Thkio Ppalies

Address: 2b Kissamou, Palouriotissa, Nicosia 1040, Cyprus
Contact: Peter Eramian & Stelios Kallinikou
Email: info@thkioppalies.org
Website: http://thkioppalies.org
Phone: +35799824520 / +35799495198
Open Hours: Wednesday – Friday, 17:00 – 20:00 (during exhibitions)

How is the project operated?
Non-profit, artist-run, project space.

How long has it been in existence?
Since April 2015.

What was your motivation?
The space is committed to the facilitation and production of creative and intellectual endeavours across a wide range of disciplines and practices. Educational projects are encouraged, with the intent of nurturing and developing a dynamic environment that promotes cross-pollination between creative and local communities. As a creative hub, Thkio Ppalies aspires to build and evolve active networks between artists, art spaces and organisations, both within Cyprus and internationally, to offer a platform where experimentation, critique and collaboration can be realised.

Number of organizers/responsible persons of the project.
Two.

How are programs funded?
Self-funding and public-funding.

Who is responsible for the programming?
The Directors (Peter Eramian & Stelios Kallinikou).

Number and average duration of exhibitions/events per year.
2-4 exhibitions per year (duration 1 month each usually)
2-6 sound performances per year (duration 1 day each usually)

What kind of events are usually organized?
Solo exhibitions, group exhibitions and sound performances.

How is your programming determined?
Each year’s program is determined by the directors over meetings and studio visits.

Do you accept proposals/submissions?
Yes.

What is your artistic/curatorial approach?
We don’t have a specific curatorial approach. It’s more about the energy, rhythm, dialogue and exchange between us and artists. The possibilities thereafter are limitless.

What’s working? What’s not working?
Artists and people interested in art from across Cyprus are aware of the space and seem to have embraced it. The struggle is to keep opening up, gradually and with care, to audiences outside our immediate art circles and to make art more publicly accessible without watering it down.

What kind of role do you hope to play in your local art scene or community?
Our hope from the very beginning was to inject a new sense of energy to the scene. The name of the space translates to “chop chop” (in Cypriot dialect), as in quickly, let’s make it happen. Art in Cyprus is often associated with more affluent lifestyles/classes and institutions. We wanted to break with these notions and offer an environment with a more down-to-earth accessibility and pace.

What idea are you most excited about for the future?
I’m excited to see Thkio Ppalies mature. We’re constantly thinking about new directions and projects, both on and off site. We’re also making new connections with curators and artists from different parts of the world. So for me what’s exciting is to see how these new possibilities overlap with the local scene.

Images courtesy of Thkio Ppalies.