Squat Across Europe Summer Media Project Idea. Need Your Advice

[MadAndy]

Hey everyone. I'm still sorta new here, and most of my travel experience is limited to more traditional means of transport, through the US... and then several years of packing around the Middle East and South Asia. I got hitched to a Spaniard a couple of years back, so I live in Spain now, but we still travel whenever we can, and I have a small (and very broke) nonprofit in Amsterdam that I do various creative projects through.

To the point:
Back in 2015 I was packing around south Eastern Europe (Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Kosovo, Slovenia, etc) and stumbled on a few pretty epic squats. One being Metelkova, which is in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It was an army barracks back in the days of the former Yugoslavia, and has since been converted into a squat and creative space for musicians, artists, and travelers of all kinds to just... well, squat and share their stuff. I've mostly been a lone wolf, and don't have much experience participating in these communities, but much of what I do is media focussed and has a decentralized and anarchistic bent to it (though I didn't set out with a political ideology... it's just how my project evolved when I started working with local people to create stuff).

I want to do a project where I travel across Europe and stay in various squats, while highlighting various social issues, such as local politics, refugees, alternative communities, etc. I would likely make this a multimedia project, where I interview people for my podcast and make short Youtube videos in each of the places I go, and host livestreams here and there from the road.

I also want to use this opportunity to help spread the world and expand Squat the Planet across Europe and (whenever I get back there) to the Middle East and India as well. But I need some help even identifying which squats are out there and which forums I can use to start working on this idea so that it's ready for the Spring and Summer. So here are my preliminary questions:

1. What squats have you heard of in Europe that you wold like to see/hear/learn more about?
2. What forums might be useful for me to start doing some preliminary research about these communities in Europe?

Thanks for any help and advice. I'm really starting at almost zero with this subject, so apologies in advance if I make any assumptions or am asking the wrong questions.

 

[Matt Derrick]

i only have a minute while im at work, so i'll try to provide more details later, but my first thought is that you should check out squat.net. while they don't have a listing of squats, they do cover news of relating to squats and related actions, so it would be a good place to do a little research and find out where squats can be found.

 

[amines]

Check out Bikewarz, it's in Utrecht in the Netherlands, actually just outside of Utrecht towards De bild, Wednesdays at 7 is donation vegan dinner (beer for 1eur), there's another smaller squat in Utrecht, forgot the name and location. and ADM in Amsterdam (biggest one in NL) and Ruigoord is an interesting place, no longer squatted, but they throw raves in the church. There's plenty of Squats in Istanbul on the Asian side, don't remember names or locations.

 

[MadAndy]

Check out Bikewarz, it's in Utrecht in the Netherlands, actually just outside of Utrecht towards De bild, Wednesdays at 7 is donation vegan dinner (beer for 1eur), there's another smaller squat in Utrecht, forgot the name and location. and ADM in Amsterdam (biggest one in NL) and Ruigoord is an interesting place, no longer squatted, but they throw raves in the church. There's plenty of Squats in Istanbul on the Asian side, don't remember names or locations.

Many thanks, @amines !

 

[Severina Serciova]

Check out the Polish squats, Syrena and Przychodnia in Warsaw, Rozbrat in Poznań, Radarsquat and Nomadwiki should help you out a bit, also German squats are absolutely spectacular
Oh and one other place in Poland, i've only heard of it but apparently there is a permacultural squat somewhere in the mountains called Gajówka, people either live in trailers there or build their own houses, something like the slabs but on a smaller scale

 

[Severina Serciova]

P.S. if you'll be in Poland at the same time (i'm also on a eurotrip) i'd be happy to join you and help, expanding STP to Europe and your documentary is a great idea

 

[MadAndy]

P.S. if you'll be in Poland at the same time (i'm also on a eurotrip) i'd be happy to join you and help, expanding STP to Europe and your documentary is a great idea

Thanks for the info @Severina Serciova . I've got no plans to travel that way before the Spring, but would love to see Poland when the weather gets warm again. I've got some friends from Krakow.

 

[Matt Derrick]

man, i'd love to be out that way exploring different squatting communities. if anyone finds themselves near one and would be interested in reporting back here, it would be a huge benefit to your fellow travelers.