P R E S S   R E L E A S E

TREASURE ISLAND

(26 September - 8 November 2014, NiMAC)

Opening: Friday, 26 September 2014, 20:00

The Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre - Associated with the Pierides Foundation [NiMAC] and the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, Cultural Services, in collaboration with AHDR (Association for Historical Dialogue and Research) and SIDESTREETS Initiative, announce the opening of a new exhibition project entitled Treasure Island on Friday, 26 September 2014. The project features visual works, performances, public discussions, interventions and other events selected through an Open Call, next to a number of preselected works.

Treasure Island seeks to expand discourses of the past in Cyprus. It seeks to shed critical light on dominant modes of historical representations, and address those stories that have been subjugated, manipulated or silenced by hegemonic historical discourses and artistic, literary or theoretical practices.  Moreover, the project aims to underline the broader meaning of the political in art, in the local context: On the one hand, as a drive for critical (re)negotiation of the modern history of trauma, conflict and violence, as well as of any totalizing ideological strategies of approaching, thinking and narrating the past, particularly in relation to national or cultural identification. On the other hand, as an attempt to deal with a broad spectrum of crucial issues that affect Cypriot society, beyond the Cyprus Problem. Ultimately, the project aims to bring forth the culturally inconspicuous, and the latent patterns of Cypriot historical experience, both in the colonial and postcolonial contexts.

The project has welcomed a variety of presentational formats such as visual works, performances, theoretical discussions, film screenings, talks, literature/poetry readings, public interventions and educational programmes. It features a diverse group of Cypriot and international participants, including Emin Cizenel, Lia Haraki, Eleni Kamma, Nurtane Karagil, Gabriel Lester, Literary Agency Cyprus/Whirling Words, Mesarch Lab, Panayiotis Michael, Savvas Papasavva, Christodoulos Panayiotou, pick nick, Alexandros Pissourios, Saramarasamsara, Nicolas Tschopp, Stefanos Tsivopoulos and Sholeh Zahraei/Kamil Saldun. The programme also includes presentations and interventions led by Adonis Florides, Antonis Hadjikyriacou, Chrystalleni Loizidou, Meropi Moiseos/Nasa Patapiou/Eleni Papadopoulou, Johann Pillai and Evi Tselika/Marina Hadjilouca spread throughout the duration of the exhibition, as well as a one-day series of theoretical discussions. Treasure Island will also be hosting a public reading library in collaboration with Moufflon Bookshop, comprising bibliography from the areas of social and cultural studies, postcolonial theory, social anthropology, political science, art theory, history, critical literature and poetry, and beyond.

PROGRAMME OF EVENTS

Friday, 26 September, 20:00 @ NiMAC (Opening)

Performance

The Record Replay React Show (2014, 30’)

Lia Haraki

Saturday, 4 October, 10:30 @ NiMAC

Screening/Discussion [in English]

Life Chances: Four Families in a Greek Cypriot Village by Peter Loizos (1974, 43’)

Antonis Hadjikyriacou in conversation with Olga Demetriou, Zelia Gregoriou and Adonis Florides

Wednesday, 8 October, 19:30 @ Rüstem Bookstore (24-26 Girne caddesi, Sarayönü, Nicosia)

Screening/Discussion [in English]

Cyprus is an Island by Ralph Keene (1946, 34’)

Adonis Florides in conversation with Costas Constantinides and Yiannis Papadakis

Friday, 10 October, 19:00 @ NiMAC

Presentation [in English]

"Cyprus Pussy": Culture jamming/On Cypriot commemoration in the 21st century & its interventions

Chrystalleni Loizidou

Performance

The Record Replay React Show, (2014, 30’)

Lia Haraki

Saturday, 18 October, 10:30 @ NiMAC

Presentation/Discussion [in Greek]

Here Lie the Books, Rizokarpaso 1931-32 (2014)

Meropi Moiseos, Nasa Patapiou and Eleni Papadopoulou in conversation with Takis Hadjigeorgiou, Niyazi Kızılyürek and Makarios, Bishop of Kenya

Friday, 24 October, 19:00 @ NiMAC

Presentation [in English]

Nonverbal Communication

Gabriel Lester

Wednesday, 29 October, 19:00 @ NiMAC

Visual lecture/Presentation [in English]

Monument to Fragmentation

Johann Pillai

Saturday, 1 November, 10:30 @ NiMAC

Screening/Discussion [in Greek]

Cyprus is an Island by Ralph Keene (1946, 34’)

Adonis Florides in conversation with Christodoulos Panayiotou and Yiannis Papadakis

Saturday, 8 November, 10:30 @ NiMAC

Discussions [in English]

The Past as Treasure Hunt

Part I, 10:30-12:00: “Buccaneers and Buried Gold”: Deconstructing memory and fiction

with Yiannis Hamilakis, Nicolas Papadimitriou and Stephanos Stephanides

Part II, 12:00-13:30: “The Stockade”: Barriers in Education / Education of Barriers

with Mete Hatay, Aydin Mehmet Ali and Yiannis Papadakis

Saturday, 8 November, 20:00 @ NiMAC

Performance

The Record Replay React Show, (2014, 30’)

Lia Haraki

Closing

The event is co-organized by the Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre - Associated with the Pierides Foundation [NiMAC] and the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, Cultural Services, in collaboration with AHDR (Association for Historical Dialogue and Research) and SIDESTREETS Initiative. Curatorial team: Yiannis Toumazis, Louli Michaelidou, Anber Onar, Despo Pasia, Kyriakos Pachoulides, Elena Stylianou.

NiMAC

Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre-Associated with the Pierides Foundation

19, Palias Ilektrikis, 1016 Nicosia

T: 22797400, info@nimac.org.cy, www.nimac.org.cy

Office hours:  Monday – Friday, 8:00-15:00

Exhibition hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00-21:00, Sunday – Monday Closed

Co-organisers:                                                                      In collaboration with:

HISTORY



THE NICOSIA MUNICIPAL ARTS CENTRE, ASSOCIATED WITH THE PIERIDES FOUNDATION

The Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre, Associated with the Pierides Foundation, was inaugurated on January the 14th in 1994 and operates according to the cooperation agreement between the Nicosia Municipality and the Pierides Foundation

The Arts Centre is housed in the old Power Station building, granted by the Electricity Authority to the Municipality of Nicosia. This building had been the first Power Generating Station in Nicosia. It had been deserted for almost 20 years until the Nicosia Municipality, during the majoralty of Lellos Demetriades, made an agreement with the Pierides Foundation, during the Demetris Z. Pierides presidency, for the transformation of the complex into the Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre.

Thus, the building, a typical example of industrial architecture in Cyprus at the beginning of the 20th century, was restored in its original form, while complying with all the prerequisites of a contemporary museum and exhibition centre. In 1994 the Centre was awarded with the Europa Nostra Award for its sensitive restoration

During the seventeen years of its operation, the Centre organized and presented more than 70 exhibitions of contemporary art from Cyprus and abroad. Many of them were organized in cooperation with other Museums, Cultural Centres and Foundations.

Some of the most important exhibitions were: Miro of Majorca, Picasso the Engraver, Tribute to Van Gogh, Flashback-100 years of Design. The Dakis Ioannou Collection, Cyprus in Venice, Accidental Meetings Crossings et al.

Amongst the main objectives of the Centre is to open up new channels of artistic communication between Cyprus and abroad, mainly Europe, to develop and encourage partnerships between artists and cultural managers in Cyprus and abroad, to introduce to the Cypriot public new tendencies and new ideas of the contemporary artistic creation internationally, to give the opportunity to Cypriot artists to collaborate with artists from other countries

The Arts Centre has also multifaceted educational and pedagogical activities. Apart from the educational programmes for exhibitions, the Educational Centre for Children was inaugurated in 2008 and organizes specialized courses for children and youngsters through the Engraving and Cinema workshops.

In 2013, the “City Theatre/Theatre Workshop, will open aiming to explore the relationship between visual arts and theatre and provide a chance for research and experimentation in these fields.

Alongside the exhibitions, the Centre organises conferences, roundtables, lectures and educational programs. It has also established the periodical projects OPEN CALL and PROJECT ROOM, which offer the opportunity to Cypriot artists to execute large-scale installations or experimental projects.

Since this year, the Centre operates a Residency for cultural managers from abroad and participates through the Pierides Foundation in multiannual European programmes supported partly by the European Committee.

The Centre also operates: The D.Z. Pierides History of Art Library with many and rare art publications, the Cyprus Visual Arts Archive in collaboration with the Cyprus Chamber of Fine Arts, the Shop with art objects and publications and the “Old Power House” restaurant.