On the northwest coast of Corfu, Arillas opens onto the Ionian Sea with a wide sandy bay. The Ionian carries long layers of memory and myth. Corfu, known in Greek as Kerkyra, is tied to the legend of the nymph Korkyra, carried here by Poseidon, making the island itself a mythical embodiment of encounter between sea and land, divinity and mortality. Venetian fortresses, British colonial harbors, and World War II traces still line the coast, reminding us that this water has long been a corridor of empire as well as a place of arrival and refuge.

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In Arillas today, the sea is both sanctuary and economy. While a space for swimming, spiritual retreats, and tourism, it is also one under pressure from erosion and seasonal flux. Locals speak of how the beach has grown narrower in recent decades, which signals a subtle but persistent reminder of climate change.

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These histories invite the question of what it means to work with water that constantly reshapes its own edges, and how we might listen to a sea that is a living archive of displacement, trade, and migration? 

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In Arillas, these explorations took place via one workshop in collaboration with Fani Skamagi, a local Nature Connection facilitator. 

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The workshop was held on November 8 at the Sea Bench in Arillas Beach. Participants were introduced to the philosophy and technique used in the project and we began to explore the local beach site as well as the river merging into the sea. It had just rained the night before and thunder, wind and gushing rain had pushed sewage through the river bank. While the morning looked calm and the sun was shining, we began to see the effects of the night before and the busy summer on the water's surface. In the short film below, we share a few insights into the process.