Preface

The Cypriots; who witnessed many wars in Cyprus, where many cultures existed throughout the history, many identities have been added on top of each other successively, and where an ample of stories has sheltered; are forcing the route to peace, yet, still feeling the agony of the war deep down in their hearts. The Turkish and Greek Cypriots, who after 30 years of separation, have came together and started to interact gradually as a consequence of the opening of the borders, are paving some paths to find that road to peace.
The Art Aware Project is also such a path.

Europe-Mediterranean Art Association (EMAA) have been carrying out projects that give dynamism to the art of Cyprus and contribute to it, as well as bringing together the Turkish and Greek Cypriot artists. The association not only organizes collaborative exhibitions but undertakes long term projects ensuring that artists approach and comprehend each other mutually.
The idea that formed the Art Aware Project had sprang at a meeting of Nicholas Panayi and the Executive Board of EMAA. The series had the longest span among the projects that EMAA has hosted. The project was shaped up with the desire of the Cypriot artists to view, get to know and understand each others’ art, who although living on the same island haven’t had any contact for the last 30 years. Through interagency of art, which is called the ‘mirror of cultures’; our project was founded on the phenomenon of getting together on the actual field of art’s existence to discuss about artworks within the realities of our day.
The Art Aware project which went on for a year, had started with its first part in April 2004 and ended in May 2005. The project, which hosted 23 artists, is anticipated to continue with its second part in 2006.

The Art Aware Sessions had taken place on the first Saturday evening of each month in the form of discussion gatherings where an artist from South and another from North came together in Arabahmet Cultural Centre and they informed the viewers about their works, and answered the questions addressed. While the speeches on artworks and discussions brought new dimensions of thought to the participants; new friendships and partnerships have been established, as well as artistic empathy being revived.
The speeches of the artists that were recorded on the discussion sessions, have been analysed and transformed into texts by myself, which then were published in the EMAA Newspaper and EMAA Art Journal. The fact that the contents don’t have a general, clear-cut, and orderly format is due to reason that every artist, who participated to the sessions, expressed their work and themselves in very different ways, thus, in very different formats.  We have prioritized the quality of the texts as being the recorded speeches of the sessions and their function as documents to be preserved for the future, rather than their decorous formats.
Despite the few diminutive problems due to the fact that EMAA still doesn’t have a centre of its own and it lacks the required technological equipments, we have completed the first part of the sessions with the devotional efforts of the EMAA members and Nicholas Panayi. We would like to express our gratitude to the Turkish Municipality of Nicosia for sponsoring our use of Arabahmet Cultural Center; to Çimer Ergene and Mine Yücel for lending their laptops and contributing the sessions with their simultaneous translations; and last but not the least, to the Psychological Health Association for letting us use their projection equipment.

Nilgün Güney