In 2020, Gijs Waterschoot & Ersi Varveri moved to Syros to care for Ersi’s father, a painter and poet and to work closely with him. As a result, they created a studio space next to his. The project began with the renovation of an old roof, transforming it into a light wooden structure with a living roof, allowing wild plants to grow. Since then, they have fallen in love with the island’s wild flora and embraced the seasonal cycle as a learning environment.
The initiative began in 2017 at The Pink House, an artist-run space in Antwerp. It also functions as Pink House Press, producing zines with their photocopier and marmalades with their pot.
Pink House Studio (Syros)
On the island the initiative is engaged in making an artistic multi-purpose space that is located on a hillside on the outskirts of Ermoupolis. The space aims primarily to serve as a reference point for the local community, supporting various cultural activities (exhibitions, screenings, seminars, etc.). and secondly to create a place suitable to host artists in residency.
The studio, after keeping its activity quiet for a while, hosting studio visits and closed meetings, opened its doors to the public in 2024. The same year started operating as a non-profit organisation (pink house studio), while the press continues to be one of the main activities of the organisation.
Pink House Studio is now launching a residency program that explores the intersections of art, ecology and local knowledge.
the Press
Pink House Press was founded in Antwerp in 2017 as a self-publishing and zine making lab, and has since grown into a prolific publisher, having produced more than 100 titles including zines, posters, cards, newspapers, books, jam publications, etc.
‘The press started after acquiring our own photocopy machine. This photocopier served as ‘the oven’ of the house where we ‘baked bread’ on a daily basis. We placed self-publishing into the center of our activities and programming, transforming printing into a process-based and collective practice.
On the island we no longer have our favourite photocopier and we find other ways to continue printing, producing our publications with a pot on the fire, making jams from the fruit that grows in our garden and other edible publications from plants and herbs we collect.’
>Pink House press underlines the importance and urgency of printed matter as a possible medium and vehicle to generate space, and to create dialogues that touches upon topics such as the development of public discourse through artistic practices, and the publication as a portable-hospitable artist-run space. Manifesting that publications are low budget and democratic artworks which everyone can buy or exchange.
>Originating from the Pink House, the press grew out of an artistic necessity: to host more voices within the projects we organised at the House and to create a platform that extends beyond its physical space. Our publications serve as mobile, inclusive spaces that promote dialogue and collaboration.
Pink House (Antwerp)
was an artist space, a hub, a house.. an old house with three floors and its facade painted in pink, located in Antwerp north.
For two decades -approx. since 2000- it has enabled and hosted many happenings across different art forms with a constantly changing group of inhabitants, originating and contributing to the local scene.
‘In 2017 we moved there to live and continue the activities in the space and to suggest our own model.’
The place combined living space, shared studios, residency-guest room and a ground floor space suitable to host events, open to the public 3 or 4 times a year, hosting various activities including the press.
In 2020, the Pink House closed its doors permanently, and a year later, it was demolished. Yet, its legacy endures beyond its physical presence. For many, the Pink House was more than just a building it symbolized community, culture, and memories.’
