Tentacular Ways: Art Strategies, Ecosystems and Planetary Transformation was a new Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) launched in May 2025. It was a pop-up exhibition that took place at the Aula of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

 The project involved a collaboration between students from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (AKBILD), the Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA), and the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon (FBAUL).

 The exhibition focused on the central question: What Does It Mean to Be Human in a Changing World? Set within the context of the Anthropocene, Capitalocene, and Chthulucene, it examined how human existence is deeply entangled with ecological, social, and political systems. Through tentacular thinking and artist’s practices it addresses planetary issues and new ways of imagining futures. It featured student work in different medias and interventions, and built a space for dialogue, connection and collaboration between artists and institutions across Europe.

 My work explores the contrast between nature and man-made constructions. The upper frieze presents silhouettes of urban landscapes, imprinting the human touch on the environment, while the lower frieze is composed of natural elements, evoking a flowing river.  I collected rocks from both Lisbon and Vienna to materialize intercultural exchange and connection. Their random arrangement and untouched forms emphasize that nature has its own logic and life. Titled Flow, this piece draws on the metaphor of a river’s currents to reflect the idea that humans exist within an autonomous natural world, one that moves according to its own rhythms. After all, we are inseparable from nature.

More information: Studio 11 ASFA