From 10-13 October 2024, three A4 colleagues visited the Trans Europe Halles Camp Meeting #98. The hosting organisation was Fix in Art, a small centre in the landscapes of rural Greece, Epanomi, 30 minutes away from the city of Thessaloniki. We found ourselves among olive trees and vineyards, along the Mediterranean sunny coast with views of Mount Olympus.
TEH is a network of grassroots European cultural centres that are housed in repurposed buildings. Throughout the year, TEH organizes several events and meetings. The largest meetings are the conference and the camp meeting, which are organized yearly. Besides that, TEH offers training workshops and seminars and amplifies the voice of the cultural and creative sector in Europe. Additionally, TEH connects its members through collaborating regionally and thematically through Hubs.
The various programme parts were divided among multiple venues in the village and at the beach. During the first day we started slowly. Some informal meetings and getting to know the people who were there.
The following days were more intense. There was so much happening that it was hard to choose, but we found a combination of informal and more serious meetings. We participated in cooking workshops and saw how Fix in Art supports local people by collecting and distributing leftover vegetables and fruits from the Thessaloniki market. And we got to know the Greek cultural scene through interesting presentations and a screening of a documentary.
The more serious meetings were the strategic meeting and the general assembly. There we discussed the future of the network and how TEH can support members from countries where the cultural field is threatened by extremist right-wing governments, such as Slovakia. On this topic we then co-initiated another discussion in Epanomi, which was specifically on this topic of how TEH can advocate for the members in these situations.
On the last day A4 hosted the Arts Education Hub meeting, as the hub coordinator. And some of us joined a workshop on how to create safe spaces. Of course, syrtaki was also part of the programme and all the people from the village joined this too. The day after we still explored Thessaloniki a bit and then it was time to go back home. We left with a lot of inspiration, new friends, and hope for the situation in Slovakia and support from our colleagues from other countries. And we are looking forward to the next TEH meeting upcoming spring in Sofia, Bulgaria.