The «Αkamantis | Head and Hand» by artist Kyriaki Costa is a multidimensional project that follows the principles of sustainable development promoting respect for the environment and its protection, strengthens the relationship between cultural artistic practices and social space, while highlighting different aspects of care. With the concept of care at the centre of international debates, Ecologies of Care focuses on the need to rethink collectively about the norms and processes of cultural creation. This approach highlights the importance of the social dimension of art and attempts to find ways to promote sustainable tourism development, but also for sustainable cooperation between hotel professionals and local communities, highlighting the position and role of artists towards social, political and environmental issues.
As part of the project, various activities, experiential tours, excursions and hikes are carried out in the area of Polis Chrysochous and Akamas. These actions aim to highlight the qualities of the work and the value of personal experience, allowing the visitor to become a shareholder of a collective and personal emotional experience.
Our next action will be a participatory boat tour held on October 21, 2023.
The tour will be held under the auspices of the environment commissioner.
More information about the tour:
Title: “Caring for every drop”
Date of event: Saturday, October 21, 2023
Guided tour of the exhibitions and a boat tour of the project "Akamantis Head & Hand":
9. 00 am - Departure from Nicosia Athalassas Avenue, 186, Strovolos
11.30 p.m. - Guided tour of the local Archaeological Museum of Mario-Arsinois
12.30 pm - Guided tour of the second part of the exhibition, hosted at the Anassa Hotel
1.30pm - Port for departure by boat and participation in a boat tour/discussion along the coastline of Akamas/ Blue lagoon
4.30 p.m. - Return
The cruise, held as part of the project, includes storytelling by locals, who tell us about the sea, the beaches of the area, the churches, the ancient buildings and the myths that connect them to Akamas. The tour will be conducted with the use of an open microphone, in order to achieve the best possible acoustics. Members of the project team will participate on the boat, while an important part of the boat tour is the screening of Alex Ioannou's short film entitled "No Drop to the Sea" (screened on an onboard TV). The documentary film, shown as part of the exhibition, generated the idea for the boat tour. The film complements the exhibition, as it explores, through the voice of Vrachimis Ioannou, the technical achievements regarding the water infrastructures that transformed the Akamas peninsula and the Paphos region in the mid-20th century.
After the screening of the 10-minute film, there will be an open dialogue on the topics of the environment, the commons, sustainability, water, in relation to Akama which Alex Ioannou (landscape architect), Kyriaki Costa (artist-researcher) will participate and coordinate, Zoi Makridou (Terra Cypria zoologist) Stavroula Michael (History-Theory of Architecture) Konstantinos Perikleous, (Terra Cypria biologist) and Melina Filippou (Architect, Urban Planner, Program Director at MIT's Future Heritage Lab) Executive Director of Research & Development of the MountMed Institute.
Finally, it should be noted that the inspiration for this endeavour was the specially designed map, which constitutes an important part of the project. The map connects the exhibition spaces with the wider area of Akamas and with points where water sources have been identified, while through these passages, a new reading of the area emerges with central reference points of myths, water and ecology. The boat tour complements this map adding an additional route, this time by sea.
Telephone reservations: 26322955 -268880002 or via email: [email protected]
Kyriaki Costa is a multidisciplinary artist and researcher, with a particular emphasis on art as an anthropological practice. Her work explores and brings together myth and history, philosophy and psychology, climate and ecological concerns. She creates artworks and installations in collaboration with practitioners from many disciplines such as artisans and technology specialists. Often producing participatory environments, she stages social and political interventions that critique different contexts and surroundings.
Alex Ioannou is a PhD researcher based at Bangor University. His research places current debates on landscape change in their historical context and provides an exploration of alternative frameworks through which societies can cultivate their relationship with landscape.
Curators: Guided tours: Kyriaki Costa Artist Researcher – Antigoni Michael (Archaeologist - tour guide, specialist in Cultural Heritage)
Exhibitions curators: Dr. Monika Asimenou, Evagoras Vanezis
Map compilation and editing: Dr. Christina Lambrou
Sponsors: Visit Cyprus - European Heritage Days 2023
Supporters: Polis Chrysochous Municipality, Thanos Hotels