Knot Lounge

Knot Lounge is a Lisbon rope project that has run since 2017. It began with a monthly rope jam: the first session took place on Sunday 24 September 2017 at Anjos 70, a cultural space in central Lisbon, after which the jam met on the last Sunday of each month from 16:00 to 20:00. The organizers described it as a calm, safe space open to everyone regardless of experience or approach to rope, with a short introduction to the basics for newcomers, areas for suspension (by 2020 also with bamboo) and for floor work, and loaner rope. A 2018 review on the LES friendly blog described organizers explaining how the jam worked to a first-time visitor and introducing her to possible partners.

People

The project has been run by different people over time. A 2020 episode of the Portuguese podcast ConSensual introduced a rigger named Pedro and a rope bottom named Joana as the people then responsible for Knot Lounge. The Lisbon pleasure shop The Joy Spot lists Monad and Morgana, who have practiced rope bondage since 2017, as part of the project, giving workshops and performances that aim to demystify the practice.

Workshops and guests

Knot Lounge brings in visiting teachers. In February 2020 Kirigami and Tenshiko of School of Rope Milano taught an intensive weekend on traditional semenawa, in a style they trace to Naka Akira as brought to Europe by Riccardo Wildties, with an optional performance; places were sold per pair. In December 2022 Carlos NawaTanuki and Margout Darko taught a two-day workshop on the aesthetics and workflow of kinbaku photography there, in English. Anna Noctuelle lists Azulejo, a performance with Pauline Massimo at Knot Lounge in May 2018, among her selected performances.

Today

Knot Lounge has no website of its own. In September 2026 its Instagram profile described it as a venue in Lisbon and a safe, relaxed place to learn and practice shibari, kinbaku and rope bondage, and gave an address in São João da Talha, in the Loures municipality of Greater Lisbon. Older listings place it at Anjos 70; when it moved has not been confirmed in a dated source.