Aea: Culture Initiative

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Aea: Culture Initiative

Aea is an independent, self-organized creative laboratory and community working across cultures

16/05/2026

We are opening the first season of Aea Space with a conversation about the resilience of independent cultural spaces and how fragile forms of collectivity can persist in unstable conditions.

Aea is rooted in lived experiences of migration, rupture, and the loss of familiar homes and systems. Our work grows from asking how creative practice can be sustained under these conditions — and how alternative forms of collective life and cultural infrastructure might actually emerge. This conversation feels like the right place to begin.

architect and designer, co-founder and program curator of Aea, founder of NWDS studio and .center will be joined in conversation by architect, curator, researcher, professor, and founder of studio and in Porto.

The talk will be moderated by curator of Aea Space’s inaugural program, with an introduction by architect, researcher, and director of Aea Space.

Thursday, 21 May 2026
18:30 - Doors Open
19:00 - Public Talk
20:00 - Q&A and open discussion

Where: Aea Space at .lisboa
Rua Dom Luís I 22, 1200-109 Lisboa
Language: English
Free admission. Limited seating. Registration required by link in bio.

25/04/2026

We believe great coffee and contemporary culture make good companions. That’s why we’re welcoming Aea Space into .lisboa this spring.

Aea Space is a new cultural platform brought to life by .cultureinitiative — an independent creative laboratory working across cultures, connecting researchers and practitioners through collaborative making. Aea works with local partners and communities, fostering an environment of care, shared inquiry, and space for slow thinking.

We’re excited to see what grows here. Save this post and come find out with us!

📍TIMS and Aea Space, Rua Dom Luís I, 22, Lisbon, Portugal

01/11/2025

Final days to see “The Shape of What Remains.” This is not an exhibition about restoration, but about learning to live inside the break. Discover powerful stories of survival, grief, and hope. Don’t miss your chance to witness what remains. Closes soon.

Location: Tanarte / Spazio Tana

Participants: Sarah Cowles, , .olena .figu .burastudio

24/10/2025

Alisa .figu and Kimia’s .burastudio story is the last to be featured in our exhibition “The Shape of What Remains” (collateral project of ). Two professional painters who found a common language not in images, but in sound.

Their collaboration began in Tbilisi “almost like a love story,” with a magnetic pull between two exiles. In a makeshift studio, they began to improvise, using music as a bridge across their different languages and pasts.

For them, sound offered a new kind of freedom. Their music sessions create a shared atmosphere—a vibration that carries them forward.

Discover how two painters connected through the ephemeral language of sound via the link in our bio, and experience their improvisation in person at the exhibition until November 2 at Tanarte / Spazio Tana, Venice.

19/10/2025

On September 27, .cultureinitiative in collaboration with , held a public roundtable “Among Us.” The event brought together female founders of cultural initiatives from Georgia and Barcelona to fostering art and community without formal support, structure, or recognition. We thank all the participants for sharing their experience: (), (), (.cc), Ursula Perez Pomar (), (.bcn).

How does a space’s cultural concept form, and is hospitality itself a cultural act? How to balance emotional labor with the practical needs of financial and organizational survival? How can cultural authenticity be maintained against gentrification and commercial pressure?

We have gathered the key highlights and insights for those who couldn’t join.

09/10/2025

We are thrilled to announce that our exhibition, «The Shape of What Remains,» has opened its doors! Thank you to everyone who joined us on the special opening day. Sharing such an intimate and moving atmosphere with you was truly a pleasure and an unforgettable experience.

This project, culminating in such a memorable opening, would not have been possible without the incredible contribution and dedication of so many. Our deepest gratitude goes out to everyone who helped bring this project to life: our talented exhibition participants — .olena .figu .burastudio , the , our crowdfunding supporters and private donors, and every single member of the Aea community who has assisted us every step of the way. And a special thank you to our esteemed exhibition sponsor Agglotech, as well as our invaluable contributors, Lyra foundation and Ani Pirveli, for their essential help.

Our initiative continues, and we eagerly await sharing this unique experience with even more of you. We warmly invite you to visit «The Shape of What Remains» and discover its sincere stories for yourself. Our doors are open until November 4th, and we truly hope to see you there!

02/10/2025

We continue to share the stories of Aea community members that are part of our very first exhibition “The Shape of What Remains”.

Sarah Cowles is a landscape architect, writer, and educator. In 2010 she was invited to exhibit in Georgia. What began as a temporary visit became a long engagement with place, and eventually, a life in Tbilisi where she founded , a practice rooted in process-based approaches to ecology and landscape architecture.

From field observation — walking, sketching, and documenting ruderal landscapes — Sarah’s work evolves into projects that address the intersections of ecology, culture, and geopolitics.

Discover more in the carousel, read Sarah’s full story on our site via the link in bio and join us for the exhibition opening on October 4 at Tanarte / Spazio Tana in Venice.

16/09/2025

As part of the opening of the project Among Us — an exhibition on migration, identity, and self-organisation by the Georgian artist and — an event will take place featuring the artist, , a women-led independent publication based in Tbilisi, Georgia, and a roundtable discussion facilitated by .cultureinitiative .

, co-founder of Aea, will moderate the roundtable, which will explore independent initiatives predominantly founded and led by female collectives. , co-founder and editor of Danarti Zine, will share their working process and the main challenges they have faced while developing this project.

This collaborative initiative aims to harness the power of art as a medium for fostering belonging and dialogue, emphasizing the importance of small, self-organised gestures as foundational elements for broader networks of solidarity and exchange.

The exhibition and event mark the opening of the renovated gallery space, created in collaboration with — a creative practice specializing in art direction within the architectural field. For this project, Maria Uporova, founder of the bureau, curated the overall design, from spatial organisation to furniture and atmosphere.

The opening also represents the first intercultural action of BASPcr (Barri de l’Art Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera), a pilot project by Matiz Gallery that seeks to activate immigrant narratives through artistic interventions.

27 September 2025, 20:00
Matiz Gallery, Barcelona

09/09/2025

We continue our series of stories from members of the Aea community. This one is told by — head architect and founder of

The atelier is participating in the 19th .architecture.biennale and Sylvia herself will take part in our upcoming exhibition “The Shape of What Remains.”

After years in expat mode, Silvia, somewhat unexpectedly, purchased a century-old house and began renovating it.

Swipe through the carousel to see the process in photos and read the full story at the link in bio.

04/09/2025

In a time of rupture, it is the less tangible that matters most: a gesture of support, the possibility of making plans, the chance to bring an idea into physical form. And we’re deeply grateful to say that we have all of this this fall.

Our first exhibition at Venice Design Biennial does not pretend to offer solutions or restoration after the rupture. Instead, it asks what it means to continue inside the break. It tells five stories of the women from the Aea community — they turned out to be our most meaningful way of telling others what Aea actually is. Each is a response to rupture and, together, they form a non-linear atlas of survival.

The exhibition will take place at an art space near the Venice Arsenale. We hope that if you’re able to come to Venice in October, you will join us: to see the exhibition and to meet each other. Admission is free.

📍Fondamenta della Tana, Castello 2110 - 2111, Venice
October 4th – November 2nd
Open Tuesday to Sunday,
11:00 am – 7:00 pm
Closed on Mondays (except October 20)

Also, to bring this project to life as we envisioned it, without compromise, we are launching a crowdfunding campaign. This exhibition is our first, and it matters deeply to us: it grew out of our own stories and the stories of women in our community. We ask for your support — through a donation, or by sharing this campaign — because it will not happen without you. The funds will support оrganizational fees, shipping, production, venue setup and documentation.

Please donate via the link in our bio or share this post to help us.
Thank you!

Exhibition sponsor: Agglotech

10/07/2025

How are tradition, craftsmanship, and contemporary creation woven into textiles? What happens when artists use sound as a tool for reflecting on community connections? Find the answers to these — and many other — questions at this summer’s events.

Endereço

Rua Dom Luís I 22
Lisbon
1200-109

Telefone

+995598099665

Website

http://www.aeainitiative.com/

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