Future of Lemba art college in doubt

Advocates for the legacy of late Cypriot artist Stass Paraskos have expressed disappointment and shock at the deputy ministry of culture’s officious handling of the pre-existing Lemba art college.

The site of the old art college, founded by the artist, stands adjacent to the newly envisioned Lemba Cultural Village currently being completed.

“The situation in Lemba created by the department of culture is disgraceful,” the artist’s son, Michael Paraskos, a teaching fellow at London’s Imperial College, told the Cyprus Mail.

“It was agreed by all previous governments that the gift of the famous sculpture wall made by my father […] would secure the future of the Cyprus College of Art as an equal partner in the Lemba Cultural Village project,” he said.

However, state officials now seem to be walking back past agreements, in what “looks like a deliberate attempt to destroy my father’s legacy,” according to the artist’s son.

The Cyprus College of Art, known for years simply as the “Lemba art school”, was founded by Stass in 1976 and run out of an unused property in Lemba (then an abandoned Turkish Cypriot village) provided by the ministry of education.

Following her father’s death in 2014, Margaret Paraskos took over the role, organising residencies, Erasmus courses, and collaborations with international art schools, for students and professional artists, including famous names.

The school is the only art college on the island that regularly hosts artists from renowned institutes such as the Royal College of Art, Slade School of Fine Art, Central Saint Martin’s, the Paris School of Architecture and others. Artists who have worked with the school, include Dame Rachel Whiteread, Mali Morris, Sir Terry Frost, Professor Peter de Francia and Euan Uglow.

“I am completely heartbroken by the total disregard for my father’s legacy and the fact that if we hadn’t been here, none of this would have existed,” Margaret said.

Although she had sat on the jury for decisions made between the deputy ministry of culture and the community council about the design of the new facilities, she now feels she may have been cheated.

“Our old buildings have been demolished and our access to the new buildings we had been promised is now being debated on legal points,” Margaret said, adding that one proposal had been to share the buildings six-months-on-six-months-off with state run or other programmes, an unworkable proposal.

“They have completely changed the design plans we had agreed on, we were supposed to have independent use and entrance to new buildings. Now we may have to share the space [for professional adults], with children’s workshops, run by the ministry of education,” she said.

Meanwhile, the ministry of culture is soliciting use of the facilities by other art organisations on the island, including within Tepak, UCy and UNIC, the college’s artists claim.

Community leader Thucydides Chrysostomou for his part, sough to offer assurances that the legacy of Stass Paraskos was not to be forgotten and that a way would be found for the new buildings to be utilised in tandem with the older art school, to provide ongoing art education, including in pottery, drawing, painting and sculpture, for serious students, as well as school children.

“The buildings are not even complete yet, they have no equipment, and are not officially handed over. No one can access them at present,” he said, explaining that he expected the completion to take around another three months.

As for the art wall created by Stass, it had been designated a protected structure and is legally part of the village’s cultural heritage, he said.

One long term local artist who studied at the old Lemba art school, however, had this to say: “I visited the new buildings out of curiosity…it was so sad, they bore no connection to anything that was there before, it was like a university campus had sprung up where something special had once been.”

Stass Paraskos remains the only Cypriot artist to have had his work displayed in London’s prestigious Tate Gallery. Despite receiving support from Archbishop Makarios in 1969 to found the island’s first art school, he had to battle constantly for funding, including a 30-year-old unsuccessful bid for funding to renovate the college’s old, now-demolished, premises.

“I have no doubt this had a negative effect on his health,” his son Michael said.

“Instead of showing shame for the way they treated him when he lived, the ministry of culture continues [to mistreat his legacy] when the department of culture should be doing everything to maintain it,” he charged.

Cyprus Mail has contacted Deputy Minister of Culture Lina Kassianidou for comment.