#05 | On Mobilising the Imaginary.

In this episode, in conversation with Emre Akbil, Esra Can, and Socrates Stratis, we discuss the work of Imaginary Famagusta (IF) and together explore the role and the mobilisation of the imaginary.

In the intersections of architecture, urbanism, and social action, IF strategically interjects spaces and situations to shift conversations and inspire change. The ‘imaginary’ becomes a multidimensional tool, simultaneously mobilising the informality of the collective and the agency of ‘What If’ questions. 

This episode stands apart due to the deep connection of the RSF project and IF, whom I have been involved in since 2015 and a member since 2019. IF is one of the many starting points of the RSF project, the space in which its ideas developed and flourished and where its initial situated explorations and hypotheses are based on. 

The conversation reveals the impact of the Cypriot conflict on our personal and collective paths and how the distances between us have altered our perspectives. Together, we unravel the creation of a common language that goes beyond social, territorial, and linguistic boundaries—anchored in the concept of urban commons. We question the impact Imaginary Famagusta has (or hasn’t) had over the years and explore the intersection of the personal and political in shifting narratives.

Imaginary Famagusta (IF) is an informal bicommunal Cypriot collective of architects, planners, academics, and activists from across the Cypriot divide, advocating for the role of spatial practice in reconciliation processes through the agencies of urbanism and architecture. 

The collective emerged from the urban contestations of divided Cyprus, initially with a focus on the city of Famagusta. The Hands-on Famagusta project (HoF) was created as a platform for bottom-up spatial processes to support mutuality, coexistence, and peacebuilding processes in interrelation with processes of urban regeneration through commoning. The HoF project was exhibited as part of the Cypriot national pavilion at the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale, titled: Contested Fronts: Commoning Practices for Conflict Transformation.

IF has expanded its focus beyond the city of Famagusta, transforming its methodology towards an ‘Imaginary Federalism’ - a unified Cypriot future.

IF members are: Emre Akbil, Esra Can, Chrysanthe Constantinou, Münevver Özgür Özersay, Lara Scharf, and Socrates Stratis.