Greece in USA is pleased to collaborate with @thelimenproject in the context of the launch of the photography exhibition, #TheThirdSpace, opening today Tuesday, November 25th at 6:30pm at the @libraryresidency

The Third Place is the first exhibition by limen, exploring spaces that exist in-between – between what was and what will be. These are places that are neither home nor work, but moments of pause, encounter, and possibility. Historically, third places were cafés or public squares; today they appear as buildings in transition, shifting neighborhoods, underground communities, digital spaces, or even inner emotional states.

The creatives participating in the exhibition are: Alexandros Goumas (@alexgou), Aris Askopoulos (@arisasko), Eleftheria Amolochiti (@ele_amolochiti), Elpida Spyrou (@elpidaspyrou_ ), Elya Pelletier @elllllllllllllly), Giorgos Parellis, Katerina Giannopoulou (@_katerina.giann_ ), Maria Michalinou (@momentscapturedmmk), Liliana Drekaj (@ldrekaj), Marili Zarkou (@marili_zarkou), Olivia Cowley (@ojac_ ), Simon Pera (@s.i.m.i.o)

!Link in @thelimenproject bio to RSVP for the opening!

Special thanks to @astylabgr @sozitagood @greeceinus
In collab with @libraryresidency
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With thanks to @greeceinus associate @ambi_blue_tamashi Greece in USA is Under the Auspices and Support of The Greek Ministry of Culture @minculturegr and @ekkomed_gr @creativehub.gr.ekkomed

Fix Arcade: Multimedia memory tour in a “third space” of Athens

15/12/2025
ελc team
ελc news https://www.elculture.gr/stoa-fix-polymesiki-periigisi-mnimis-se-enan-trito-choro-tis-athinas/

The center of Athens is surrounded by a large number of galleries, some in operation and others closed, which are an important part of the city’s cultural and architectural heritage. At the end of last November, a special tour of the Fix Gallery took place as part of the group photography exhibition “The Third Space” organized by limen in an office on the 6th floor of the Gallery building. Limen’s main goal was to activate the space beyond its operating hours during working hours and to highlight the perspective that arises when culture interacts with spaces that are usually defined by conventional uses. This investigation has already begun by the Library Residency, an initiative of the Non-Profit Organization Greece in USA: between 2 cycles of the Residency, that is, during a temporarily quiet time for the space, the photography exhibition also took place.

The tour was one of the parallel actions of the exhibition, connecting the experienced space of the gallery with the theoretical framework of the concept of the “third space”, in order to understand the theme of the exhibition itself. It consisted of two parts: the observation tour of the space, combining historical elements with architectural reading, as well as the tour of human memory, through a sound installation of a multimedia soundscape of interviews with people in the building. The action was curated by Nafsika Stefanidou (archaeologist, cultural manager) and Anna Stapelfeld (artist).

The third space

The concept of the third space comes from the science of sociology (Ray Oldenburg) and architecture & theory of space (Edward Soja). The basic spaces in which humans move are those of home and work. Third space is an intermediate place where people meet freely, socialize and create communities. Such spaces are cafes, bars, squares, neighborhood shops, community gathering spaces, libraries, arcades. These transitional places straddle the line between public and private, interior and exterior, past and present, light and darkness. Arcades are such in-between places—hidden nodes within the dense network of the city, and they have their own stories to tell.

Exhibition The Third Space, The Limen Project. Left: George Parellis, “not seeing life but remembering.” Right: Olivia Cowley, “SILO EYE, ABANDONED GRANITE QUARRY, MUNICIPAL MARKET ATHENS, EPHESUS.”

Exhibition The Third Space, The Limen Project. From left to right: Marili Zarkou, “HAIKOU OF THE CITY”; Simon Pera, “WHERE TO?”; Alexandros Goumas, “PRAYING FOR A CHANGE”
The Fix Gallery

The building that currently houses the Fix Gallery (59 Panepistimiou) was constructed in the 1970s. It replaced the historic Rikakis Mansion (1870) and the Mondial Theater, which were demolished as part of the “contraparochi” (restitution) system that radically determined the post-war development of Athens. The plot of land became the property of Karolos Fix, after whom it was named. The building belongs to the architectural movement of modernism, which also dominated 20th-century Athens. In modernism, clean geometries were promoted, functionality prevailed over the previous tendency for strong decorative elements, while emphasis was placed on the structure of the space and the use of new materials (reinforced concrete, glass, steel). In the Fix Stoa building, the strict morphology, the repetition of openings and the purity of the volumes reflect these principles. The stoa, at ground floor level, was designed as a through corridor with exits to Aiolou and Emm. Benaki streets, following the modernist logic of “flow”: the unhindered movement of pedestrians within the dense urban environment.

Athenian stoas—keyholes in the urban past

The creation and use of stoas is not a result of recent decades. It begins in antiquity and continues in Renaissance Europe with galleries, while they acquire their modern commercial form during the 18th-19th centuries. As for modern Athens, the arcades of the center are mainly a creation of the 70s and as small arteries they significantly influenced the flow of pedestrians and traffic. They were historical points of trade, meeting and daily socializing. Small businesses, shops that have now disappeared, as everything accumulates in shopping centers, cafes and historic cinemas created separate communities – a city within the city.

Today, some have been deserted, others have remained unscathed over the course of time, while others have been renovated or are now active construction sites and we are waiting for the restoration works to be handed over to the state (Korai Stoa, Arsakei Stoa). In some cases, gentrification and the needs of the market trample on the past and the previous use of the buildings, while in others the renovation is done with respect. The difference between the arcades also has to do with their location. Ippokratous Street functions as an imaginary dividing line on the map, acting as a border between the arcades located near Syntagma and characterized by greater luxury, and those around Omonia that were more popular in character and offered daily necessities.

Fix Arcade, in particular, is a keyhole in time. Although several shops have closed, some that have been there since the arcade’s founding are preserved, such as the historic Stefanidis watch shop. Other shops that have been in the arcade for years and that we encounter today are the jewelry stores, Papadakis’ Photography Studio, Kyritsis Orthopedics, etc. The basement is now used as a storage space, while previously the Flora bookstores and the Palladio printing house were located there. The imprint of the stores’ memory can also be seen in the old signs and labels that adorn the arcade and are found on every corner, now together with rental advertisements.

The demarcation of the center of Athens with a multitude of arcades has fascinated many researchers from different fields, journalists, artists, shopkeepers, and everyday walkers to research and highlight the past of the arcades, as well as to contribute to their revitalization through reuse. It is important that this public discussion about memory and the utilization of closed spaces continues, especially in an era when the issues of the city’s building stock and the housing crisis are becoming more and more urgent. The above was the aim of the photography exhibition itself and is a key part of the work of limen, an initiative that undertakes projects for the strategic and sustainable relationship between culture and urban progress, specializing in the cultural exploitation (permanently or temporarily) of closed spaces.

Nafsika Stefanidou

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