AN EXHIBITION and series of events at the Municipal Arts Centre in Nicosia this week will take visitors on a magical journey back to the first ever Olympic games in Athens in 1896.
‘Athens 1896-1906: From Olympia to the Panathenian Stadium’, opens on Tuesday, and will consist of photographs, figurative work and visual and listening aids to bring the first Olympic games to life. It includes a display of equipment used by athletes in the games that comes from the collections of the Cyprus Museum and the Pierides Museum.
There will also be a special tribute to Cypriot athletes who have taken part in the Olympics, with a series of objects and souvenirs from the Cyprus Olympic Museum collection. These include an invitation to Cypriot athlete Anastassios Andreou to participate in the Olympics as well as the running shoes worn by Domnitsa Lanitou in the Olympics in Berlin in 1936 and in London in 1948.
Medals from the first Olympic games in Athens and rare engravings will also be on display, as will original posters from the games and a collection of the famous Olympic torches that are lit at the start of every Olympiad.
A series of short films made by the Greater Greek Foundation, which works to preserve the history and traditions of Greece, will also be screened during the exhibition. The films, under the collective title of Olympic Games in Ancient Greece, are an international co-production by Greece, Canada and Britain. A 30-minute version of the film will be screened continuously throughout the exhibition.
Through workshops during the exhibition, children will be able to take part in ceremonies and even their own ‘Olympic games’ — they will fly flags and listen to national anthems to give them an idea of what it may have felt like to be a part of the greatest sporting event in history. Choreographer Paulina Thrasyvoulidou will hold the workshops.
Also spicing up the exhibition will be a series of dance performances. Three young choreographers, Lia Charaki, Elena Christodoulou and Alexandra Waierstall, have been invited to create dances with a Olympic theme. Lia Charaki’s ‘Peri orismenis kinesis’, Elena Christodoulou’s ‘Glory for sale’ and Alexandra Waierstall’s ‘Crossings’ will all be performed at the Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre.
Film director Stavros Pamballis has also created a film experiment called Specimen which will be screened as part of the exhibition.
A permanent record of the exhibition will be available in the form of a book, sponsored by the Laiki Group, about Cypriot Olympic athletes and athletics in Cyprus generally.
The exhibition is organised by the Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre, the Pierides Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Cultural Centre of the Laiki Group.
‘Athens 1896-1906: From Olympia to the Panathenian Stadium’ is from November 25 to March 14. Opening hours are Tuesday-Saturday 10am-3pm and 5pm-11pm and on Sunday from 10am-4pm.
The international co-production film screenings will be at 6pm on December 3 and February 12 in Greek and on January 22 and March 10 in English.
Children aged between 8 and 12 can take part in the educational and creative journey to the Olympics during the workshops on November 29, December 20, January 24, February 21 and March 13 from 9am-11am.
Lia Charaki’s dance performance will be on Tuesday (November 25) at 8pm and again on December 4 and 11 at 7pm.
Choreographer Elena Christodoulidou will presenting her dance piece ‘Glory for Sale’ on January 14, 21 and 28, 2004, at 7pm.
The final dance performances will be Alexandra Waierstall’s ‘Crossings’ featuring Peter Memmer, Moon Sung-Lyun, Jaime Llopis and Alexandra. It will be performed on February 4, 11, 18 and 25, 2004, at 7pm.
Stavros Pamballis’ experimental film Specimen will be screened on March 12 and 13, 2004, at 7.00pm.
All events will be at the Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre at 19, Apostolou Varnava Street. For more information call 22-432577 or e-mail [email protected]
