Memory is never lost. It simply drifts away from the light, like an old photograph that fades with time and creases along its edges. Yet all it takes is a single impulse for it to come alive again. A place, a scent, a ray of light or the echo of a sound can restore not only an image, but also the feeling that once accompanied it.
There are, however, memories that are not our own. They are the ones passed down to us: the stories of our grandparents, the silences of our parents, old photographs, books, music... Memories we never experienced ourselves, yet somehow inherited. And, in time, they too become part of who we are.
Art is born when memory - whether personal or inherited - meets time. It requires silence, observation, patience and dedication. It needs a place where experiences and stories are allowed to mature and slowly transform into creation.
Amalia Gardens was founded with the hope of becoming such a place. A landscape that becomes a catalyst. A refuge that offers artists the time to pause, to observe, to listen, and to confront their own memories. Whether those memories eventually become works of art is for each artist to discover. What truly matters is that they are given the time, the freedom, and the quiet to let that transformation unfold.
Amalia Gardens, a non-profit cultural organisation, was founded by architects Charis Savvides and Penny Valsamidou with the vision of creating this refuge.
In Northern Andros, nestled among mountains and ravines, lies an abandoned settlement, a place people left in the '60s and '70s seeking a more convenient life in big cities. Time has since moved gently here, with the settlement's large and small farmhouses slowly reclaimed by nature.
Today, the water from an ancient spring still flows year-round, and traces of human presence reveal themselves to visitors through remnants of the past.
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