Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category
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Manifesting the Stories of Ourfa
Victoria Harwood Butler-Sloss’ first published work entitled “The Seamstress of Ourfa” launched in Nicosia records the turbulent life of her own family.
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‘In the Spotlight’ #5: Mary and Rose
As part of the ‘Share the Journey’ global campaign, Caritas Cyprus works with Melissa Hekkers to present a monthly online feature will delve into the intricacies of migrants’ journeys on their way to the island of Cyprus
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‘In the Spotlight’ #4: Leemu
As part of the ‘Share the Journey’ global campaign, Caritas Cyprus works with Melissa Hekkers to present a monthly online feature will delve into the intricacies of migrants’ journeys on their way to the island of Cyprus
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‘In the Spotlight’ #3: Adam
As part of the ‘Share the Journey’ global campaign, Caritas Cyprus works with Melissa Hekkers to present a monthly online feature will delve into the intricacies of migrants’ journeys on their way to the island of Cyprus
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‘In the Spotlight’ #2: Ladan
As part of the ‘Share the Journey’ global campaign, Caritas Cyprus works with Melissa Hekkers to present a monthly online feature will delve into the intricacies of migrants’ journeys on their way to the island of Cyprus
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Forging connections through music
“When my Grammy arrived a couple of days ago, I took my guitar and I went and played out in the train station”
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Re-encountering the departed
Many of us will have a faint recollection of our grandfather and who he was. But some of us never get the opportunity to meet him, for the course of life sometimes prompts their departure before our own memory begins to give fruit.
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Reasoning with Nina Sumarac
“You can call me conceptual, but I’m more of a peaceful activist… I will always propagate love, unity or the search for solutions… how people can accept each other better…there is always that story behind my work”
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Starting over
It’s been almost five months since Bashar Massri was reunited with his wife and four children. Bashar fled his war-torn home in Syria two years ago, opting to take the risky journey through Turkey and into the Mediterranean in the hope of landing safely in Italy.
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Bruxelles ma belle
Leaving for Brussels just three days after the terrorist attack of March 22 was slightly too soon for my personal judgement, yet perhaps not soon enough for my conscience.
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Creativity in exile
Gilad Atzmon should be no stranger to the island’s music scene. He’s been coming to share his musical whims with us for some years now, although not many will be familiar with his entire multi-faceted persona.
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Remembering Glyn Hughes
I walked out from the Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre (NiMAC) with Yiannis Toumazis’ words ringing in my ears.
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We need ears to listen
Somewhere amongst the overwhelming amount of refugees who have entered Europe, are a number of them who are accompanied by an ‘imaginary friend’, created during a workshop with local fine artist, Meletios Meletiou.
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Cypriot win in Berlin
The talents of Cypriot director and writer Myrsini Aristidou were celebrated last week, when she was awarded the Special Prize of the Generation Kplus for the best short film at the 66th Berlinale International Film Festival.
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‘Carmine Lullabies’
In conversation with one of the island’s most promising young poets, Marilena Zackheos reveals the inspiration behind her poetry book to be launched in Nicosia, Cyprus.
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Meet Naim
Naim stood proud on the banks of the Mytilini Marina.
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‘Sharqi’: turning eyes eastward
For years, Nicos Philipou has been preoccupied with the Cypriot landscape. Along with social and private spaces as he would depict.
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Better Days for Moria
Much like thousands of volunteers before her, 30-year-old Limassolian Elena Moustaka set off for Lesvos at the beginning of November; a decision instigated by her bewilderment with media coverage of the influx of refugees on the island.
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“Love me or kill me”
The Moria Refugee camp off the shores of Lesvos is an unfamiliar place, although to many of us, it may have become more familiar since the increased influx of refugees began to make their way to the shores of Greece at the beginning of the summer.
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A story of friendship
The Cyprus premier of Gabriele Del Grande’s documentary, ‘On the Bride’s side’ tomorrow evening, highlights the island’s proximity to the ever-increasing refugee problem, and in the director’s words calls on all of us to “show solidarity with people coming from the other shore of the sea overturned by war”.
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A Taste of Famagusta
Working towards promoting development while improving the climate of reconciliation in the wider Famagusta region, the Renewal Project has singled out the culinary aspect of the region in recognition of the prominent role food takes in shaping our social interactions.
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I am not a volunteer; I am human
Every time I look back at my days spent in Lesvos a deep sorrow warps me and I can’t seem to let it go. Like a bear in a cage I roam around the corners of my life and I can’t seem to find the direction to rationalise my frustration towards the sour turn the refugee situation has taken.
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What’s a ‘girl band’ anyway?
Belua took to the stage for the first time a year ago, a momentum which eventually led to the release of their first single at the beginning of the month. The song, ‘Change’ is just one of the tunes that audiences will have the opportunity to hear live at the Fengaros Festival’s village stage on Friday evening.
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Breaking down national narratives
The research project ‘Songs of My Neighbours’ came to an end last month; the collaborative initiative aspired to facilitate dialogue and social justice among communities living in conflict zones through the arts and theatre.
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Not all journeys come to an end
Travel blog USA part 4
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California’s tantalising ways
Travel blog in USA part 3
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Trying to follow Route 66
Travel blog in USA part 2
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Driving through the USA
USA travel blog part 1
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Glimpses of George Lanitis
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the death of Cyprus Weekly columnist George Lanitis’, I find myself flipping through the newspaper’s archives to discover more about his life.
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The ‘Art Seen’
There comes a time when things fall right into place: not coincidently but because all the strings you’ve pulled have come together and tied into a knot, to create the foundations for your aspirations to materialise.
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Cycling across Cyprus’ divide
Envisioning a group of cycling lovers roam through the 9,251km2 circumference of the island in the name of physically moving across barriers, I reached out to Andreas Michaelides who now lives some 3,000 kilometres away.
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Revitalising a dead zone
Nicholas Netien moved to the buffer zone with his wife and three-year-old son in 2013, having been hired to revive four hectares of farmland through permaculture practices in an area that has been largely untouched since the 1974 war.
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Postcards to the ‘other side’
“If you could send a postcard to the ‘other side’, what would you write?”
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Coffee painting goes viral
A ‘coffee portrait’ of Hugh Laurie (known to most for his role as Dr House in American television medical drama ‘House’) went viral last week, just as Maria A. Aristidou was setting up for her first solo show in Limassol.
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A true confrontation
Pain is common. War and post war situations are common and this somehow unites people. I believe art is the best way to find what is common and human; a way in which you can find a humanistic approach without any political identities such as nationalism, or without any religious identities, without any identity that is capable of separating people.
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Cartoons against intolerance
Jean Plantureux’s invitation to present an exhibition of his work in the capital a week after the brutal attacks on Charlie Hebdo’s Satirical Magazine consequently defended freedom of expression of artists but also highlighted the ‘colossal educational battle’ that is now imperative in order to better understand image and withstand the ‘beginning of a war against fundamentalists’.
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Our forefather’s memories as our own
Can other people’s memories become our own?
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New ‘Art Seen’
Meeting Maria Stathi on the occasion of the opening of her new gallery next Friday, there’s no doubt that her path has deemed it the right time to launch a new approach to Nicosia’s art scene
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Reviving the 1900s
The EU funded bi-communal “Nicosia Master Plan” has taken leaps revamping the commercial hub of the town once threatened by the first inter-communal riots in 1956. Yet the vision of the newly founded CVAR museum is perhaps the additional drive needed to lift the character of a street which began to see its shops, peoples and stories trapped in the buffer zone since 1963.
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Central Prisons turn into a place of artistic expression
Sitting amongst the works of art of 15 long term inmates which adorned the walls of the theatre hall of the closed off section of the central prisons I, for a split second, forgot where I was.
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Escape the room
Adapted from computer games, real-life takagism, more commonly known as real-room escaping games, is gaining popularity in major cities in Japan where the concept originated, yet it is also gaining momentum in Europe, where gamers move from the mouse-to-screen gaming zone, and utilise their addiction to realistic situations.
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It’s whatever you make of it
“Nothing here is here for a reason; it’s entirely up to you to make what you want of it – and if you have any questions we’ll just make up some convenient answers,” chuckled Julian, as he took me on a tour of the premises, where people were invited to spend their last day of 2014
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The Great Goddess of Cyprus
Capturing Aphrodite’s legacy on film
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Weaving in and out of storytelling
Almost a year ago, Katsari and Veronica Aloneftou came together on a journey that has led them to tell stories across the island, in museums, festivals, bookshops, schools, everywhere.
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Writing beyond barriers
“If there are people who are winning prizes who are from Africa or the Caribbean or India, I think that it’s about time that Cypriot writers also win one of the major awards of the world arena because we have writers who are that good”
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Protecting our shores is our right
Seashores are one of the clearest manifestations of what is generally considered to constitute “the commons” — a place where access is free and all has derive the same pleasure, irrespective of the size of their pay cheque. Unfortunately, in real life this is not always the case.
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Where does Pafos 2017 stand?
Just over a month past the deadline for artistic proposals, Pafos 2017 organisation is steadily working on as it moves to turn the vision of one of the nominated cities of the Melina Mercouri Award into reality.
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Reviving 9,251 km2
Photographers turn to postcard art to highlight the secret beauties of Cyprus
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Forking it out
Manifested as a food market, the idea behind Andreas Charalambous’ and Takis Pyrishis’ originally stemmed from their own experience as food lovers within the exemplary food markets of London.
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Thinking your way to a new language
Language Transfer, is a project which offers free downloadable language courses with a methodology that explores the pluralism in our languages and teaches practical speaking in no time
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The maturity of a compelling dance artist
“How does Cyprus support artists as they grow older?”
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Two Little Chefs in a Green Kitchen
Turning food into an ecological and social statement
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Nymphaea Blue adorns La Haute Borne
Local fine artist Tatiana Ferahian installs her aquatic installation in Lille, France; a playful interaction with aspects of life, creativity, reflection, recycling, transformation and adaptation.
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The charms of Brittany
Melissa Hekkers discovers the natural beauties of a very special part of France.
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Life at 1/100th of a second
In search of adventure, Constantine James Savvides found his calling and a new direction in life following a chance meeting when writing a paper on Somali piracy in Africa.
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Seeing Cyprus from a kite
As a child Thomas Sagory would fly kites in the skies of Brittany in the west of France, and as an adult, his remote controlled kite has flown mostly in the Middle East, a journey that has combined his profession as an archaeologist with the art of kite flying, as a kite aerial photographer.
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In coversation with a war photographer
Cypriot War photographer, Achilleas Zavallis, talks about his experiences on the Syrian front.
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Aphrodite’s delights
Christina Loucas keeps traditions of Cypriot cuisine alive
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Grippy Grappa
Monsieur Doumani’s debut album of traditional folk inspired music will be released next week and distributed world-wide.
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There are no straight lines, only ‘Curves’
Dimitris Kakavoulis Quartet’s new album pulls together some of the island’s top jazz talent
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The Age of Now
Lefteris Moumtzis’ soulful music take you places
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‘A small chalk’ with Glyn Hughes
A short film by Stella Georgiou documents conversations between two artists
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A new scene of a new era?
Young Cypriot authors explore literary inspiration post 1974
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‘The World of Cyprus’ comes home
Return of masterpiece sends message of hope to crisis-hit island
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Embracing Re-birth
Seven artists unite to celebrate December 21; a date widely communicated through mythology and in literature of fantasy and science fiction as the ‘the end of the world’
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Afro Banana Republic revisits its claim
Annual local festival based on prototypes of European Community Festivals continues to thrive
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Defining the Undefined
Cypriot artist Anna Fotiadou joined eight other artists in Germany for an interactive workshop to create an exhibition that will take place in Marl, Germany.
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Where demolition meets art
Belgian town in process of being knocked down for 15 years becomes a living street art gallery