The daylight savings date always depresses me. Not sure why, as it is an entirely man-made thing, as is time…
Our ancestors worked by seasons and moon phases – not sure why we have to have that darn clock! Tick tock…
2018 Event
The participants of the 2018 Cyprus Open Studios (COS) event have all done a marvellous job of creating greater interest in the art of our Island of Love. We salute them all. We encountered a few challenges, but nothing we cannot overcome in the future.
Open Galleries Abroad (OGA)
Nine of our members participated in activities in London during 2018. Each year hundreds and hundreds of artists attempt to get into the Royal Academy of Arts in London without success… We at OGA are there to assist you with your effort while you continue working in your own studio back home. Read more about our activities on previous blog posts.
After the selection process at the RA each year, we take you to other exhibitions in and around London where Marina Emphietzi Harris keeps a close watch on opportunities that arise. The real work will once again start in December 2018 in preparation for your 2019 exhibition opportunities.
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If you are interested in exhibiting abroad and you have not yet let us know, you should do this immediately!
If you have not yet done so, start preparing your Artist Statement and your Biography.
Contact : Marina at marina.emphietzi@gmail.com BEFORE 30 November 2018 No charges until you sign the agreement!
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Cyprus Open Studios (COS)
Many people are under the impression that we only exist for 10 days of the year.
This is very far from the truth!
When you register on 1 April each year to open your studio in October, your fee is paid not just for those 10 days that you open your studio to the public. Oh, no – you remain very visible to all the people who look at our website during the course of the year! And… that’s not all. After the annual event comes to an end, your entry remains on our website in our archives and can still be accessed by viewers.
If you do not wish to open your studio in October for a variety of reasons, you have the option to become a “Member Only”, giving you a web page of your own featuring your contact details and up to 8 images of your work. You may do this at any time during the year and pay a nominal fee for the year (or part of any year) with a renewal date on 1 April each year.
During the 2018 event, the artists who opted for a different audience exhibited their work at a gallery in Limassol.
We are planning on doing this in each large centre, i.e. Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos for our 2019 event. In order to use this facility you do need to be a “Member Only” as mentioned above. Gallery costs will be separate.
We respect the choices our artists make and will continue to serve them to the best of our abilities.
Social Media
We have a lively Facebook community where facebookers are kept informed of our activities, news, as well as posts about other interesting happenings.
We also have Twitter and Instagram accounts where we share and care.
A cat is peeping out of the bag…
We have discovered that there are many artists who were born to be artists. That means that their right brain thinking is far more advanced than the left brain function, the latter being more appropriate for geeks of a kind – especially the digital kind.
You will love your keyboard like you love your art equipment!
We are developing a tutorial programme whereby artists (of all kinds) can learn how to handle their own art business. And yes, if you have ever attempted (and been successful) to SELL what you produce as an artist, then you have an art ‘business’… or should have!
We will teach you how to reach out to people you want to attract to your business. And yes, opening your studio to the public is all part of it.
This cat is only peeping out now and when the time is right, that cat will jump out of that bag! We just wanted to let you know that we are working on something quite exciting for the future.
Our people
In Cyprus we have a very large variety of creative people covering emerging, established and hobby artists. We have young ones who have just finished their formal education, others who have been doing the job for many years, and also the retirees who like to keep themselves occupied with a great hobby.
We cater for them all.
It’s not easy as each one’s desires are different from the next person’s; the fame and fortune seekers are completely different from the ones who use the garden shed for some peace and quiet after a life of long hours on the day job. The young ones have stars in their eyes wanting to get a foot on the first rung of the ladder of greatness.
We serve them all.
Blood, sweat and tears are familiar in our creative spaces, wherever that may be.
If the first attempt doesn’t work, chuck it – start again.
It is not how many times you succeed, but how many times you start again!
That is the core of a great artistic creator.
Till next time, keep on creating – again and again and again…
The COS Team
Ed: Maria Etheridge
Featured image: The Persistence of Memory – Salvador Dali – at the MOMA in New York
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