When you can’t – War and heritage in Cyprus
Team: Tasoulla Hadjiyanni, Principal Investigator
Program: Goldstein Museum of Design
Architectural landmarks and cultural heritage are among the losses refugees in Cyprus endured at the aftermath of the island’s 1974 Turkish invasion. An imagine grant supports the development of an upcoming Spring 2025 exhibit in Rapson’s HGA Gallery that documents the restoration of Kontea’s church of St Charalambos in the occupied areas of Cyprus. Designed and built by master builder Giakoumis in the early 1900s, the church is an example of stone architecture from the British colonial era. After the invasion, the church was turned into a dance hall and left to deteriorate. When the borders opened in 2004, members of Kontea’s community embarked on a 15+ years journey to save the building.
Interviews, archival material, and photographs collected in Spring 2024 call for a re-thinking of the meaning of everyday religious sites in displacement as acts of resistance. Questions tackled include: what drove Kontea’s refugees to devote time, energy, and funds, and risk emotional trauma to restore a church to which they lack access and ownership? How can restoration projects in occupied areas be conceived theoretically and practically? And, how can design education and research transform protests for injustice into built environments where everyone can thrive?
Keywords: cultural heritage, war, restoration, Cyprus, refugees
Other Collaborators: Kontea Heritage Association, Cyprus; Charalambos Perikleous, Cyprus; Antonis Engrafou, Cyprus; Pavlos Attalides, Cyprus; Charalambos Chotzakoglou, Cyprus
Funders: Imagine Grant
