Cyprus-Forum.com

[sadik]

Is anybody aware that probably one of the most important art events of Europe, Manifesta, was going to be held in Nicosia year and it was cancelled in the end?

Manifesta curators were planning to open 3 art schools in Nicosia for this event, one of which would be placed in the north.

One of the curators:
‘What tangibly changed some time after Cyprus entered the EU’, Vidokle continues, ‘was the unspoken policy of the government of the Republic of Cyprus to put more pressure on the Turkish Cypriots by further isolating them socially, culturally, economically, etc. Manifesta 6 was in direct conflict with this policy.’

In summary, GC authorities invited this event and it's claimed that they pulled the plug when they realized it was against their official policy, somewhat similar to the case of filmmaker Panicos Chrysanthou.

For more details read:
http://www.frieze.com/column_single.asp?c=341

[Viewpoint]

Whats new, you must be used to it by now.

[observer]

Reported in Cyprus Mail on 4 June 2006. Go to http://www.cyprus-mail.com and search their archive.

[sadik]

Reported in Cyprus Mail on 4 June 2006. Go to http://www.cyprus-mail.com and search their archive.

The above mentioned article is here:
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.ph ... &archive=1

All the related Cyprus Mail articles are here:
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/search. ... yrelevance

[cypezokyli]

yes it ceated a whole scandal, some time ago.

speaking to some artists that were involved, the people responsible are also to blame , but once again the the goverment couldnot consider the costs of such an event not happening in cyprus.

well, the relation of our govermant with art is in any case non-existant

[sadik]

yes it ceated a whole scandal, some time ago.

speaking to some artists that were involved, the people responsible are also to blame , but once again the the goverment couldnot consider the costs of such an event not happening in cyprus.

well, the relation of our govermant with art is in any case non-existant

I guess I'm a bad art follower, because I heard about the whole thing only yesterday in a radio program. It's like not knowing that Olympics would be held in Cyprus and was cancelled.

[reportfromcyprus]

Doubly ironic when you consider that Manifesta was established to celebrate community unity after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

[cypezokyli]

what was rediculous from the point of the organisers (as far as i ve heard), what that they insisted that manifesta is not political. this is absurd, because manifesta is political. it is in favor of peace, and that is why it tends to choose conflict regions for its projects. they should have stand up for their position and not try to hide behind "neutrality".

if i remember correctly we got stuck on whether a couple of galleries would operate also in the north.

the point is simple. cyprus lost the opportunity of having such a big event , that would attract people from the world of art to our country. moreover, manifesta by principle is an attempt to show how art unites people, but i guess we failed to understand that as well. gc ant tc artist were also supposed to participate.

if i am not mistakne in the last manifesta a british-tc artist also participated