Art tour of presidential palace hailed a success

Due to the success of the first art tour of the presidential palace, more opportunities to view it are now being considered, the palace said on Sunday. The previous day, the first art tour for members of the public was held as part of events to mark the island’s Independence Day on October 1 with a guided viewing of the Cyprus, the World, the Place, the Word, the Material exhibition by its curators Costas Mantzalos and Constantinos Kounnis. It was held as part of an undertaking by first lady Philippa Karsera to open up important buildings to the public, and follows fairs held at the presidential retreat held in Troodos. Speaking after visitors left, Karsera expressed satisfaction with the tour and said due to increased interest, more tours are being looked at, possibly on International Museum Day. She said the philosophy of the initiative is for citizens to have access to places of high symbolism, so that they can get to know them and feel proud of the history and cultural heritage of the country. In the coming days, a series of tours by children in the sixth grade of primary school will begin. Deputy ministry of culture Klea Papaellina described the presidential palace as “a living museum of great artists” adding that with the right synergies that knowledge can be passed on to the world. The exhibition consists of works by important Cypriot artists of the first generation such as Adamantios Diamantis, Paul Georgiou, Telemachos Kanthos, and Michael Kassialos, as well as other distinguished contemporary Cypriot artists. The works come from the Presidential Palace Collection, the State Collection, the Leventis Gallery and family collections of the creators. It also includes rare ancient objects of the department of antiquities, such as Cypriot figurines and sculptures dating from the 4th millennium BC to the 1st century BC, which capture the long and multidimensional archaeological heritage of the island. The full exhibition Cyprus, the World, the Place, the Word, the Matter can be viewed at https://presidentialart.hpcf.cyi.ac.cy/home