Nicosia
Nicosia
Cyprus
- Arts
- Democracy and community development
- Environment/Sustainable development
- Heritage
- Human rights
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- Research
- Youth and education
Xarkis = from the beginning. Founded in 2013 in Cyprus, Xarkis is a cultural NGO.
We seek to actively promote socio-ecological civic engagement, through artistic expression and practises of knowledge sharing and co-creation.
Our mission is to foster collaborative knowledge exchange, nurture dialogue between people interested in socio-ecological change, and engage with local cultures, through participatory artistic practices.
OBJECTIVES
Short term
The creation of a learning framework that encourages the study and experimentation in terms of methodological axes, alongside applied forms for socially engaged, participatory and innovative practices in the field of arts and design.
Long term
1. Developing our organization through new activities, creative practices, practice-based research and hands-on actions. For this purpose, in each of our programmes we involve various experts, academics, artists and designers.
2. Strengthening "communal identities" by developing our understanding, appreciation, and interaction with local cultures, histories, and the environment.
3. Cultivating a participatory culture, collaborative actions and widening the circle of stakeholders around culture.
4. Mediating dialogue between visual artists, designers, musicians, academics, researchers, activists and other socially engaged persons from diverse backgrounds.
5. Exploring and reviving aspects of cultural heritage whilst searching for new ways of expression and development regarding customs, traditions, crafts and other types of practises that are widespread in local societies and beyond. In this respect we are interested in exploring which aspects, elements, values and ways of life could be redefined and adapted to today, to avoid a museum-like preservation of cultural heritage.
5. From 2023 we are celebrating 10 years of life as Xarkis. Our ultimate objective is the sustainable development of our activities, in ways that they officially have long-term support from different funding schemes, (e.g. our nomadic arts festival called Xarkis Festival and the Xarkis Multi-residency Program, which have a proven impact and fill a gap in the cultural sector). We also aim to strengthen existing support pillars for artists, curators and other cultural actors working in this field, as well as further support communities involved in our programs, by providing more appropriate financial remuneration, but also to develop our practice with new, innovative initiatives.
6. We aspire to enhance this dimension of our programs through a multicultural and intersectional perspective and by bringing our experience in socially engaged cultural practices in the European Union and beyond
We have organized 9 international Xarkis Festivals in Arsos, Lofou, Koilani, Polystipos Lympia and Agros (2013-2022), 1 celebration at the National State Fair (2013), 6 nomadic Xarkis Multi-Residency Programs in the villages of Lofou, Koilani, Lympia and Agros (2016-2022), 8 workshops and participatory projects including the Nicosia Pop-up Festival, City Plaza, (2014) 3 workshops at Tenta Festival, Kalavasos, (2015), 3 educational (non-formal learning) programmes including: Voicing & Craft Stories at NiMAC, Nicosia, (2017), 2 Masa potluck and Participatory Design workshops at the Museum of Cultural Heritage and at the Adult Center of Deryneia (2019), 5 kaFEMio coffee shops focused on feminist conversations in Polystipos (2019, 2020) with an online and a site-specific event at the Deryneia Adult Center and in Agros (2022), 1 digital Festival titled Everything Flows (2020), 1 award winnning digital platform called Voicing Stories focusing on oral stories and the related educational program at the Municipal Arts Center (NiMAC) Nicosia, (2017) with an EU Youth Social Entrepreneurship Award from the Youthopia Program, 1 Interdisciplinary Artists’ Residency Program (2020) and 1 transnational Arts Program titled CONTESTED DESIRES (2019-2022) funded by Creative Europe, in which we explore the impact of colonial heritage and are responsible for the communication of the consortium.
Expertise
We design, curate, organise and manage practice-based research projects, nomadic initiatives, non-formal education programmes, interdisciplinary arts festivals, multi-residency programmes, exhibitions, workshops, gatherings, interventions, talks, lectures, and communication design initiatives including communication strategies, campaigns, films, publications and participatory web platforms
As a transdisciplinary team, Xarkis specialises in community engagement, creative direction, project management, research, education and practice in the fields of communication design, social design (incl. service design, co-design and design activism) design for social innovation, architecture, visual arts (incl. fine art) performance art, experiential dance and cultural heritage, with a strong interest in humans and the environment. We offer design and co-design services as well as curate, produce and facilitate cultural, participatory and socio-ecological initiatives.
We want to maintain our membership in the ALF network to engage in good practices and collaborate with partners and communities via cross cultural exchanges, as well as capacity building in the field of cultural work.
In address to this purpose, we are interested in deepening our knowledge and impact on the following objectives, as framed by ALF:
> Empowering voices in intercultural learning
> Facilitating access to and sharing of intercultural resources and experiences, transfering of know-how and competencies across the Euro-Mediterranean region
> Empowering ALF network members to work on intercultural dialogue through collaborations and exchange of good practices at the regional or sub-regional level among member organisations and nonmember organisations.