The Industrial Gas Museum has inspired the set-up of the Industrial Gas Museum Shop which is maintained at the New Watergas building. The history and aesthetics of the old gasworks are reflected in an impressive collection which focuses on design.  

The Industrial Gas Museum Shop sells unique works by Greek designers, handmade creations, one-of-a-kind ornaments, useful homeware items, bold jewellery, special gifts, ceramics, souvenirs… with a twist, toys, stationery, publications, merchandise, articles inspired by the old gasworks, the Industrial Gas Museum’s catalogue and many more.

The Industrial Gas Museum Shop supports the newly emerging domestic art production and the work of Greek industrial designers in cooperation with Greek craft industry enterprises and factories. At the same time it takes control of the entire manufacturing process by delivering end- products directly to consumers without using intermediaries, thus ensuring the lowest price possible. 

The first industrial designer to get commissioned by the Industrial Gas Museum was Yannis Ghikas, one of the exceptional Greek designers who have received the Red Dot Award and the German Design Award. Inspired by the museum, he turned to the field of lighting and created a candle holder of “obsolete technology”, the so-called Candlehandle as well as the ceramic containers Way in which are influenced by the industrial aesthetics of the city. 

Apart from Yannis Ghikas, among the permanent partners of the Industrial Gas Museum Shop is the jewelry designer Maximos Zachariadis, whereas recently the museum started a new collaboration with Studiolav for the Toolbooks stationary set.

SMATH (Smart atmospheres of social and financial innovation for innovative clustering of creative industries in MED area)  is a European project involving 10 partners – including Technopolis and INNOVATHENS powered by Samsung – from 6 countries, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Spain, Greece and France.

Co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, aims to improve the quality and quantity of connections between the publicly oriented domain of culture and the business oriented domain of creativity via innovative forms of clustering. 

SMATH has created and develops “smart atmospheres”, 7 creative nests, able to support start-ups and the development of SMEs in the CC sector facilitating the access to “culture factories” and value enhancing services (private and public finance) and the development of innovative clustering on CCIs level and the setting-up of joint cooperation at partnerships among investors and public actors able to exploit their potential to support the growth in the MED Area.

Objectives:

 • to share knowledge, best practices and success cases concerning the collaboration between cultural Engines and Creative industries

 • to strengthen the regional policies concerning the cultural benefit for growth with additional models and instruments

 • to contribute to the development of Creativity clusters and their connection at Transnational level

 • to increase awareness by the intermediaries working on cultural sectors about entrepreneurial and marketing approaches

More info: https://smath.interreg-med.eu

Advanced Learning and Inclusive EnviroNment (ALIEN) for Higher Education through greater knowledge and understanding of migration flows in Europe.

**Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union

The project aims at contributing to greater equity and social cohesion within Europe, through a series of knowledge-exchange activities with diverse stakeholders (academics, national and local authorties, migrant communities and organisations) and through the understanding of complexities of migration.

Given the critical context of the current refugee crisis in Europe, the projects objectives are:

- To advance young people inter-cultural competences, knowledge and understandings of migration through transnational, multi and interdisciplinary collaboration of academic staff, migrant organizations and postgraduate students.

- To develop engagement of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) with local and international migrant organizations as well as regional authorities to build bridges and share knowledge, good practices and raise awareness of issues around migration.

How it works?

By innovative education methods focusing on migration issues from the perspective of particular social science discipline including Economics, Education, Politics, Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work.

- With a Community of Practice, created around open access virtual platform (i.e. e-modules,  examples of teaching activities and assessment strategy) for use

- With handbooks of education methodologies and scenarios for workshops materials for direct use in the teaching curriculum.

- Living Labs, that will work as interactive think tanks, where issues and opinions of public concern related to migration will be discussed.

- Living labs serve as an input for the projects’ learning materials and thus they will operate as the meeting point of the diverse stakeholders of the project and they will involve interchanging of ideas, methodology forming and collection of data.

Since May 2014, when it began operating in the distinctive Gasholder 2 building, INNOVATHENS has been a key reference point for creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Athens, with a focus on knowledge, networking, and the empowerment of creators and professionals from all fields. In collaboration with educational and research institutions, businesses, and organizations, INNOVATHENS designs, implements, and hosts a wide range of events, seminars, and workshops that promote entrepreneurship, innovation, and the development of skills in the digital and creative sectors, through equal access to knowledge and inclusion.

A central tool in supporting startup entrepreneurship has been the Business Accelerator, a comprehensive three-month program that provided startups and small businesses with personalized mentoring and coaching. Through a combination of training and hands-on support, the Accelerator empowered dozens of teams to refine their business models, strengthen their market presence, and grow sustainably within both the local and international innovation ecosystems.

At the same time, aiming to enhance extroversion, entrepreneurship, and the development of the creative industries both nationally and internationally, INNOVATHENS and Technopolis have actively participated in international European programs aimed at strengthening the creative industries and promoting collaborative models. The HEMI project supported networking and professional development in the music industry across Central and Southeastern Europe, while SMATH supported creative teams and contributed to the development of “creative nests” in six Mediterranean countries. As part of Trust in Play, INNOVATHENS hosted a series of workshops and activities focused on urban game design, fostering social engagement and innovative uses of public space.