Each year Cyprus Open Studios gets bigger and better… Artists, sculptors, potters, painters, glass workers and jewellers dotted around the island open up their studios on selected October weekends. This gives visitors the perfect opportunity to combine exploring the area with meeting the artists, viewing demonstrations, buying ready-made pieces, or commissioning bespoke artwork. At some locations you can even get in touch with your artistic side by taking part in creative workshops.
Below we have selected a sample of artists working in a variety of media. To see the full range, check out the map in combination with the catalogue.
Diarizos Valley
Follow Wine Route 3 through beautiful vineyard-clad hillsides and traditional friendly Cypriot villages. The route passes two small traditional wineries: Lagria and Nelion.
Visit the studio of Yorgos Papadopoulos, a glass artist in Kedares producing works ranging from large sculptural pieces to silver and glass pendant jewellery.
Open 7/8 October and 21/22 October.
Polis Chrysochous
While visiting this north-west corner of the island, you could also visit the Baths of Aphrodite, where the goddess reputedly met with her lover, Adonis.
In Polis you will find:
Trisha Payne enjoys painting landscapes, seascapes and villages in oils on canvases – large and miniature. She also paints designs roof tiles and makes and paints her own clay plaques.
Linda Gardener makes mosaics from glass, stones, ceramic and found objects. She is inspired by the animals and nature of Cyprus. She paints and draws and uses mosaic-making as an extension of this. She will demonstrate different methods of making mosaics using a variety of materials.
Both open every weekend in October.
In and Around Paphos
There’s plenty to see and do around this main town, particularly this year as the town has the honour of being named European Capital of Culture, celebrated as ‘Pafos2017’.
We recommend heading for the harbour as a first port of call, and maybe a visit to the adjacent World Heritage Archaeological Site with fantastic well-preserved Greco Roman antiquities.
The Paphos district has a variety of artists, including:
Karen Betts who sculpts in limestone and also cement/fibreglass/resin mixes, often studies of the female form. She also paints in an abstract style using fusions of water- and oil-based materials.
Julie Hart has been a figurative/portrait painter in oils for a number of years, and since moving to Cyprus in 2014, has developed an interest in Greek Mythology which she uses as inspiration for her oil and beeswax paintings, as well as her ceramic sculptures.
Both open 7/8 October, 21/22 October and 28/29 October.
Anogyra
Near Pissouri, this interesting village was once a main carob-grower and is famous for ‘Pastelli’, a traditional sweet made from carob syrup. The village is also home to Oleastro, a museum dedicated to explaining the production of Olive Oil.
Gabi Boehm is a textile artist specialising in felting and dyeing. She prefers to work with natural fibres and dyes and loves creating interesting surfaces and textures.
