Who curates the curators?

Opinion ArtexhibitionTurkish Cypriots Who curates the curators? Epimelites Emin Cizenel 768x512 Relevant News Who curates the curators? 7 July 2026 EU parliament to vote on condemning 1974 Cyprus sexual violence by Turkish army 7 July 2026 The World Cup, Trump’s newfound woes, and the ridiculous reality show 7 July 2026 Yiorgos Savvinidis 7 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber The corrupt Orban system in Hungary never had any inclination to ban art in general. Instead, it has attempted to control the institutions that decide what is funded, what art is shown, and who runs the museums, theatres, schools, and so on. A whole network of new administration was created over the course of 16 years, with claws in institutions, councils, museums, and academies, made up of people chosen specifically due to ideological proximity to the government. Notably, in 2023, the maggot even disposed of the director of the Hungarian National Museum, despite being a member of the ruling party of parliament, simply due to the museum hosting a World Press Photo exhibition that included photos with LGBTQ themes. Today, even the most optimistic supporters of Peter Magyar, his successor, recognise that restoring and giving back independence to institutions after the Orban debacle, as well as the transition to a lawful state, will be a process that takes years. I’d like to believe that we have not been Orbanised in Cyprus (yet), although there isn’t a shortage of worrying signs. Hungary, as an example, is significant because censorship was not applied directly to the artists in regards to what they work on, but instead had to work in an environment where self-censorship becomes almost inevitable. Often times, censorship begins with a seemingly… tame question or reprimand like “let’s take down the work so it doesn’t risk or result in vandalism.” There’s a point where curatorial judgement is replaced by political acceptance. The main idea is whether or not political power has the right to interfere with artistic content when it disturbs a portion of society, or doesn’t align with the official national narrative. Serious democracies must treat such phenomena with particular caution, and act quickly. I have no desire to defend Emin Cizenel, leading visual artist, for political and artistic choices made today or in 1984. Anyone who believes it is necessary can disapprove of him at any point for designing the flag of the pseudo-state, though the responsibility he has for Denktash rubbing it in our faces with the mainly environmental, political and aesthetic atrocity on the southern ridge of Pentadaktilos still remains under discussion. The issue is we find ourselves debating, like nothing was wrong, whether or not a mayor, city council, or political party can order a curator which work is allowed to hang on the wall, and which to take down. Seriousness is overflowing, clearly… If we want to go down this route, we should use Orban as an example, to be more organised. Let’s abolish exhibition curators and appoint Municipal Committees of Artistic Integrity and have each exhibition go through a vote. To make it less awkward for municipal councils, participants should all be required to have a certificate of patriotism to be featured in an exhibition. So we’re all clear on what direction we’re headed in. Laughable, right? Exactly! And yet, this is the debate. It is even more amusing that Emin Cizenel did not appear in the mob. He didn’t sneak past the roadblocks carrying his painting under his arm. He has spent years participating in exhibitions in the free zones. The work under scrutiny was purchased by the the Republic of Cyprus in 2007, with all the prescribed procedures followed, and after, included in the State Collection of Works of Art. When Tassos Papadopoulos was president in 2007, the wounds of the referendum on the Annan plan were still fresh, and public discourse was anything but calm. You simply cannot claim the climate and surrounding environment at the time favoured generous gestures of flexibility towards anyone associated with the pseudo-state. It seems that some institutions, however, operated more independently than what is expected today. So, in 2026 we suddenly “discovered” Cizenel and his dark past. Or perhaps did we discover a prime opportunity for some inexpensive vote-seeking nationalism, even after an election holiday? The exhibition “A Slight Indisposition” seems to be performing well. People go, view, discuss. It seems ironic that those who call for the withdrawal of art usually only achieve giving said art free publicity, due to something that others had perhaps not noticed. This scenario has repeated itself. The threat of censorship is the best indication. The event benefited, in hindsight. The problem still lies elsewhere. We must protect artistic environments from the slide into urbanism. And what about the Deputy Minister of Culture? He was the first to stick his tail out and announce he had no involvement in the organisation, financing or curation of the exhibition, in which 9 out of the 16 participants, plus the curator, have Turkish names. Once again, the attempt to make an omelet without breaking eggs, the ambivalent stance. He recognises, he says, the artistic freedom of the curators, but will not ignore historical memory, the illegal Turkish occupation, and the political weight of such symbols. Both for the constable and his gendarme, that is. I am anchored on two anchors. However, this “two door” has started to become an official conversation between public administration. Artistic freedom is not, and should never be, accompanied by footnotes. The Deputy Minister’s job is to stand like a Cerberus and not like a harmless puppy in the face of such phenomena. We are all entitled to our own opinions. To critisise and be critisised. And we always have the right to decide whether or not to visit an exhibition. If you don’t like an artist, turn your back on them. It’s that simple. 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