Shelter In Love
How does prolonged social isolation affect love and artistic creativity, which generally require direct human contact? Shelter in Love explores these themes, as the world rests in suspended animation.
Since May 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, a group of artists from different countries, cultures and artistic backgrounds have found shelter in love and creativity. Through regular, virtual meetings, we formed an artistic community, exchanging ideas and creating a trove of original, quarantine-inspired content that blends a broad variety of artistic disciplines.
We worked with limited means—no professional recording studios, expensive cameras, rich costumes, fancy shooting locations and so on—but an abundance of confidence in the power of artistic creativity to overcome obstacles.
What you see on this website is a work-in-progress presentation—the artistic fruits of more than 10,000 hours of collective work over 10 months—organized in six thematic groups. Our ultimate goal is a live, in-person presentation once theatrical performances resume.
There is no ticket, but we greatly encourage and appreciate donations, which will go entirely to the project’s artists:
Katerina Alexaki, Costas Baltazanis, Sarah Bitar, Demetri Bonaros, Penny Fylaktaki, Marina Gkoumla, Dorothea Gloria, Ioanna Katsarou, Fritz Leonard, Handan Ozbilgin, Alexandra Skendrou, Chrysi Sylaidi, Marilena Triantafyllidou, Arturo Wong Sagel.
Project coordinators: Ioanna Katsarou, Handan Ozbilgin, Demetri Bonaros.
Click the "Start" button to view Shelter in Love.
We hope you enjoy the journey!
Shelter in Love is organized in six thematic groups
Click each of the six tabs below to view that group's videos.
Meetings with god
Musings on god and the universe, birth and death, growth and decay, presented as a single stream with several chapters.
Lead artists: Demetri Bonaros, Penny Fylaktaki, Marina Gkoumla, Ioanna Katsarou, Arturo Wong Sagel
The isolated self
An exploration of the individual removed from society, as reflected in a series of journal entries by five different people before, during and after a pandemic-induced lockdown. Day 0 is the first day of lockdown.
Lead artists: Demetri Bonaros, Marina Gkoumla, Fritz Leonard, Arturo Wong Sagel
Paul’s isolated self
Overall:
Creator - Fritz Leonard
Paul - Fritz Leonard
AI-faces - StyleGan2
Day: -13
Inspired by Marina Gkoumla
Day: -1
Text: Excerpt from "A Day from a Time of Proximity" by Sarah Bitar
Music: Excerpt from "Hitting Things" by Christoph Pingel and Sebastian Pingel
Day: 5
Video By Handan Ozbilgin
Day: 52
Text found by Marilena Triantafyllidou
special thanks to Wula Shea,
Day: 111
Text by William Shakespeare
Kaleidoscope by Alexandra Skendrou
Day: 274
Text by Søren Kierkegaard
Day: 365
Text by Sarah Bitar, performed by Carina Zox
LUCY ‘S SEXUAL LIFE
Created & conceived by: Marina Gkoumla
Day: -5
Written by: Marina Gkoumla
Translated by: Demetris Bonaros
Song: “As erchosoun gia ligo”, composed by: M. Sougioul, written by: M. Traiforos, orchestration by: Demetris Bonaros, singing by: Marina Gkoumla
Music by: “Tomorrow”, www.bensound.com
Photos by: Marina Gkoumla
Day: 20
Written by: Marina Gkoumla
Performed by: Nikos Ortetzatos, Marina Gkoumla
Video editing: Marina Gkoumla
Camera by: Maria Rapanta
Song: “Ti se melei esenane” Minor Asia Folk song, singing by: Vocal Group Pleiades (http://pleiades.org.gr)
Music by: “Tomorrow”, www.bensound.com
Photos by: Marina Gkoumla, https://www.pexels.com/
Day: 183
Written by: Marina Gkoumla
Sketches and Photos by: Marina Gkoumla
Video by: Marina Gkoumla
Music by: “Tomorrow”, www.bensound.com
Day: 249
Poem by: Dorothea Gloria
Photos by: Marina Gkoumla
Music by: “Tomorrow”, www.bensound.com
Day: 811
Written by: Ioanna Katsarou and Marina Gkoumla
based on NYC Health Department’s announcement “Sex & Covid 19”
Performed by: Ioanna Katsarou
Video editing by: Fritz Leonard, Marina Gkoumla
Sketches by: Marina Gkoumla
Photos by: https://www.pexels.com/
Music by: “Smile”, www.bensound.com
Day: 15,330
Performed by: Mairy Gkoumla
Song: “Maramena ta goulia ki oi violes”, written and composed by Attik, singing by Katerina Alexaki
Video editing by: Polyvios Serdaris
Camera by: Efi Gkoumla
Photos by: Marina Gkoumla, https://www.pexels.com/
Easier This Way
Day: 7
Written, animated, narrated and scored by Demetri Bonaros
Benches
Day: 17,039
Written, animated and narrated by Demetri Bonaros
Additional video by Sarah Bitar
Music: “Flowers,” “Balos” and “Thomas’ Lament” by Demetri Bonaros
Sin Palabras
Day: 10,950
Performed by Miroslava Morales
Written & Directed by Arturo Wong Sagel
Espejorot Producciones
The days of violence
During our weekly meetings, we explored violence from numerous angles, from the domestic to the political. In the end, we came to the conclusion that the most severe type of violence is the one we are currently experiencing, unwillingly imprisoned in our shelters/homes yet unable to shut down the world outside. There is no escape from COVID-19, racism, the economic crisis, outlandish conspiracy theories and fabricated messages by corrupt leaders. Our homes are no longer a shelter; the outside world, which we so want to escape, reaches us through our computers, cell phones, TVs... we are enslaved to it.
Yet, alongside such dark expressions of violence, we also found hope and beauty: sunlight coming in through a window, the soothing voice of a lover, a story told by a child. We hope the presence of these moments in our projects will stand as the resistance against darkness.
Lead artists: Handan Ozbilgin & Dorothea Gloria
The healing of time
The Healing of Time was created based on the idea of artistic reflections and interaction. The artists in this group submitted several ideas, out of which they formed different paths—one idea leading to the other in each path. By following a particular path, the viewer will get a sense of the influences between the different artistic ideas and the interaction between ideas and artists.
The lead artists in this group, Handan Ozbilgin, Ioanna Katsarou and Chrysi Sylaidi, have created five different paths:
Path 1: Water, by Handan Ozbilgin
Path 2: Time, by Ioanna Katsarou
Path 3: The fish, by Handan Ozbilgin
Path 4: Distance, by Chrysi Sylaidi
Path 5: Letters, by Handan Ozbilgin
If you click on the path you would like to watch, you will see, in order, only the videos that belong to this path.
You can create your own path, too! Use the form at the bottom of the page.
As you see, the videos are numbered. We encourage you to create your own path by choosing the videos you would like to use and entering them in the order you prefer in the “YOUR PATH” form at the bottom of the page. Then, enter your name and email, and specify whether you want your path published on this page or not. Your name and email will NOT be published, even if you choose to publish your path. The path will be assigned a number, and people will be able to watch it by clicking the button featuring that number.
The day after.
Penny Fylaktaki
It was her birthday today. She put on her breathable dress, made a special hairdo for the occasion and looked at the thermometer. 28°Celsius. As it should be. Staying safe.
She sat at her laptop and checked her camera settings. The Messenger was on fire, the twits were singing and her boyfriend had already posted on Instagram: a T-SHIRT writing “Happy Birthday baby. Together. Forever” She really can’t tell how much time she spent replying to the messages, posting hearts to the gifs, snaps and emoticons she was bombarded with. Four group video-calls –the party was on. She felt everyone’s love pouring in from all over the world.
She would still be glued to the screen if the doorbell hadn’t rung. She checked through the peephole- nobody. She put one her birthday mask with the embroidered sequins, her fluo gloves and opened carefully. At her doorstep was a parcel.
A parcel.
She approached it with caution. She aimed her cellphone at it- the virus detection app went green. She took it in the house and opened it.
What was that?
Red like melted candy. Liquid and soft, it took the shape of her glove- wearing hand. She squeezed it. It breathed a hollow sound like deep sea. She turned it upside down –it looked the same on all sides. Squashy, inviting you to bite it. It smelt of laughter, hot breath and sighs.
She read the tag tied on it with a golden thread. “Kiss”
It was a kiss.
Her mother had told her about it. It was something very popular when she was still very young. Then it must have gone out of fashion, she only read about it on fairy tales and illegal sites which soon went down by state laws.
She examined it for quite some time. She kept squeezing it like play-doh as she was going down the stairs. She opened the front door and looked at it again as it glistened in the sunlight.
Then, because she didn’t know what to do with it, she threw it in the Municipal Bin for Potentially Dangerous Objects.
The temperature outside was always 28° Celsius. As it should be.
Haiku:
A deadly virus
People killing each other
Keep raining it down
1 - Fish
Created & conceived by: Handan Ozbilgin
Written by: Handan Ozbilgin
Performed by: Maya Su Ozbilgin Bromley & December (fish)
Music/song by: First Grace of Light for Solo Oboe
Image/photo by: Handan Ozbilgin
Video editing by: Handan Ozbilgin
2 - Letters
Created & conceived by: Handan Ozbilgin
Written by: Handan Ozbilgin
Voice by: Maya Su Ozbilgin Bromley and Handan Ozbilgin
Music/song by: Cinema Paradiso (feat. Yo-yo Ma)
Image/photo by: Handan Ozbilgin
Video editing by: Handan Ozbilgin
3 - Water
Created & conceived by: Handan Ozbilgin
Written by: Handan Ozbilgin
Performed by: Maya Su Ozbilgin Bromley
Image/photo by: Handan Ozbilgin & David Bromley
Video editing by: Handan Ozbilgin
4 - Projections
Created by Dorothea Gloria
5 - Respect the seed
Created & conceived by: Penny Fylaktaki- Clio Sakatzi
Written by: Penny Fylaktaki
Image by: Clio Sakatzi
6 - Missing people
Created by Penny Fylaktaki
7 - Proust, the hijackers, and Cinema Paradiso
Created & conceived by: Ioanna Katsarou
Written by: Ioanna Katsarou
Performed by: Ioanna Katsarou
Video editing by: Polyvios Serdaris
In this video we are using a short extract from the finale scene of the film Cinema Paradiso
8 - Hands
Created & conceived by: Ioanna Katsarou
Poem written by: Ioanna Katsarou
Performed by: Ioanna Katsarou’s and her Mum’s hands
Music: Maurice Ravel - Pavane for Dead Princess
9 - Golfo
Created & conceived by: Ioanna Katsarou
Performed by: Ioanna Katsarou
Music/song by: Costas Baltazanis
Video editing by: Fritz Leonard
10 - Time
Created & conceived by: Ioanna Katsarou
Poem written by: Dorothea Gloria
Performed by: Ioanna Katsarou
footage from the performance “All The Rainy Sundays” by Aktis Aeliou Art Theater.
11 - Soma
Created by Katerina Alexaki
12 - Healing of time
Directed by: Chrysi Sylaidi
Starring: Chrysi Sylaidi
Editing: Chrysi Sylaidi
Music: Pink Floyd
Script inspired by the book: The Artist's Way Every Day- A Year of Creative Living by Julia Cameron
13 - Distance
Created by Chrysi Sylaidi
Starring: Chrysi Sylaidi
Written and Directed by: Chrysi Sylaidi
Editing: Chrysi Sylaidi
Special Thanks to Inés Braun
Credits for the second part:
Conception: Chrysi Sylaidi
Creation: Handan Ozbilgin
Editing: Chrysi Sylaidi and Handan Ozbilgin
14 - Water 2
Created by Chrysi Sylaidi
15 - View 2020
Created by Handan Ozbilgin
16 - Katerina's Journey Of Solitude
Zoombites
17 - Sheer Vulgarity
Zoombites
18 - Time goes by slowly
Created by Katerina Alexaki
19 - When we find shelter in love, love blossoms
Created by Marina Gkoumla
Song: Always look on the bright side of life by Monty Python
20 - Shells
Photos by Sarah Bitar
Video editing: Polyvios Serdaris
21 - Shelter in Play
Created by Sarah Bitar
22 - Water rough
Created by Handan Ozbilgin
Camera: David Broomley
Video editing: Handan Ozbilgin
23 - Tears of God
Created by: Arturo Wong Sagel
Actor: Arturo Wong Sagel
Camara: Charlie Sotelo
Song: Nick Cave and Warren Willis all things beautiful
24 - God’s away on Business
Created by Arturo Wong Sagel
Camera: Charly Sotelo
Actor: Arturo Wong Sagel
Music: God’s Away on business-Tom Waits
25 - The day after
Story by Penny Fylaktaki
26 - Our Business
Performed & created by Fritz Leonard
Sound from ‘’God’s away on Business’’ by Tom Waits
Text from ‘’Living Buddhism’’ magazine
27 - The days of violence -Haiku
Written by Dorothea Gloria
Finding shelter in love & lemons
A few light-hearted ditties about familial love, first love… and lemons.
Lead artists: Dorothea Gloria, Chrysi Sylaidi
Shelter in Love Prompt
A brief call
First Love
When we find shelter in love, love blossoms
Lemonade
The Tarte Sisters
Shelter in Love Prompt
Created by Dorothea Gloria
Images & video by Dorothea Gloria
A brief call
created by Fritz Leonard
First Love
Zoombite (Handan Ozbilgin)
When we find shelter in love, love blossoms
Created by Marina Gkoumla
Song: Always look on the bright side of life by Monty Python
Lemonade
Written, narrated and video edited by Demetri Bonaros
original images: pexels.com
The Tarte Sisters
Created and Conceived by Dorothea Gloria and Chrysi Sylaidi
Written by Dorothea Gloria & Chrysi Sylaidi
Performed by Dorothea Gloria, Chrysi Sylaidi, Russel Legaspi and Aldana Fourcade
Stories of virtual reality
Narrative and theatrical pieces, about imagined future realities.
Lead artists: Katerina Alexaki, Sarah Bitar, Demetri Bonaros, Ioanna Katsarou, Fritz Leonard, Alexandra Skendrou, Marilena Triantafyllidou
Kiss Trilogy - the Day after
Kiss Τrilogy - a night with no moon
Kiss Trilogy - KissRevolution
Nautilus
Parsnip
Alteria
Is this real?
