XXV

NiMAC [The Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre, Associated with the Pierides Foundation] is celebrating this year twenty-five years of continuous creative presence in the cultural life of Cyprus.

To commemorate its twenty-five years of continuous contribution to the Arts, NiMAC is organizing the exhibition XXV: An audio-visual recollection of the Art Centre’s long history through the rich archives of NiMAC. The exhibition will open its doors to the public on 15 October 2019 at 19:00 and on 30 October at 19:30 a special event will take place during which the Mayor of Nicosia, Constantinos Yiorkadjis, will honour Demetris Z. Pierides for his great contribution. A reception will follow. The exhibition is curated by Maria Efstathiou and Xenios Symeonides.

It was 14 January 1994, when the Arts Centre opened its doors for the first time to the art lovers of the capital, but also of the whole of Cyprus. The then Mayor of Nicosia, Lellos Demetriades, and Demetris Z. Pierides, President of the Pierides Foundation, in the presence of the former President of the Republic of Cyprus, Glafkos Clerides welcomed the public to the first major thematic exhibition of the Arts Centre, entitled The Tree: Source of Inspiration, Cause of Creation. Since then, NiMAC has been at the forefront in organizing exhibitions and other high-level events, which have left an indelible mark on the recent history of visual arts in Cyprus.

During the twenty-five years of its operation, NiMAC has organized and presented more than 100 exhibitions of modern and contemporary art with the participation of well-known artists from Cyprus, Greece and abroad. Moreover, in collaboration with museums, art centres and cultural institutions of European and other countries, it has organized a large number of important visual arts, historical and archaeological exhibitions.

Among the objectives NiMAC set right from the start, was to open up new channels of communication and cooperation between Cyprus and other countries, mainly European; to establish and encourage collaborations between artists and cultural managers in Cyprus and abroad; to introduce to the public new trends, tendencies and ideas in the fields of art and culture; and to provide ample opportunities to Cypriot artists for fruitful collaboration with their counterparts from other countries.

NiMAC has been, and continues to be, innovative and pioneering, providing, along with its exhibition programme, numerous multifaceted pedagogical activities. Apart from educational programmes, designed by specialists in the framework of specific exhibitions, the Educational Centre for Children, which is housed in a renovated building of the Old Powerhouse complex and was inaugurated in 2008, offers children and youngsters specialized courses and workshops in Contemporary Art, Engraving, Cinema and the New Media.

The OPAP City Theatre began its operation in 2017, aiming primarily at bringing closer together performative and visual arts. The City Theatre, also housed in a renovated industrial building, seeks to promote experimentation and innovation in both performance and visual arts. This year the OPAP City Theatre collaborates with Lia Haraki’s dance group “Pelma”, organizing an international programme dedicated to performance.

Along with its exhibitions, NiMAC regularly organizes international conferences, round table discussions, lectures and presentations with the participation of prominent personalities of the international scene. Moreover, it has established annual programmes, such as Open Call and Project Room, which provide Cypriot artists with the opportunity to execute large-scale installations or carry out research in experimental projects.

Since 2012, NiMAC has been operating a Residency Programme for scholars and artists. As part of this programme, annual collaborations with the Universities of Plymouth and Southampton in the United Kingdom, as well as that of Amiens in France, have been established. The Arts Centre also participates in major European cultural programmes.

The building complex of NiMAC also houses the Demetris Z. Pierides History of Art Library that features an extensive collection of art publications, as well as some very rare editions of books, art magazines and journals.