The Famagusta New Museum (FNM) Festival, funded by Active Citizens Fund Cyprus and an important step of the Pierides Foundation and KP10’s collaborative project, took place in Famagusta on Saturday, 13 April 2024, with a series of events that marked an important step towards cultural revival and social reconciliation in Cyprus. The festival started with the opening speech of the project team at Bandabuliya. In their opening speech, Yiannis Toumazis, Nurtane Karagil and Eralp Kortach thanked everyone who contributed to the festival and handed the stage over to Aysu Arsoy and Hacer Başarır who opened the programme. The duo kickstarted the programme by sharing the results of their research on ‘Delik Plajı’ (The Hole Beach), which is of great importance for Famagusta. The programme continued with Aysu Arsoy’s talk about the academic’s ‘Cabinet of Lost Memories’ project.
One of the most important moments of the day was the presentation of Famagusta New Museum‘s new sound maps and a discussion with the people of Famagusta who shared their memories for the creation of the sound maps. This innovative initiative brought together the voices and narratives of the community and enabled a deeper understanding of Famagusta’s rich heritage. Participants had the chance to visit and experience different maps throughout the day and the walks ended with fruitful discussions.
Guided tours of the exhibition, led by Melita Couta, Aysu Arsoy, Avghi Frangopoulou and the FNM team, provided participants with an immersive experience of the city’s history and culture and gave them the chance to witness Famagusta’s past, present and future through the different works on display.
The panel series concluded with the presentation of the intriguing Atlas of Countries That Don’t Exist project by Italian photographers Lavinia Parlamenti and Manfredi Pantanella. The programme at Bandabuliya continued with two simultaneous workshops. Artist Eleni Odysseos led a poster-making workshop for the imaginative and hopeful future editions of Famagusta Orange Festival, while the bαhçές team facilitated a discussion workshop again revolving around the same theme, orange, a former symbol of the city.
Unusual Things, another festival venue, hosted a screening of an animation video created by Mitos Performing Arts Centre with the poems and drawings of poet and artist Elena Toumazi Rembelina from Famagusta.
The festival ended with a music programme at Famagusta Kale Pasajı. Within the scope of the festival, Cemre Arca and Inal Bilsel shared their mesmerising performances and what inspires them whilst creating music with the audience. The festival ended with Annie Damianou’s DJ set.
“Today’s event demonstrates the power of cultural initiatives to promote understanding, reconciliation and community unity. We sincerely thank all the participants, volunteers and supporters who contributed to making this festival a great success,” said the festival team, adding that as the Famagusta New Museum initiative continues, so will its efforts to create inclusive spaces for dialogue, creativity and collective action to create positive change in Cyprus and beyond.
The Famagusta New Museum project benefits from a grant under the Active Citizens Fund Cyprus programme, funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, through the EEA and Norway Grants 2014-2021
