Kaimakli set to host an annual arts and community festival

The old neighbourhood of Kaimakli is a charming, quiet area of Nicosia. Its houses, with tall wooden doors and green courtyards, are worth a visit and the church square is a ground where the community comes together. There is a different vibe to old Kaimakli, one that feels like the olden days and though the neighbourhood houses a few artist studios, shops and taverns, it is a quiet, less-visited area of Nicosia. Except for a few days in September when the Pame Kamakli festival brings the crowds to the neighbourhood.

Named literally Let’s Go Kaimakli, the festival is an initiative by local NGO Urban Gorillas that seeks to use art and collectivity to re-activate public spaces and highlight Kaimakli. The 2023 edition, held on September 23, aims to ‘illuminate’ old stories and become the catalyst for new narratives to be written in traditional spaces.

“By shedding light on narratives anew or giving them the opportunity to be recorded for the first time,” say organisers, “the festival will provide a fresh approach to the inclusion of various marginalised social groups living in the neighbourhood, as well as the connection between different social groups such as the elderly, immigrants, and other species.

“The festival will unfold through walking events where new and old stories, performances, sound, artistic and visual installations will be presented using light, shadow and multimedia. Light and darkness will reshape landscapes, and evoke memories, and sounds from distant and nearby places, connecting different worlds and individuals of different ages, nationalities, etc. The theme of Pame Kaimakli 2023 revives distant memories and sheds light on the emergence of new worlds, new realities, acknowledging and building relationships, while activating familiar public, private, and intermediate spaces and conditions under a new light.”

Through an interactive one-day programme that is yet to be announced, the 2023 edition has inclusivity as its goal. As such it negotiates concepts of collective memory and multiple readings of place and experiences where old, young, locals and visitors can find common ground in the cobbled-stoned streets of Kaimakli.

Let’s Go Kaimakli

Arts festival with interactive workshops, walks, tours and urban installations. Organized by Urban Gorillas. September 23. Kaimakli neighbourhood, Nicosia. www.urbangorillas.org