Curator & Coordinator

‘Matter & Community’ brings the villages of Lasa and Fyti into a multi-faceted dialogue centred on the materials of stone and earth, by merging contemporary art, vernacular architecture and folklore. The programme includes an art exhibition, an art residency, a variety of workshops, a participatory walk, and a documentary screening, all with the purpose of drawing through these different modalities and forms of engagement, local oral knowledge, memories, stories, and the mythologies surrounding these materials.

Although often regarded as lifeless matter, within this cultural programme they take on new dimensions and come to life through the revitalisation of community spaces and cultural centres, caves, courtyards, and footpaths across Lasa and Fyti — two villages with remarkable and unique traditional stone-built architecture. The project highlights the symbiosis and interactions between landscape and home, matter and daily life, geology and habitats through a process-based documentation and archiving of the ecological and ethnographic interdependencies shaping these built and (agri)cultural environments.

The exhibition includes diverse artistic approaches to explore how stone and earth shaped local cultural and architectural heritage. The exhibition presents works by Cypriot and international artists, as well as by local residents, alongside archival photographic and audiovisual material. It functions as a polyphonic synthesis, offering various interpretations of the materiality of stone and earth—not only as building materials that embrace and shelter generations, but also as the skeleton of the landscape upon which every intervention by our forebears is inscribed. ‘Matter & Community’ also attempts to recognise the multidimensional and diverse creativity prevalent in rural regions, given the prevailing misconception that art is produced in urban centres while primarily crafts are produced in the peripheries.

This programme also aims to foster interest among the younger generation of construction workers in local stonemasonry craft. In collaboration with the Pafos Technical School, interactive seminars will be organised where master craftsmen who still know how to perform local techniques will pass on their knowledge to students and interested members of the public. Hands-on workshops will also be available to the wider public, led by local and other Cypriot experts. Finally, the programme focuses on documenting and archiving the ecological, and ethnographic interactions shaping our built and (agri)cultural environments.

Curated by: Denise Araouzou
Exhibition design: Angeliki Koutsodimitropoulou
Participating artists: Elena Adamou, Paky Vlassopoulou, Peter Eramian, Elina Ioannou, Sedef Karayel, Mechtild Meyer, Paris Christodoulou, incl. archival material from the Cypriot Broadcasting Coorporation - RIK.
Graphic design: Philippos Vassiliades

exhibition details

Opening 17 October 17:00 - 20:00
Duration 18 October - 18 December

Opening hours Tuesday - Sunday, 10:00 - 17:00
Please get in touch to confirm your visit on 99696043.

Location Cultural Centre of Fyti, Directions

** Exhibition Layout & Work Descriptions **

public programme 

All events are free to attend. When noted, registration is recommended.  Stay updated on ︎ or ︎. 

participants

Presentations Demetra Ignatiou, Dr Miltiadis Polydorou, Sevina Floridou
Guided tour Local residents
Walking route documentation Alexia Dimitriades
Workshops Paky Vlassopoulou, Peter Eramian, Dimitris Alexandrou, Terract
Screening Antonia Theodosiou, President of the 'Stone Upon Stone' Foundation, former Commissioner for the Environment and Animal Welfare, and Vice-President of the International Association for the Interdisciplinary Study of Drystone Walling.

programme 

Participatory walk
Storytelling through Lasa & Fyti
14 November, 10:00 – 13:00
Starting point: Fyti Church Square
(in Greek, with English translation)

The storytelling tour will take place across the villages of Fyti and Lasa, passing through courtyards, houses, nature trails, fields and caves, offering participants the chance to immerse themselves in the landscape, its sounds, textures and colours, whilst also contributing to its collective mapping.
 
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Presentation
Reading the Stones: Archaeological and Geological Readings
by Demetra Ignatiou and Dr Miltiadis Polydorou
14 November, 15:00 – 16:00
Cultural Centre of Fyti
(in Greek)

Stone-built structures, or what remains of them, are often the subject of archaeological excavations in our region. Their presence at an archaeological site provides us with valuable information not only about the period in which they were built, but also about the society and the people who worked on their construction. The presentation by Demetra Ignatiou and Dr Miltiadis Polydorou examines stones as an archive of memory and knowledge. By observing and studying the stones used in the construction of buildings in antiquity, we gain access to a valuable record that allows us to broaden our understanding of the past, the place where we live and the processes that shaped it. Through examples of the interpretation of stone-built structures from archaeological sites in the Pafos district, the presentation will introduce us to different ways of looking at stones and reflecting on them.

Biographies

Demetra Ignatiou is an exhibition curator and museologist with a background in archaeology and cultural management. Her curatorial and research work encompasses the fields of contemporary cultural production, archives and archaeology. Her work focuses on the decolonisation of exhibition practices and museum narratives, and on inclusive, participatory and critical approaches to the production of meaning through the study, presentation and exhibition of material culture.

Dr Miltiadis Polydorou is a research lecturer at the University of Cyprus and a specialist in geoarchaeology and coastal geomorphology, with a geographical focus on Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean. His research combines a geological interpretation of the landscape with archaeological evidence, examining how natural processes and materials, such as stone, have shaped human presence in the area. He leads research projects funded by international research institutions and has an extensive body of published scientific work, whilst also teaching workshops on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Coastal Geoarchaeology.

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Workshop
A Tribute: Hands, tools, stones, soil & concrete
with Peter Eramian
15 November, 11:00 — 14:00
Cultural Centre of Fyti
(in Greek, with English translation)

Peter Eramian’s workshop is inspired by the tools used for digging in hard or stony ground. During the workshop, we will examine old and new tools used for digging the ground and working with stone, with the aim of re-examining how, over the years, agricultural and construction tools have transformed manual labour and, as a consequence our relationship with time, effort, materiality, and the demands placed on the human body. We will then design and create sculptures inspired by these tools. With all their weight, roughness and lack of functionality, these sculptures pay tribute to the earth, the locals, the builders, the farmers and the quarrymen, who dug out the rock with their hands and tools.

Biography

Peter Eramian (1984, Nicosia) is an artist and curator whose practice revolves around the politics of matter, labour and the body. In 2018 he completed the Home Workspace Program at Ashkal Alwan in Beirut, where he focused on the compounding properties of concrete and the sealing properties of plastics. Peter has been co-running the artist-led project space Thkio Ppalies together with Stelios Kallinikou since 2015. Previously, he was founding editor of The Cyprus Dossier and Shoppinghour Magazine. He was part of the curatorial team of the project “The Broken Pitcher”, together with Natascha Sadr Haghighian and Marina Christodoulidou, and represented Cyprus at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024 collaboratively with Emiddio Vasquez as Lower Levant Company, together with Endrosia Collective and Haig Aivazian, with the project “On a wildflower-lined gravel track off a quiet thoroughfare…”.

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Documentary Screening & Discussion
Stone Upon Stone
5 December, 16:00 — 17:30
Cultural Centre of Fyti

The documentary captures the identity of the Cypriot rural landscape and the story of the anonymous rural craftsman. Dry stone walling, stone upon stone without mortar. A archaic building technique that has accompanied human endeavour since ancient times for the purposes of survival, creating terraces on barren land for cultivation, threshing crops, producing pitch, lime and gypsum, and managing water. Today, drystone walling is an important tool for preserving cultural identity, enhancing biodiversity, stabilising the landscape, and, above all, as a nature-based solution to combat desertification.

With the participation of Antonia Theodosiou, Chair of the Stone Upon Stone Foundation, former Commissioner for the Environment and Animal Welfare, and Vice-President of the International Association for the Interdisciplinary Study of Drystone Walling

Film duration: 68 minutes
Language: Greek with English subtitles

Credits

Screenplay – Direction: Paschalis Papapetrou
Research: Anastasia Pitta and Antonia Theodosiou
Director of photography: Nikos Avramidis
Narration: Kostas Charalambidis
Colour grading: Panikos Petridis
Production management: Anadysis Films
Production: Stone Upon Stone Foundation
Sponsors: ETEK, UNESCO National Commission, Deputy Ministry of Culture

The documentary was produced as part of the Participatory Budgeting initiative of the Cyprus Chamber of Scientists and Engineers (ETEK), with funding from the National Cypriot Commission for UNESCO and the Deputy Ministry of Culture – Department of Contemporary Culture.





Past events 

Gathering
Conversations on matter & community
20 September, 10:30 in Mrs Dimitra’s garden, Lasa
27 September, 10:30 at Pefkos Tavern, Fyti

A gathering for the residents of the villages of Lasa and Fyti to share memories, experiences and knowledge about the distinctive white stone that formed the very foundation of their landscapes. Do you remember who built our houses? The stone structures in the fields? Do you remember the local stonemasons? How do we look after a stone house, and how does it look after us as the seasons change? How have our houses changed over the years? And what are the challenges we face today in restoring them? How do we light a wood-burning oven, and what makes the ovens of Lasa and Fyti so unique? How many of us know how to build drystone walls? Who used to play with stones when they were little? With the help of photographs, mementos and anything else that reminds us of Lasa and Fyti, we will piece together a narrative of the place and the landscape. This meeting aims to record these precious memories and knowledge in a way that will be preserved by the village Community Councils, so that future generations, visitors and interested parties may learn about the village’s cultural heritage through the eyes and lives of its residents. The gatherings are open to all ages.

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Workshop
Homes, Shelters and Clay Worlds
with Paky Vlassopoulou
(in Greek & English)

3 October, 10:30 — 13:30
Families are encouraged to attend
4 October, 10:30 — 13:30
Farmers, beekeepers and people working in the construction industry
Square of the Cultural Centre of Fyti

Visual artist Paky Vlassopoulou invites young and older alike to create small clay sculptures together. Inspired by the elements of earth and the vernacular architecture of Fyti and Lasa, and drawing on both historical and futuristic aesthetics to explore the concept of the home and refuge for people and animals alike. Paky will participate in the exhibition with a series of sculptures depicting shelters for various creatures. The sculptures embrace the concept of magical thinking associated with children’s immersion in imaginary and mythical worlds, whilst also acknowledging how vital imagination is for adults too. Some of the sculptures we will create during the workshops will be included in the exhibition.

Biography

Paky Vlassopoulou is a visual artist based in Athens. Her work engages with the tradition of sculpture, as well as issues of space, object, functionality and bodily experience. She has, at various times, worked on themes relating to the construction of knowledge, ruins and anti-monuments, whilst in recent years she has been exploring the concepts of confinement, authenticity, care and hospitality. The concepts of home and refuge recur frequently in her work, and she often uses clay to create a direct reference to the earth and the craftsmanship of traditional practices.

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Presentation
Not just stones: Other dimensions of dry-stone walls and their contribution to the site 
by Sevina Floridou
25 October 16:00
Cultural Centre of Fyti
(in Greek)

The presentation will focus on the public dimension of drystone walls, as an ‘alternative’ public space, a landscape-art space – so familiar to us yet so neglected – which seeks recognition on its own terms. The presentation will draw on the experiences of the Terract Salamiou group (Panagiotis Panagiotou, Argyris Panagiotou and Vasiliki P. Petropoulou), who for years have been following the lead of dry-stone walling through a variety of approaches. Sevina will discuss the creative outcomes of their collaborations, their reflections, and their most recent experiences, in order to explore the theme of the public dimension of the dry-stone landscape as a shared experience. We are increasingly seeing the intangible art of dry-stone walling gain ground in the perceptions and understanding of both the wider Cypriot and international communities. However, there are challenges that go beyond the technical aspects of dry-stone walling: how can it break free from the social confines of the traditional label into which we have categorised this technique? Where is the art?

Biography

Sevina Floridou is a practising architect and pioneering researcher in the field of cultural heritage, holding a degree in the conservation of historic monuments from the National Agency for Cultural Monuments (Sofia, Bulgaria, 1980–1987). She is also a Fulbright Scholar (Cornell University, 1995). Her research focuses on the cultural heritage of everyday life and on landscapes marked by history and post-colonialism. Since 2019, she has been focusing on the cultural heritage of dry-stone wall landscapes, whilst also devising ways to integrate and interweave living knowledge of dry-stone walls into projects involving public participation and collaborations with communities, environmental organisations, artistic groups and organisations. In 2025, she was selected by the Cyprus Architects’ Association and the Cypriot Deputy Ministry of Culture to curate the 19th International Architecture Exhibition ‘La Biennale Architettura’ in Venice (To the Stones, 2025).

with special thanks to

Lasa Community Council, Fyti Community Council, Artemis Theodorou, Callirrhoë Gallery, Stavri Leventi, Dimitris Alexandrou, Dimitra Nikou, Dimitris Panagis, Kostas Protopapas, Yiannos Sotiriou, Giorgos Chininos, ‘O Pefkos’ Tavern, Velychko Gallery

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