please, write to Yustyna Kravchuk via yustynakravchuk@gmail.com