Nicosia, Cyprus. The exhibition Agropoetics: soils/bodies will open this Friday at the newly renamed Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (ex-SPEL), presented by the Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council and the Deputy Ministry of Culture. Curated by Dr Elena Parpa, it is an official event of the Cultural Programme of the Cyprus Presidency and features works by over 50 Cyprus artists.
Exhibition focus and duration
The group exhibition runs from Friday to June 30 in downtown Nicosia and includes both historical and contemporary artists. The works propose an open reading of the term “landscape” in connection with nature, countryside, land, place and soil.
State Collection of Cypriot Art as a starting point
The exhibition draws its point of departure from the observation of works in the State Collection of Cypriot Art (Majestic). The selected pieces encourage investigation of the relationship between art and landscape in the practice of Cypriot artists, as well as the public’s understanding, exchange and intimate relationship with the theme.
Organisers’ framing of “landscape”
Organisers said the term “landscape” is considered in an expanded sense, in which experiences of geomorphology, geology, light and nature are intertwined with history and with conceptions of identity and belonging, toward a conception of art in direct relation to the earth. They said the notion of landscape is examined not only as representation and aesthetic experience, but also as a cultural construct, as a site in which relations of power are inscribed, as a contested terrain, as a natural resource subject to reckless exploitation, as a living ecosystem and a primary material.
Title and conceptual reference
The title, Agropoetics: soils/bodies, derives from an essay by Portuguese artist Filipa César and is linked to an interdisciplinary framework for discussing the relationship between humans and nature, focusing on soil as ground for collective resistance. The exhibition adopts the term and seeks to engage with the discussion it generates, developing aspects related to the Cypriot context.
Publication and parallel programme
A publication will accompany the exhibition, with contributions by more than 30 writers from literature, poetry and the social sciences reflecting on the artists’ work. A parallel events programme will run throughout the exhibition, including guided tours, presentations by the artists, a three-day film screening programme titled Only Terrestrial curated by Dr Róisín Tapponi, and a symposium organised in collaboration with the Celadon Centre for Arts & Ecologies titled Oiko-nomia: Peasant Women, Invisible Others, and Resilience. Dates and times for parallel events will be announced later.
Venue and visiting information
The exhibition is part of the Cultural Programme of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2026 and is curated by Dr Elena Parpa at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Nicosia, from January 30 to June 30. Opening hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 6pm, and Thursday from 10am to 8pm. Contact details are 22-479600, www.cy2026.eu, and [email protected].
What aspects of the exhibition’s approach to “landscape” are you most interested in exploring?
