Co-shaping the present and the future of the city
Over the past few days, Larnaca 2030 met with city groups and discussed with them the candidacy of Larnaca as European Capital of Culture and practical ways for citizens to participate in this exciting process of redefining and co-creating the city's cultural future.
- Meeting with shopkeepers of the shopping centre
On Wednesday 29 November, a meeting with shopkeepers of the city's historic center took place at the Larnaka 2030 Gallery. The consultation was a joint action of the organisation and the Association of Shopkeepers of the historic shopping center. Artistic Director Kelly Diapouli gave a short presentation, listing the main parameters of Larnaka's candidacy as European Capital of Culture. Then two joint projects with the shopkeepers were discussed. The first, which will run immediately, is the competition for the best Christmas window display. An action aimed at creatively activating the businesses in the shopping center on the occasion of the most beautiful celebration of the year. The prizes will be awarded at a special ceremony in January. The jury will be composed of members and partners of Larnaka 2030, its composition will be announced soon.
The second project seeks to upgrade the shopping center through visual interventions in the shop windows. The aim is to transform the shopping streets into open-air art exhibitions with each shop window being a stand-alone work of art. It will be a wonderful meeting of shopkeepers, artists and citizens that is expected to give a new impetus to the center of Larnaka. The shopkeepers listened with great interest and willingness to participate in the proposed projects and therefore a second meeting was agreed upon in January to proceed with the planning.
- Lecture by Nan van Houte
On Saturday 2 December 2023, dramatist Nan van Houte spoke to artists and citizens of Larnaka about art in difficult and transitional times. The title of her lecture, which took place at the Larnaka 2030 Gallery, was "Living art in a collapsing world: a not so funny story". One of the important messages of her lecture was the potential of living art to heal rifts and tensions and to work cohesively in the community. The invitation to Nan van Houte from Larnaka 2030 promotes the goal of connecting the local arts community with the international scene, which is high on the organisation's priorities. At the same time, it also contributes to the dialogue in relation to politically oriented art, which, while defending artistic expression as it should, dynamically connects it to the social and political context.
- Meeting with artists of the city
On Monday 4 December at the Larnaka 2030 Gallery the meeting-consultation with the visual artists of the city and the province took place. The meeting was initiated by the Larnaka Artists' Association. After a brief presentation of Larnaka's candidacy as European Capital of Culture by Kelly Diapouli, an open discussion with the visual artists about the artistic life of the city and their expectations for the future followed. Interesting ideas were heard that could form the basis of a joint project with Larnaka 2030. It was decided to have a next meeting in early 2024 with a predefined agenda to discuss specific ways of joint action.
