Face Forward ...into my home - Nicolina Stylianou

In an attempt to give a platform to the nationalities and cultures living in Nicosia, Nicosia International Festival collaborates with the ΕΜΣΤ | National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens for the Face Forward …into my home program. As part of this inclusion program, contemporary art acts as both a catalyst and a compass. Participants in the program took part in eight two-hour workshops during which they were invited to share feelings, memories, hopes and aspirations, inspired by artworks from the ΕΜΣΤ collection and the Cyprus collection of the State Gallery.

The exhibition of the Face Forward …into my home program includes photographic portraits and stories of fourteen people who were displaced from their homeland searching for hope for a better tomorrow in Nicosia. Their face and stories encourage us to see ourselves through theirs. The “other” becomes familiar. Their voice takes flesh. They invite us to confront our own story, to reflect, and to activate our multicultural selves. The project unravels the social reality that prevents the mosaic of cultures constituting Nicosia from emerging.

Idea-Design-Implementation of the program
Marina Tsekou, ΕΜΣΤ | Contemporary Art Museum Athens
Giannis Vastardis, Photographer

Exhibition and program curation in Cyprus
Yiannis Kourtoglou
George G. Papageorgiou
Nicolina Stylianou

Photographic portraits
Yiannis Kourtoglou

Composition of stories
Nicolina Stylianou

Proofreading of stories
Vivian Constanta (English)
Andreas Nicolaides (Greek)

Interpretations
Korhan Beyaz Korey (French – English), Maryan Dahir Ilmi (Somali – English), Mahmoud Zara (Arabic – English), Zahra Mashy (Arabic – English – Greek)

Participants
Amani, Anisa, Bob, Christina, Cocolika, Farhan, Irene, Jacqueline, Jean-Jacques, Maher, Sadik, Shugkri, Stephane, Vie

Transcription of workshop discussions
Sasha Dawood, Andreas Marcou, Ilia Pellapaisiotou

Workshop assistance
Chrystalla Michael

Photography – Videography of workshops
Yiannis Kourtoglou, Nicos Savvides, Kenan Massri

Artworks as presented to participants
Christina Dimitriadis, “Berlin/Studio” and “Thessaloniki/Living Room II” (1995)
Klitsa Antoniou, “Birth Certificate” (2004)
Panos Kokkinias, “Arcadia” (2011)
Lia Lapithi, “Test tube table” (2006)
Maria Tsangari “I couldn’t bear living without you” (2017)
Nikos Kouroussis, “Ypervatiko Taxidi” (from the Odyssey series) (1986)
Maria Loizidou, “War Loot” (2000)

Read the stories of participants here: https://www.nicosiaforart.cy/en-gb/nicosia-international-festival/2024/parallel/face-forward/

Opening of the exhibition
photos by Nicos Savvides