Nicosia, Cyprus. The Nicosia municipal arts centre (Nimac) on Monday defended its decision to exhibit a work by Turkish Cypriot artist Emin Cizenel, who designed the north’s flag. The centre said the work is part of the state’s art collection and has been shown previously without issue.
Nimac response
Nimac said Cizenel’s work A Lost Moment was purchased around 2007 for the state’s art collection. It said the piece has been displayed at previous exhibitions “without any issue arising”.
The centre said the current exhibition is a group show featuring 16 Cypriot and international artists. It added that the artwork had been loaned specifically for the exhibition.
Institutional independence
Nimac reaffirmed its institutional independence, saying it enjoys “complete artistic freedom” and that exhibitions are not subject to approval by the municipality itself.
It also said its board would examine the matter at an extraordinary meeting in light of the public debate.
Source of the controversy
The controversy stems from Cizenel’s role as the designer of the flag adopted by the north in 1983, which has since been emblazoned upon the Pentadaktylos mountains.
Objections to the participation of one of his works were raised by the Ecologists before the exhibition opened. Critics argued that displaying his work in a municipal cultural institution carries political significance beyond artistic merit.
Protest and allegation
Speaking to Sigma, journalist George Tattis said he was outside the exhibition during a peaceful protest by two artists holding banners opposing what they described as the “normalisation of occupation through art”.
He said he attempted to question the exhibition’s curator about Cizenel’s participation after she described him as “an exceptional artist” and rejected suggestions of censorship.
Tattis also alleged that while he was filming in a public place, a man accompanying the curator threw his mobile phone to the ground after he identified himself as a journalist.
