Take us to the water

Take us to the Water is a digital interactive map which makes up the Cyprus participation in Goethe-Institut’s project Atlas of Mediterranean Liquidity. The map consists of artworks by Stelios Kallinikou and Korallia Stergides, curated by Evagoras Vanezis and developed by Demetris Shammas. The results of the project and research around it will be presented at the Goethe-Institut from Saturday until May 6. The presentation will start with a public roundtable discussion with the curator and artists and conclude with a series of short lectures.

Atlas of Mediterranean Liquidity is a regional project with the participation of Israel, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Egypt, Turkey and Cyprus, which is led by the Goethe-Institut Tel Aviv. It examines questions regarding the approach to water, the notion of water as a habitat, environmental pollution and disasters in the sea. The concept behind this collection of digital maps is to bring together as many voices, perspectives, narratives and agencies of people who live around the Mediterranean. Following the water streams, the atlas reveals conflicts and collaborations in the region; the geography of water – crossing national borders, communities and cultures – bringing to the surface all the challenges but also, the potential of our region.

In Take us to the Water the present’s status as a contested arena of politics and memory takes on the textures of new possibilities. Looking at Cyprus from above and in the darkest hour, as this map suggests, is one way of acknowledging that the urgent flows of our times, such as those of climate change and environmental emergencies, demand new navigation tools that allow us to glide across lines of separation, prevalent as they are in other mappings of the island.

Through Kallinikou’s photography and Stergides’ poetry, the public is invited to navigate the map in different ways: embracing fragmentariness, listening to a part of the recited poem while viewing photographs of their choice; or viewing the complete set of photographs while listening to the poem as a whole, or any other combination.

From Saturday onwards, the Goethe-Institut invites audiences to roam around a room filled with research about the themes and ideas that influenced the creation of Take Us to the Water online map. The presentation of the project will start with a roundtable discussion in English with Kallinikou, Stergides and Vanezis at the Goethe-Institut at 11am. As a conclusion to the project presentation, experts Floridou, Hadjimichael and Tselika will on May 6 (at 11am) give short lectures (again in English) on different topics related to water in Cyprus, from its sea shores to river waters, followed by a discussion.

The map can be visited at www.medliq.art/take-us-to-the-water

Take us to the Water

Digital interactive map with artworks by Stelios Kallinikou and Korallia Stergides and research results. April 22-May 6. Goethe-Institut Cyprus, Nicosia. Opening day:11am. Monday-Friday: 4pm-7pm, Saturday: 10am-2pm. Tel: 22-674606