WORKING ON THE STREET: THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF UNIVERSITY GRADUATES LIVING AS MOBILE CRAFTSPEOPLE. (DIONYSIOU AREOPAGITOU STREET - APOSTOLOU PAVLOU STREET, ATHENS)

Abstract

In recent years, the Greek economic crisis has led to a new phenomenon: an increasing number of unemployed university graduates, who are turning to producing and selling handmade items (e.g. jewellery) on the street. This paper focuses on their presence on the busy pedestrian walkway of Dionysius the Areopagite (Dionysiou Areopagitou Street) and their business setups in the immediate vicinity of the New Acropolis Museum. It is an attempt to shed light on this multifaceted phenomenon, through the study and analysis of issues relating to the new social proϐile of street craftspeople, their presence in the area, their working conditions, the relationships they develop with the buying public and the ϐinancial gains resulting from their work. The work constitutes a ϐirst attempt at an interpretive understanding of the phenomenon based on the ϐirst-hand experiences of three young university graduates who, subsequent to being ϐired from their job, chose to adapt their activities by using and developing skills relating to the production of handmade jewellery, much as they had at a younger age. In particular, I shall try to show that the choice of the numerous young craftspeople offering their wares along the pedestrianised Apostolou Pavlou Street is, in parallel, also an attempt at creative expression as a corollary of the economic crisis.