This week, we at PPI-NI are proud to welcome PPI-Cyprus to Belfast. In getting a taste of what Northern Ireland has to offer and a chance to see PPI-NI in action, the Cyprus team will be nothing short of busy.

Team Cyprus visiting City Hall

Upon the arrival of “Team Cyprus” yesterday, the PPI-NI staff briefed them on what our work is like in Northern Ireland and how their situation in Cyprus was comparable. It was an eye opening conversation that gave all of us here in NI an enlightened view on the divisions that encompass the two communities in Cyprus and the work being done by PPI-CY. Afterwards, we took a joint trip to Stormont, the parliament building for Northern Ireland. PPI-NI board member Jim Fitzpatrick gave the group a tour of the building and an insiders view into the Northern Ireland political scene. It was the first experience of Stormont for the Cypriot staff but also some of the local PPI-NI staff as well. By seeing where the local government operates and decisions that affect our work are made, it was a positive experience for both teams.

For the next three days, both PPI teams will be engaging in primary school twinnings, conflict resolution workshops, teambuilding activities and a bit of Northern Irish site seeing. We at PPI-NI could not be more pleased to be hosting PPI-Cyprus and are excited for the week ahead. While the language of division is common to Cyprus and Northern Ireland, so too is the ambition and progressive attitudes of PPI’s staff in both locations, working towards shared futures.

Check the end of this post to learn how you can help support PeacePlayers International for free with just two simple clicks.

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PPI - SA is PeacePlayers International's oldest program, and much of what it does today was first implemented in post-apartheid South Africa.

PeacePlayers International has grown, generally speaking, organically. Each of our four international locations has a unique history, and each successive program has been able to learn from the efforts that have come before, while tailoring itself to the particular needs of the communities in which it operates. As a result, no two PPI locations look exactly the same. This diversity helps make exchanges extremely beneficial, as they enable each program to learn from the particular methods developed by its peers.

This week, we’re extremely excited for our first exchange of the year, generously funded by the European Union’s Commission to Cyprus. Our coaches and staff in Cyprus will be traveling to Belfast for the entire week, soaking up PPI – Northern Ireland’s lessons and methods. Activities will include attending practices and games, meeting with PPI – NI volunteers and stakeholders, and some local sight-seeeing. It’s an unparalleled opportunity for the staff in Cyprus to learn about how basketball’s used to bridge divides in a very different but similar context.

Rory O'Neil is one of the PPI-CY staffmembers making the trip to Belfast, and he'll be updating all of his about the trip each day here on From the Field.

Among the travelers will be PPI – CY’s Fellow and blogger extraordinaire, Rory O’Neil. Rory’s promised to provide daily updates, so, just as he and the Cyprus team immerses themselves in all that PPI – NI has to offer, so too will you, our worldwide constituents. Keep your eyes right here on From the Field this week for the latest from Belfast.

Want to take a simple action to support PeacePlayers International?  We’re now eligible for inclusion in the latest edition of CauseWorld, a mobile app that lets you earn “karmas” – badges backed up by donations from Citi and Kraft – for your favorite causes just by visiting your own local hangouts. Vote for PPI to be one of three new Causes included for this round. (You can find us fourth from the bottom of the list on the right.) There’s no registration required and, with just a few seconds of your time, you’ll help others support PPI for a lifetime!

Showing at a school near you

The kids’ school, American Academy, has been playing its part to raise money for the disaster reconstruction in Haiti. Among the popular ideas, dressing up as historical figures (with a contribution to school funds for the privilege). Joel went along as a pirate.

We did quite a bit of research into genuine pirate’s names, but the teacher circumvented all that by telling Joel he would be that notable historical pirate, Cap’n Jack Sparrow. The Caribbean link does seem somehow appropriate.

Cyprus busts largest antiquity smuggling network

NICOSIA, CYPRUS – Cyprus authorities said on Monday they had uncovered the island’s largest ever antiquities smuggling ring trying to sell stolen artefacts for 11.5 million euros (S$22.8 million).

Ten Cypriots have been detained in custody while authorities have issued arrest warrants against five other suspects – including a Syrian – in connection with the case, police said.

Some of the objects date back to 2000 BC and include pottery, coins and small golden statuettes.
According to the antiquities department many of the finds came from sites in Cyprus while other artefacts originate from countries yet to be determined.

Police said they had 110 officers on the case after being alerted by Greek authorities when a Greek undercover policeman was approached by someone offering the treasure for sale in Cyprus.

“By cooperating with the Greek authorities were able to track and locate this smuggling ring,” Communications Minister Nicos Nicolaides told reporters on Monday.

However, the case also raises questions about security surrounding the island’s archaeological sites.

“This is our heritage and the most precious things we have so they should be made safe,” said Nicolaides.

Police are also investigating whether the suspects are linked to a wider international smuggling network.

Authorities on the British bases in Cyprus also helped in the search of properties where the cultural treasures were hidden. –AFP

Best foot forward

Poetry in motion – it looks like Joel is developing some new skate-dancing moves in the forest, but actually he’s just struggling to keep his footing on a bumpy path.

We visited part of the Athalassa Park that we haven’t been to before – St George’s park, more of a formal garden with a track around a pond – but the paths were great for the girls to cycle on. Not so good for skating, though.

There are feral cats around the lake in the main part of Athalassa Park, but nothing to match those at St George’s. They emerge from the undergrowth in large numbers at the sound of a crackling plastic bag.

At 9 minutes past 10:00am on January 16th, PPI-CY hit the airwaves in Cyprus.

This past Saturday, PPI-CY made its way onto the radio waves of Cyprus with a bang! RIK Radio 97.2, of the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation, invited PPI-CY to come on its Saturday morning bi-communal radio show during the 10:00 hour to “release the peace” into the airwaves of Cyprus. This is one of the very few radio productions on the island that is actually broadcast in both Turkish and Greek, enabling a wider audience to tune in and listen. PPI-CY MD Marina Vasilara, TC Coordinator Orhun Mevlit, and PPI-CY participants Teslime Kaya (TC, Iskele/Trikomo) and Irene Kostea (GC, Agros) all went on the air and talked with the station’s radio hosts for about an hour. This show is unique because in Cyprus there exists an ever-present language barrier between the two communities, which is even more daunting to the youngest citizens of Cyprus.  97.2’s Saturday morning radio broadcast takes the time to translate the words of its’ guests into Greek and Turkish every 3-4 minutes to ensure that the entire island is able to listen in.

Marina (left), and Irene talking to the show's host on air.

The group talked about PPI-CY’s history in Cyprus from the arrival of Zach Leverenz in the fall of 2006 to the present day. Marina and Orhun outlined PPI-CY’s place in Cypriot civil society as well as explained to all listeners the locations of PPI-CY’s programs, teams, and schools that are a part of PPI-CY. Both hosts asked Irene and Teslime about their feelings and experiences in PPI-CY.  Explained Teslime, “I am adding to the movement.” Irene explained that while she lives in nationalistic surroundings  and has friends who have some pretty stiff feelings about “the other side,” she does not hold this view and really enjoys being a part of PeacePlayers International. In fact, at one point last year she was the only Greek-Cypriot girl to attend a certain bi-communal event, and it didn’t seem to phase her at all.

In closing, Marina explained to the listeners that PPI-CY believes that Cypriot children from both communities represent the hope of the future for Cyprus. “We can certainly learn a lot from them,” she added. Orhun used much stronger words to describe PPI-CY’s place in Cyprus. He brought up several key events in history and explained that real change often comes from the grassroot level first, and that he truly believes that the actions taken by PPI-CY participants are in same category of “major actions of change.” We agree, Orhun, we agree.

Marina being interviewed over the phone by 92.8, Astra Radio.

Saturday wasn’t the only time that PPI-CY made onto the air-waves of Cyprus this week. PPI-CY Managing Director Marina Vasilara was interviewed for a 5 minute spot on the Astra Radio Station (92.8) to be aired later next week. PPI-CY is grateful for the opportunity to explain our programs and thanks 92.8 and 97.2 for assisting PPI-CY in spreading its message of peace through basketball all over the island.

Teslime, Orhun, and Irene following the broadcast. Looks like they had fun, right?

Οι Συντελεστές του Skyscrapercity.com/cyprus χαιρετίζουν την απόφαση για σωστή αξιοποίηση του χώρου του παλαιού ΓΣΠ με τρόπο που θα εξυπηρετούνται όλες οι ανάγκες των δημοτών της Λευκωσίας, και όχι μόνο μερικών που ”νίκησαν” σε μια αναξιόπιστη/μη αντιπροσωπευτική/ανακριβής σφυγμομέτρηση. Δυστυχώς κάποιοι αντιτίθενται στα ψηλά κτήρια χάριν ιδεολογίας, λες και έχουμε την πολυτέλεια σε καιρούς οικονομικής κρίσης να υποσκάπτουμε την ανάπτυξη. Η ανάγκη, όμως, ύπαρξης ψηλών κτηρίων δεν αποτελεί απλά θέμα ιδεολογικής επιλογής ή “γούστου” της σύγχρονης κοινωνίας.

Πρόκειται για αναγκαιότητα, αν φυσικά θέλουμε να έχουμε μια καλύτερη ποιότητα ζωής στις πόλεις μας. Χωρίς ψηλά κτίρια θα καταλήξουμε να ζούμε σε τερατώδεις τσιμεντούπολεις που θα επεκτείνονται ως το άπειρο. Είναι πραγματικά οξύμωρο κάποιοι να εναντιώνονται, με οικολογικά κριτήρια, στην ανέγερση των πρώτων ψηλών κτηρίων στη Κύπρο ενώ στην πραγματικότητα αυτοί θα έπρεπε να τα επιζητούν. Ειδικότερα στο κέντρο της Λευκωσίας.

Ο λόγος είναι πολύ απλός. Τα ψηλά κτήρια στην πράξη δημιουργούν πολύ περισσότερους χώρους πρασίνου αφού οι πόλεις δεν χρειάζεται να επεκτείνονται ες αεί προς τα περίχωρα δημιουργώντας ένα τεράστιο και δύσβατο σύμπλεγμα τσιμέντου. Αναπτύσσοντας μια πόλη προς τα πάνω δημιουργούμε ευκαιρίες για περισσότερους πράσινους χώρους.

Δεν είναι τυχαίο που ένα από τα μεγαλύτερα και ωραιότερα πάρκα στον κόσμο βρίσκεται στη μητέρα των ψηλών κτηρίων, τη Νέα Υόρκη. Επομένως, στόχος των “οικολόγων” θα έπρεπε να είναι τα φτηνά 5όροφα και 6όροφα κτήρια μέτριας αρχιτεκτονικής που ξεφυτρώνουν δεξιά και αριστερά στη Λευκωσία χαραμίζοντας πολύτιμο χώρο, αντί τα ψηλά κτήρια που κατα γενικό κανόνα είναι υψηλής αισθητικής.

Εάν η ανάπτυξη της Λευκωσίας και των λοιπών πόλεων συνεχισθεί με το σκεπτικό των χαμηλών κτηρίων τότε με μαθηματική ακρίβεια δεν θα μείνει δέντρο ούτε για δείγμα στη Κύπρο. Και όλα αυτά για χάρη μιας ιδεολογικής διαφωνίας ορισμένων με τα ψηλά κτήρια; Διότι περί αυτού πρόκειται. Κανείς δεν αρνήθηκε την δημιουργία πάρκου στο χώρο του ΓΣΠ αφού το πιο εύκολο θα ήταν να φυτέψουμε μερικές ελιές βαφτίζοντας το παλιό ΓΣΠ ”οικολογικό πάρκο” και κλείνοντας το θέμα. Απλώς το πάρκο θα δημιουργηθεί παράλληλα με ένα έργο εκατομμυρίων το οποίο θα διασφαλίσει όχι μόνο την βιωσιμότητα του πάρκου αλλά και την ποιότητά του.

Σ’αυτό το σημείο να θυμίσουμε πως αναλογικά πολλά (άδεια) πάρκα υπάρχουν στη Λευκωσία σε απόσταση 5-10 λεπτών από οπουδήποτε. Επιπλέον, με ταξιδάκι 30 μόνο λεπτών μπορούμε να βρισκόμαστε σε πραγματικό δάσος και όχι σε ένα υποκατάστατο αυτού, ένεκα του ότι ζούμε σε ένα υπέροχο νησί. Αν πραγματικά θέλουμε να διαφυλάξουμε αυτό το νησί οφείλουμε κάποια στιγμή να πάρουμε την απόφαση πως θα πρέπει να υψώνονται ψηλά κτήρια στα κέντρα των πόλεών μας. Στην Λευκωσία δεν έχουμε ούτε Παρθενώνα ούτε κάτι άλλο για να επηρεαστεί ο χαρακτήρας του ορίζοντα. Μόνο μιναρέδες.

Τα ενετικά τείχη, που ούτως η άλλως είναι ένα μνημείο εδάφους, δεν θα επηρεαστούν με αυτό τον τρόπο.

TC Coordinator Orhun Mevlit and Managing Director Marina Vasilara address over 100 kids at the English School in Nicosia.

A new year for PeacePlayers International – Cyprus means  new programs, new grants, and, most importantly, new young people. PPI-CY started off the new year on very good terms. On Tuesday, January 12, Greek Cypriot Coordinator Marios Argyrou, Turkish Cypriot Coordinator Orhun Mevlit, Managing Director Marina Vasilara, and Program Director Rory O’Neil held an assembly to introduce new basketball teams at the English School in Nicosia to over 100 boys and girls, ages 12-14. Every student in attendance watched the 2007 ESPY Awards ceremony that honored PeacePlayers International’s work in Northern Ireland.

(From R-L) Marina, Orhun, and Marios chat with the English School Headmaster, Deborah Duncan after the school assembly. She looks pretty impressed!

The English School, one of Cyprus’ oldest and most accredited high schools, is one of the few high schools on the island open to both Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots. PPI-CY is forming two new Junior Varsity teams (boys and girls) that will start pracing next week and become an integral part of the school’s massive after-school activities program. We knew that we were in the right place when during registration yesterday, the boys demanded that we start practicing as soon as possible. They had a choice: start next week inside the gymnasium, or start Friday (today) outside in possibly gloomy weather. Practice starts today at 1pm local time.

Also this past week, PPI-CY secured a $15,000 grant from the U.S. Embassy here in Cyprus. The grant involves two twinnings for each PPI-CY team, and an island-wide tournament which will take place in March or April. This is the 2nd year in a row that PPI-CY has secured funding from the U.S. Embassy and is extremely happy and excited to be working with the Embassy again this year. Last year’s Embassy project was one of the most successful projects for PPI-CY.

Some of the team in Northern Ireland. Are they ready to square off againt PPI - CY?

Also, all of PPI-CY’s coaches will travel together to Northern Ireland for a 5-day emersion trip in conjunction with the E.U.’s People-2-People Youth Exchanges II project which aims to “bring the Turkish-Cypriot community closer to the European Union.” PPI-Northern Ireland has graciously accepted to play the role of host to the traveling group. Activities on the docket include a day-long conflict resolution training with PPI-NI’s one and only Tony Macaulay, tours of Belfast, team-building excercises and retreats, as well as excursions to witness PPI-NI’s twinning proram. There is event talk of a possible PPI-NI vs. PPI-CY coaches’ basketball game to finally settle the centuries-old debate: who is better at basketball, Cyprus or Northern Ireland?  While the grant is geared towards Turkish-Cypriot coaches, all PPI-CY staff and coaches will head to Northern Ireland in the first half of February to take part in a once-in-a lifetime experience.

Cafer at a PPI-CY event in Lapta back in 2006.

In addition to new teams and new grants, PPI-CY is also welcoming two new coaches to our staff. Cafer Muhtaroglu will coach a Turkish-Cypriot team of boys in North Nicosia, and Fatma Cambazoglu will step in for Zalihe Yucel in coaching the Lapta girls’ team. Zalihe has juts gone on maternity leave and will take a “holiday” from coaching for a few months.  Some of you might remember Cafer. At one time, he was the Turkish-Cypriot Coordinator for PPI-CY during it’s start-up period in Cyprus. He now returns to coaching by bringing a team of 11-12 year old boys into the PPI realm for their first time. Welcome Fatma, and welcome back Cafer!

2010 has certainly started off as an exciting and very promising year for PPI-CY. Around the world, a number of nonprofits are having a tough time financially, and an even more difficult time achieving some stability during a very unstable time. PPI-CY is truly blessed to be able to increase, rather than decrease the number of participants that are exposed to our program, as well as add new coaches, new programs, implement new grants, and offer amazing trainning programs and experiences for its coaches and staff members. This is a testament to the power of PeacePlayers International’s message – that even a global financial crisis cannot stop the freight-train of a movement that is PeacePlayers International.

It's going to be a great 2010 for PPI - CY!

The PPI-CY girls huddle up before taking the court at halftime.

As PPI – Cyprus begins to ramp up its activity again following the holidays, we’re taking a look back at one event that got the program off to a great start in 2009. On January 29th, two integrated teams visited a Women’s Europe Cup game between KV Imperial AEL, a team from Limassol traditionally supported by many Greek-Cypriots, and Galatasary, from Istanbul. In an atmosphere with noticeable tension, the PPI – CY girls had a chance to show the whole nation the better future that is possible, as they handed out roses to players during the pre-game introductions, scrimmaged on the court at half-time, and even spoke in an interview on national television. Wrote Rory O’Neil, Cyprus’ PPI Fellow at the time:

In addition to the significance of the EuroCup game, the event fostered an intense political atmosphere as Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot fans sat on opposite sides of the court and were joined by a noticeable police presence.  The match was stopped once in the first half as objects were launched onto the court from the stands…However, seated behind the south basket, near the Galatasaray bench, was a glimpse of a better day and a brighter future. The PeacePlayers International-Cyprus (PPI-CY) bi-communal basketball teams enjoyed the game together and spent an enjoyable evening with their teammates and friends.

You can get the whole story here.

Sports in the City, a Greek-language newspaper also covered the event. Click below for an English translation of the article.

Manolis square. 20th Nov '09. Photo: Diyala Muir. all rights reserved

Ο Μανώλης το δέντρο στολίστηκε με φωτούθκια για τις ανάγκες της διαφήμισης Τράπεζας Κύπρου

————————————————————————

Manolis the tree was decorated with lights for the filming of an advert for the bank of Cyprus

Biking by the lake in Athalassas Park

Back in the summer we went to Athalassa Dam lake at the nearby park and found the lake dry, a mat of dried algae with the scattered remains of crayfish and other lacustrine creatures. See the post here.

As the unusually heavy rains fell in autumn and winter, the lake quickly filled up. It’s now a beautiful environment, with fish and noisy frogs in the water, waterfowl swimming on the surface, and various shades of brown and green on the trees around it. The well-maintained paths all around the lake are great for walking, skating and cycling, and the whole park has a sense of being maintained by people who love Cyprus’s natural beauty while being actively managed for a variety of purposes. A great place to start the year.

Factoid: the park, which is managed by the government’s Department of Forests, is 840 hectares in size.

January 1st by the lake - an unusually autumnal scene

Mandy and Kieran get a grip

In Nairobi we had occasional access to one of very few ice skating rinks in sub-Saharan Africa (some say the only one outside South Africa … anyone know for sure?)  There are a few more opportunities to ice skate here, but the one Jane and the kids find most fun is the slightly bumpy rink-in-a-tent just under the mediaeval walls of old Nicosia.

The staff enjoy the money (ten euros an hour per skater) and are friendly enough. They even take a relaxed view about Kira and let her in for free, though she’s better than at least half the skaters on there at any given time. But they also don’t seem to like the cold, so they have high-powered patio burners on the whole time. That causes the ice to melt; steam rises and condenses on the canvas roof. Then it drops down onto the ice, where it freezes into cold lumps, hence the bumpy surface.

Slide rule

In general Cypriots don’t seem to take to the ice, so – even though we’ve just come from the African equator – the family looks very good on skates. I say the family, deliberately excluding myself.  My centre of gravity became dislodged by some early trauma or other, and tries to rectify itself in low-friction situations by repositioning my rump over my left shoulder. Very ungainly on the ice.

Joel ponders how to help Kieran, who is blurring and turning invisible with the effort

We’ve taken a few friends along, from relative novice Kieran, through occasional-skater Bastian and Mandy, and angel of the ice-floes Maia. It’s always a good hour out.

Maia, Anisa and Kira in their stride

Hate Breeds Hate by HajiMike

‘Never Again’ as cliché as it sounds, the words today are more relevant than ever. One reason why I am such an anti-Nazi dates back to the late 1970’s and a lecture a survivor of the concentration camps gave to us about the abhorrent, inhumane system created by Hitler.  Of late Nazism has acquired a new kind of appeal with new generations who know as much about Hitler as they do a James Dean movie. Nazism, like James Dean has a mythic status, although James does not harm ones health and peace of mind. It’s simple really; from Ukraine to Cyprus fascism is rising. Their scapegoats today are so-called illegal migrants. They advocate the purity of the race with such fanaticism. Lacking depth and knowledge of what notions of racially fuelled societies have done to the world from Hitler and Mussolini to Apartheid in South Africa they are such a sorry bunch of people. In Cyprus, an organisation attempting to ‘rally the Hellenes’  under the name ELAM has an office in Makarios Avenue, the main shopping street where most people hang out in pretentious cafes. It’s puzzling how they can afford the rent, particularly considering their relative newness on the Cypriot political landscape. Their main slogan is ‘’Each foreign worker = an unemployed Cypriot‘ . Their web site also includes open admiration for EOKA ’B’ the fascists responsible for destroying democracy in  Cyprus in 1974 – after all they provoked the Turkish invasion following an illegal coup. This current slogan however is more mythical than anything heard to date in Cyprus politics and it is something this scribe has warned many people about in recent years – namely the sinister rise of the extreme right.

This Sunday, two days after Christmas,  this group of fanaticized youths, about 80 in total tried to spew their vitriolic thoughts on a society that has paid way too much at the hands of extremists in the last 50 years. Several hundred anti-racist demonstrators turned out to oppose their presence, making it clear that some people at least would not let Nazis walk the streets of Nicosia without resistance.

It’s no coincidence, at the other northern end of Europe, in the Ukraine, a similar event occurred utilizing the same anti-immigration discourse. Contemporary Ukrainian nouveau goose steppers go one step further than their Cyprus hybrids. They are openly eulogizing Ukrainian nationalists who collaborated with Hitler during the Second World War.

Much of this is a re-mythologized version of history which also echoes various eager conservative politicians who have tried, rather inaccurately to underestimate the role played by the then Soviet Union in the eastern front against the Nazis. These vain efforts – who could ever underestimate the human sacrifice of the battle of Stalingrad – have in some ways provided a comfort zone for contemporary nationalists and Nazi followers to exploit potential followers, fooling them on the past and with anti-immigration misinformation on the present.

Which takes me back to what’s happening in Cyprus and the slogan of a loony fringe group that links people from many countries that have come to work or live in Cyprus with rising unemployment. The equation recalls the anti-Semitism of Nazi ideology; itself the biggest lie ever told.

People in Cyprus,as non EU 3rd country nationals are the most exploited, oppressed group of sufferers – the kind of communities sociologists could write countless surveys on poor living conditions, super-exploitation, overcrowded housing, state discrimination and everyday persecution.  How these people are targetted as the cause of unemployment is also mind-boggling as the majority of the jobs undertaken by immigrants in Cyprus are jobs at wages that Cypriots would not work. For example, the set wage for domestic workers is 308 Euros per month – several hundred below the average wage.

Finally, the person who speaks for the racist fringe group dabbling in Nazi semiotics, swastikas included, is from Greece. It has always baffled me how any Greek person, including all the ‘Golden Yawners’ on planet earth, can in their sane right mind be Nazis. 300,000 Greeks died of starvation under Nazi occupation. In total 700,500 civilians died in Greece during the war plus 35,100 military deaths. 21,000 people were executed in cold blood, their only ’sin’ being resisting the occupations. A further 71,300 Jewish people died in the  Holocaust. The  total losses in Greece reached 806,900 equal to 11.17% of the population. How any one can claim  to be Greek and proud and  Nazi is so oxymoronic that it is  beyond any reasonable level of human decency.

Nazism is just as unwanted in Cyprus as it is the world over. It contradicts our past, present and future and Cypriots, like all human beings the world over, should never allow it to rise again.

apotheke gallery. Nicosia. 4th Dec '09. Photo: Pan. all rights reserved

<”the exhibition was actually called ‘Oh …shit’. The white tiles were a big success”>

<”Η έκθεση είχε τίτλο ‘Oh …shit’. Τα άσπρα μάρμαρα πάντως ήταν επιτυχία”>

apotheke gallery. Nicosia. 4th Dec '09. Photo: Pan. all rights reserved

apotheke gallery. Nicosia. 4th Dec '09. Photo: Pan. all rights reserved

Opening on December 9 at Diatopos Gallery, I Land, the third solo exhibition of Greek Cypriot artist Melita Couta, is presenting the cartography of an improbable land. The artist is using several media, among them a series of drawings, ink on paper, in which tenuous and innumerable lines intermingle skillfully, spread their plait in various shades, and bring to our mind the memory of Atopos, a non-existing place. You can visit the exhibition up until January 15, 2010.
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