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The Deputy Minister of Culture, Dr.Vasiliki Kassianidou, visited Athens on 22 May 2024, to inaugurate the Cypriot Theatre Week on the historic stage of the National Theatre of Greece, in the presence of the Minister of Culture and Sports of Greece, Mrs.Lina Mendoni.
This co-organization of the Deputy Ministry of Culture and the Cyprus Centre of the International Theatre Institute, held with the support of the House of Cyprus, marked the beginning of a systematic effort to promote and enhance the visibility of Cypriot theatrical creation outside the narrow geographical boundaries of the country. This effort is part of the broader framework of extroversion of the Ministry of Culture and the implementation of the strategic plan for a cultural diplomacy. The Cypriot Theatre Week started with the performance of the play "Before the Germanos came" by Hamm Productions, directed by Kostas Silvestros with the actors Popi Avraam and Andreas Koutsofta on stage, followed by the performance "Words in the Mouth of Kieran Hurley" by the "Ferrephone" Group, directed by Maria Kyriakou with actors Andreas Daniel and Melani Stelios on stage and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by the Maria Ioli Karolidou Theatre Group, adapted and directed by the same, with Antonia Charalambous on stage.
The next day, the Deputy Minister attended the presentation of the art installation "Spectators in a Ghost City", which is hosted in the area of the Smokehouse, at the invitation of the Hellenic Parliament. There, in the iconic architectural monument that is a landmark of Athenian topography, the Greek public will have the opportunity to see the work, which represented Cyprus at the 15th World Exhibition of Design of Performing Arts and Space in Prague 2023-Quatrienale, where it won the Golden Triga Grand Prize. The event was honoured with the presence of the President of the Hellenic Parliament, Mr. Konstantinos Tasoulas, who in his address said, among other things, about the project: "We attempt to cure our pain with our imagination and our logic. And here the imagination, the artistic performance, the knowledge of history, all this entanglement of aesthetics, reality, trauma, which also wants to be transformed into hope, all this is presented today here in the Smokehouse", said Mr. Tasoulas, adding that everyone individually "converses" with the installation. Tassoulas, closing his speech, noted that Cyprus "illustrates its adventure and, through this reflection of its adventure, it opens up a hope that confirms that for Cyprus too, we are not only human beings to be in pain." For her part, the Deputy Minister said that the art installation brings back the pain and mixed memories of the people of Famagusta, who in 1974 were forced to leave the land that gave birth to them, to them and to their ancestors. "It brings to light the faint memories of the city of Famagusta and what happened there before 1974. At the same time, it evokes the feelings of all refugees around the world and reflects the universal human fear of war," he noted. Thanking President Tasoulas for the invitation to present the work to the Greek public, he said that this is a special honour for Cyprus and its artists and, at the same time, it acquires substantial and strong symbolic implications in the context of the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion.
Then, at the invitation of Mr Tasoulas, the Deputy Minister visited the Greek Parliament where she was shown around the exhibition "Facing Freedom two centuries later" by the President of the Parliament himself and by the Curator of the exhibition and Curator of the Art Collection of the Parliament, Dr. Thodoris Koutsogiannis. The exhibition presents in an exemplary manner a brilliant part of national history through archival documents, works of art, publications and objects that converse with the building and premises of the Parliament itself. It focuses on the Greek Revolution, Philhellenism, the personality of Lord Byron, the Regency and the creation of the Greek state, while highlighting not only the wealth of the Greek Parliament's archives, but also our collective, historical, national wealth that is preserved and presented to future generations.
On the occasion of her visit to Athens, Dr. Kassianidou visited the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus, where she had a meeting with Ambassador Stavros Avgoustidis. In a spirit of solidarity and willingness to cooperate, the Deputy Minister and the Ambassador exchanged views on the use of cultural diplomacy, the area that unites the forces of the Ministry of Culture and the Embassy. It was underlined that the House of Cyprus, which is the cultural centre of our Embassy in Athens and comes under the Deputy Ministry, will be one of the vehicles for achieving common goals. In this context, it was decided to work together to ensure that the House of Cyprus is used to its full potential for the promotion of Cypriot culture in Greece. The Deputy Minister also met with the new Director of the House of Cyprus, Mr Diomedes Nikitas, as well as with the entire staff of the House of Cyprus. Thanking them for their overall contribution, the Deputy Minister pointed out that the Deputy Ministry will support their work to the greatest extent possible, drawing up a new strategic plan for the House of Cyprus so that it can emerge as the preeminent centre of Cypriot culture in Greece.
The Deputy Minister then went to the Cultural Centre of the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, which is firmly supported by the Deputy Ministry of Culture. There she was shown around by Ms Alexandra Georgopoulou and Mr Haris Tzortzakis and was informed about the uses of the Foundation's premises, the hosting of performances in two theatre stages, the film and television production workshops and the art exhibitions that take place, as well as the operation of a theatre school. In a meeting with the Director General of the Foundation, Ms. Xenia Kaldara, ways of strengthening the relationship and cooperation with the Deputy Ministry and the House of Cyprus were sought, since the objectives they serve are common. "Michael Cacoyannis is one of the most brilliant Greeks of modern history, a great figure for Cyprus and all of Hellenism, who left behind him as a legacy not only a world-class artistic work, but also his eponymous Foundation, which is a living centre of contemporary artistic creation. The Deputy Ministry of Culture aims to keep alive the vision of this great artist by maintaining and strengthening the institutional cooperation with the Foundation," the Deputy Minister stressed.
The Deputy Minister's visit to Greece concluded with her participation in the celebrations for the inscription of Zagori on the UNESCO World Heritage List, which took place in Vitsa Epirus, at the invitation of the Greek Minister of Culture and Sports, Mrs. Lina Mendoni. Present at the celebrations were the Greek Prime Minister Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the President of the Hellenic Parliament Mr. Konstantinos Tasoulas, the Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre Mr. Lazare Eloundou and the Director of its Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Mr. Boris Erg, as well as many state and local officials. Welcoming this great success of Greece, the Deputy Minister said that it is of great importance that for the first time a cultural landscape of Greece is included in the List, highlighting the importance of recent cultural heritage in shaping Greek culture. Through the recognition by UNESCO of the outstanding universal value of the traditional architecture of Zagorochoria, as a unique example of survival and preservation of Byzantine and Ottoman elements, the criteria are set to ensure the protection of the authenticity and integrity of this most important cultural landscape, contributing to a sustainable development, based on the universal values of tangible and intangible heritage that Zagori has preserved throughout the centuries. The presence of a representative of the Cypriot Government at such an important moment confirmed once again the close historical, brotherly ties between Cyprus and Greek Culture. It is an outgrowth of the fruitful discussions between the Deputy Minister and the Minister of Culture of Greece in the framework of the Cyprus-Greece High Cooperation Council, where, among other things, they agreed to encourage actions and initiatives related to cooperation within the institutional framework of the European Union, the Council of Europe, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other international organizations.
(EC/AF/EAθ)
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