Pafos2017: honest culture is always in flux
From the very first day of this trip to Pafos for Culture Lab 2017, self-reflection has been a significant aspect of my experiences, and I'm sure I can say the same for my classmates. Perhaps, I can go as far as to say that Cyprus sparks self-reflection amongst most of its visitors and inhabitants.
While having a meal for the first time on this island, a British waiter was quick to ask us where we were from. After mentioning our hometown, he excitingly announced: "Oh, Amsterdam! I've been there once!" Why did he feel this was necessary to say? He has possibly encountered people of many nationalities in this touristy restaurant, and of course, it is pleasant to create a sense of affiliation with his guests.
It is through the eyes of this Englishman and other 'locals' that I have been trying to reflect on the culture in Pafos. Yesterday, I found out that the logo of Pafos2017 symbolizes the sun and multiculturalism. To what extent is it possible to condense the impression of a city into a basic image, and what does it mean to way Pafos is imagined beyond its borders? I wonder what the waiter's story was, and if he at one point moved to this place expecting to find not more than just a few essential qualities such as "sunshine" or "multiculturalism".
I find that labeling cultures with a small number of fundamental components is something that we simply need to do in order to make some kind of sense of complex and diverse societies. However, there are downsides to this as well. For instance, describing cultures in rigorously categorical terms, without elaborately exploring its context, is likely to create associations that are either 'good' or 'bad'. At the Euphoria exhibition, one of the artists explained how her artworks--which could be described as snake-like figures hanging on a wall, made of soft fabrics--represented the many parts that make up for our identities. She related this to character traits that are marked as symptoms for people with personality disorders. This, again, suggested that we like to label things and beings with essential terms that separate between 'good' and 'bad', and 'inside' and 'outside'.
Even though her artworks were mainly alluding to humans, I believe that their depiction of personalities as complicated blends of many characteristics and various colors applies very well to cities too. A city, and the culture it portrays, can in no way be perfect or simplified. Pafos, in particular, is a place where people from different origins come together, share various histories, construct meaningful spaces, and simultaneously attempt to present all of this accessibly and coherently as "European Capital of Culture". And even though this title sometimes bears unfortunate consequences for this city, connects people and therefore generate culture. After all, that is what culture is made of: the fortunate, the unfortunate, and everything in between.
This nuanced view of culture as something that is just as much defined by a society's struggles as by its success was echoed wonderfully by ms. Georgia Doetzer, the artistic program director of Pafos2017, with whom we had the honor of speaking on Wednesday afternoon. When we first entered the conference space of their headquarters, it struck me that the room was well taken care of, and at each spot, a fancy little plate, glass, and water bottle were waiting for us. For a second, this gave me the impression that, again, I was going to witness the Pafos2017 project in a well-designed, neat, and artificial context that is unrepresentative of Pafos' culture at large. However, Georgia started off her introduction that the title of European Capital of Culture to her and her team does not signify that it's not about a festival, but about a city living an impact. Therefore, I believe that Georgia can somehow be complemented for the critiques that some people might have towards Pafos2017--for instance, that the city is "not complete", or that it ignores some political situations--because these critiques reveal Pafos' current cultural circumstances.
As I hope can be inferred from my pictures, too, the European Capital of Culture makes a city rethink its public spaces; it reveals where a culture finds itself historically; it makes us question to what extent we have control over processes that 'generate' culture. And in all of this, I see a culture that is honest because it is still in flux, in all of its perfections and imperfections.
While having a meal for the first time on this island, a British waiter was quick to ask us where we were from. After mentioning our hometown, he excitingly announced: "Oh, Amsterdam! I've been there once!" Why did he feel this was necessary to say? He has possibly encountered people of many nationalities in this touristy restaurant, and of course, it is pleasant to create a sense of affiliation with his guests.
It is through the eyes of this Englishman and other 'locals' that I have been trying to reflect on the culture in Pafos. Yesterday, I found out that the logo of Pafos2017 symbolizes the sun and multiculturalism. To what extent is it possible to condense the impression of a city into a basic image, and what does it mean to way Pafos is imagined beyond its borders? I wonder what the waiter's story was, and if he at one point moved to this place expecting to find not more than just a few essential qualities such as "sunshine" or "multiculturalism".
I find that labeling cultures with a small number of fundamental components is something that we simply need to do in order to make some kind of sense of complex and diverse societies. However, there are downsides to this as well. For instance, describing cultures in rigorously categorical terms, without elaborately exploring its context, is likely to create associations that are either 'good' or 'bad'. At the Euphoria exhibition, one of the artists explained how her artworks--which could be described as snake-like figures hanging on a wall, made of soft fabrics--represented the many parts that make up for our identities. She related this to character traits that are marked as symptoms for people with personality disorders. This, again, suggested that we like to label things and beings with essential terms that separate between 'good' and 'bad', and 'inside' and 'outside'.
Even though her artworks were mainly alluding to humans, I believe that their depiction of personalities as complicated blends of many characteristics and various colors applies very well to cities too. A city, and the culture it portrays, can in no way be perfect or simplified. Pafos, in particular, is a place where people from different origins come together, share various histories, construct meaningful spaces, and simultaneously attempt to present all of this accessibly and coherently as "European Capital of Culture". And even though this title sometimes bears unfortunate consequences for this city, connects people and therefore generate culture. After all, that is what culture is made of: the fortunate, the unfortunate, and everything in between.
This nuanced view of culture as something that is just as much defined by a society's struggles as by its success was echoed wonderfully by ms. Georgia Doetzer, the artistic program director of Pafos2017, with whom we had the honor of speaking on Wednesday afternoon. When we first entered the conference space of their headquarters, it struck me that the room was well taken care of, and at each spot, a fancy little plate, glass, and water bottle were waiting for us. For a second, this gave me the impression that, again, I was going to witness the Pafos2017 project in a well-designed, neat, and artificial context that is unrepresentative of Pafos' culture at large. However, Georgia started off her introduction that the title of European Capital of Culture to her and her team does not signify that it's not about a festival, but about a city living an impact. Therefore, I believe that Georgia can somehow be complemented for the critiques that some people might have towards Pafos2017--for instance, that the city is "not complete", or that it ignores some political situations--because these critiques reveal Pafos' current cultural circumstances.
As I hope can be inferred from my pictures, too, the European Capital of Culture makes a city rethink its public spaces; it reveals where a culture finds itself historically; it makes us question to what extent we have control over processes that 'generate' culture. And in all of this, I see a culture that is honest because it is still in flux, in all of its perfections and imperfections.
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