Historians, academics, scientists and artists addressed environmental impacts exacerbated by the power-play of politics, appropriation and (in)justice and the environmental and cultural responses. 

We started with the story of Cyprus itself. Argyro Toumazou, Director D6:EU and Loizos Kapsalis (PhD), History Education Officer at the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research, took us on a journey from 19 million B.C. to today: from the clashing of the tectonic plates that caused the island to rise out of the Mediterranean Sea, to the clashing of peoples that saw Cyprus occupied by the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Venetians, the Ptolemies, the Luisignians, the Ottomans and the British, through to the division of the island today following the right-wing coup in 1974 and subsequent invasion by Turkey. A complex history that plays out in national and local identities today.

Antonis Danos (PhD), Associate Professor, Cyprus University of Technology, continued this thread from the perspective of 20th century Greek-Cypriot artists negotiating national identity – idealised or repressed in some examples, and in others playfully undermining hegemonic ideas of national identity.

The World as We Know it and the World Ahead was the keynote speech given by Nicholas Anastasopoulos (PdD), Professor at the National Technical University of Athens. He unraveled and revealed the origins of the climate crisis in colonialism and its mass exportation of the extractivism of fossil fuels and the ensuing industrialisation of parts of the world. Bringing it back to Cyprus and the Mediterranean, Maria Hadjimichaiel (PhD), from the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute, presented Constructive (Blue) Dialogues, on the decolonisation of the sea and outlining the threat of over-development – in particular the marine spaces.  And the director of the Cyprus Energy Agency, Charis Kordatos outlined the ways in which Cypriot Municipalities are responding to the climate emergency with examples of Tiny Forests and rooftop gardens mitigating the heat and encouraging biodiversity.

From the climate crisis, its causes and mitigations, we then heard from museums, institutions, independent producers and artists on cultural responses. Christos Carras (PhD) led us through sustainability at the core of strategic planning for museums, a proposal for museums and institutions to better address their environmental impact. From our CDCD partners Creative Court/Kunstfort in the Netherlands, we heard from Rabiaâ Benlahbib, director and curator, on how they consider the more-than-human across policy, production and programming. Christina Skarpari, artistic director and curator, Xarkis Festival in Cyprus, presented their nomadic festival which takes place in villages in Cyprus and how they work at local levels with communities to inspire, resource and manage their international event. Nicholas Anastasopoulos returned to introduce the work he has been doing with the Moving Ground Project in collaboration with the Duncan Dance Research Centre in Athens, and their community garden permaculture initiative in Greece.

From the artists on the programme we heard how they were responding to the environmental impacts of colonial legacies including displacement, injustice, identity and extraction. Artists Sümer Erek and Andreas Mallouris from Cyprus, Rocío Paz Guerrero Marín from Chile and Amaia Molinet from Spain shared their practice followed by a panel discussion exploring the ways art is addressing the impact of colonialism on the environment. 

Beyond the presentations, Contested Desires delegates were given culturally rich tours of the surrounding area. Iosif Hadjikyriacos (PhD), director of the Stavrides Archives, gave a walking tour of Larnaca, and Argyro Toumazou took participants across the Buffer Zone of the divided city of Nicosia, visiting cultural initiatives on both sides. Contested Desires partner Pro Progressione led a nature workshop at the historic site of the Sultan Tekke Mosque on the shores of the ancient Aliki, where participants engaged in sensory explorations of the natural environment – the flora, fauna and visiting flamingos.

The three-day event was officially opened at a reception hosted by Larnaka2030 at the Pierides Museum – Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation in Larnaca by the Mayor of Larnaca, Andreas Vyras. D6:EU co-directors Clymene Christoforou and Argyro Toumazou and Larnaka2030 Artistic Director Kelly Diapouli introduced the project, followed by speeches from Demetrios Pierides, president of the Pierides Museum, and Andreas Karakatsanis from the Cyprus University of Technology and Contested Desires associate partner. 

We thank everyone involved in the event who so generously shared their ideas and created moments for exchange and learning. Following the gathering in Cyprus, eight artists continue their journeys with residencies in Cyprus, Hungary, Portugal and the Netherlands. Watch this space.

Photos: Multians Productions, Lefteris Stasi, Halime Özdemir-Larusso and Helen Holtom