Manana
Our café project Tópos—which means “place” in Greek—is by no means merely a physical location. It is also an inner vision of a desired reality that allows space for the utopian as an ideal, while at the same time partially bringing it into being.
I am a wanderer. My journey began 24 years ago in the warm and humid hinterland of Georgia’s Black Sea coast, shaped by tea plantations, and continued with 22 adventurous years in Germany—in Freiburg and Berlin. During this time, I wrote for newspapers, told stories of migration, hosted radio programs, and performed on stage. I translated for the theatre, taught social sciences, and, not least, managed a refugee shelter in Berlin.
After flights and moments of uprootedness, I arrived in Thessaloniki three years ago with my family. Here, together with Filip, I now run our Tópos—a place where utopias, as an essential part of human survival, are given space—perhaps precisely by remaining utopias.
Filip
I have spent a large part of my life in Germany, specifically in Berlin. However, I originally come from the Czech Republic, where I studied philosophy and art education to become a teacher.
In Berlin, I taught photography courses and workshops at the adult education center (VHS) for almost seven years. Photography has become an important part of my life. You can see my work here.
I also co-founded the gallery CultD with friends and worked there for two years as a curator and event organizer. My aim is to view “Tópos” as a living organism in which different energies oscillate and freely exchange and interact with one another.