One thing Erasmus is teaching me is that culture is not just exhibitions in white cubes. It’s spaces. Physical spaces that breathe.
Elefsina (Eleusis) in Greece becoming European Capital of Culture 2023 was already fascinating because it’s not the “obvious” cultural capital. It’s industrial. Raw. Layered with mythology and heavy history.
Then projects like Culterra and collaborations with Toestand add another layer: reclaiming industrial or abandoned spaces and turning them into living cultural ecosystems.
As a graphic designer, I’m obsessed with how space shapes identity.
A cultural space is like a brand — but organic. It has texture. History. Community. Improvised posters on walls. Stickers on doors. Layers of typography built over time.
Toestand (https://www.toestand.be) works with temporary use of empty buildings, transforming them into social-cultural hubs. That concept alone is design poetry. It’s adaptive reuse, but for community energy.
Elefsina info: https://eleusis2023.eu
What inspires me is the visual language that grows from these places. It’s not corporate branding. It’s messy, collaborative, alive. Hand-painted signs next to professionally designed posters. Multiple languages layered over each other.
Being in Graz and visiting different cultural spaces here makes me more aware of how important physical environments are for creativity. A city shapes your output. A building shapes your mood. A community shapes your aesthetic.
Design isn’t just what hangs on the wall. It’s how the wall itself feels.
Elefsina and similar projects show that culture doesn’t need to be polished to be powerful. Sometimes industrial dust and community energy are stronger than any luxury gallery.
As an artist, that’s comforting. It means space for experimentation still exists.
