Controversy broke out between the municipality of Pafos and artists over the loss and possible destruction of works of art from the period of the European Capital of Culture. The issue was highlighted by the Cultural Movement ex-Artis.
The movement, which played an important role in the creation and installation of works of the European Capital of Culture – Pafos 2017, protests in a letter to the Municipality of Pafos for the reckless behaviour and unacceptable irresponsibility it showed, as it says, resulting in the loss and possible destruction of works of art.
He accuses the Pafos Municipality of admitting that it has not located sculptures it had moved for renovation work, but trying to evade responsibility with unsubstantiated allegations. It is stated in the letter that it is unacceptable that the Municipality of Pafos has not taken care of the safety of the city's cultural projects and the Pafos ECoC 2017, as it should.
The occasion was the sculptural works "Saw" and "Dancer" by Renos Stefanis and the work "Forêt Sacrée" by Herman Pitts created during ECoC 2017 as part of the projects "Eco Art" and "On Target" curated by art historian Thule Misirloglou, Director of the Thessaloniki Museum of Contemporary Art and German art historian Inge Becker. The installation of the works at these points was approved by the Department of Antiquities, the Environment Service, the Game and Fauna Service and the Municipality of Pafos. The three projects are part of the cultural heritage of Pafos and property of citizens and society.
The move requires the Pafos Municipality to locate the sculptures and reposition them without delay at the points chosen by the curators, artists and ECoC Pafos 2017 with the approval of all relevant bodies.
