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Contested Desires

@contesteddesires

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D6:EU is an independent NGO based in Cyprus, developing opportunities for artists in Europe & the Eastern Mediterranean.

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Decolonizing Heritage: Artistic Practices, Conflicts, and Transformations

Towards the final conference of Contested Desires, Constructive Dialogues (CDCD), we introduce some of the key topics that will guide the day: decolonial practices in heritage, the role of artists in decolonial processes, and rethinking cultural participation.

📅 12 November 2026 | 9:30–16:00
📍 Gallerie d’Italia
🌐 Join us in person or online!

🔗 Registration is open – link in bio.

More about the speakers and the programme coming soon!

Contested Desires: Constructive Dialogues is funded by the creative.eu programme of the @european.union and is implemented in partnership with:
@eccom_it @d6_eu_, @xarkis__ , @labonnebcn @herengracht401, @muhnac @MuseuNacional @museodellecivilta @proprogressione @bjcem_aisbl @museoegizio @creativecourt._ @la_fabrique_art_studio

Associated Partners: @d6culture @larnaka2030 @cyprusuniversitytechnology @fondazionesbac @casa_arabe

In collaboration with: @nubuke_foundation @museodelamemoria RMCG - @uniofleicester

#contesteddesiresconstructivedialogues #decolonizeculture #finalconference by @contesteddesires

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Join us for a FREE collaborative workshop in Larnaca exploring the themes of home, identity, and belonging, as part of the APOSTAXIS Project.

Led by two artists - Olena Kulish, a Ukrainian collage artist and Elin Yurtdaş, a Cypriot textile artist, this workshop brings together paper, textiles, and personal stories to explore what home means to us and how our identities are shaped by the places we inhabit, remember, or leave behind.

Through images, textures, and materials, we’ll explore our connections to places, memories, and a sense of belonging.
No previous artistic experience is needed - just bring your curiosity and willingness to create!

📍 Location: StArt Cafe, Larnaca
📅 Date: 20 October
⏰ Time: 17:30–19:30
🎟️ Participation: Free
👥 Age: 16+

Come join us, meet the artists, share ideas, and create together. We look forward to welcoming you!

Make yourself at home🏠

Disclaimer:

The project APOSTAXIS is implemented in the framework of ZMINA: Resilience, a cooperation between IZOLYATSIA (UA), Malý Berlín (SK) with support of Trans Europe Halles (SE).

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. taken in Larnaca, Cyprus by @contesteddesires

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3 days ago

APOSTAXIS: Context

**Українською далі, гортайте**

When you have to leave home, you can only take a little with you. Yet the traditions of family, friends and neighbours stay with us, and they shape the way we go on living.

In Greek, apostaxis means “distillation”, in other words, extracting the essence. That is exactly what we are searching for together with the artists: the essentials that help people hold on to themselves, their identity and their solidarity when they have to rebuild their lives from scratch.

APOSTAXIS is a transnational art residency and exhibition project run by the @congress.of.cultural.activists (Ukraine) and @d6_eu_ (Cyprus). The project connects two European regions that differ in geography but share a similar experience of forced displacement:
🔹 the Lemkos, who were forcibly resettled from Poland to Ukraine between 1944 and 1946;
🔹 Ukrainians who are being forced to leave their homes by the war today;
🔹 Greek and Turkish Cypriots, who were displaced after the Turkish invasion of 1974 divided the island.

From 6 to 28 October, four artists, three from Ukraine and one from Cyprus, are working at the same time in residencies in the Ternopil region (@nvair_ua ) and in Larnaca (D6:EU). Their research will become the basis for a digital exhibition in December, followed by a physical exhibition in January 2027 at the Obiimy Ukrainian Cultural Centre in Larnaca.

Two locations, one question: how do other people remain themselves after forced displacement?

The project APOSTAXIS is implemented in the framework of ZMINA: Resilience, a cooperation between @izolyatsia (UA), @maly_berlin (SK) with support of @transeuropehalles (SE).

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

#APOSTAXIS #ZMINA_resilience #ArtResidency

APOSTAXIS: контекст

Коли доводиться покидати дім, з собою вдається взяти небагато. Але традиції родини, друзів, сусідства залишаються з нами і формують те, як ми ж by @contesteddesires

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3 days ago

🌿 EXHIBITION #5 | İZMİR 🌿

The MATCH journey continues in İzmir. with its fifth exhibition in November 2026.

Following their residency in May, artists Maya Aghniadis (Flugen) @flugen.music and Joana Amora @amoramamora present “Invisible Grounds”, an exhibition exploring the people, practices, memories and relationships that shape the landscape. Through farms, food networks, olive trees, sound and image, their works reveal the connections between people, plants and place.

Maya Aghniadis’s Silent Witnesses (Al Samitoun / الصامتون) is a sound-led installation exploring the uprooting of olive trees and the silenced voices and stories of the Mediterranean. Through cyanotypes, moving images and sound, the work reflects on rootedness, resistance and collective memory.

Joana Amora’s Gıda Toplulukları (Food Communities) explores the local food system through a two-channel film featuring ecological farmers and their farms in the İzmir and Urla region, alongside photographs of local foods found in ecological bazaars. Her work maps the relationships connecting food production with the communities it sustains.

📅 Opening: 7 November 2026, 18:00
📍 Galeri A, İzmir @galeri_a_izmir
🗓️ Exhibition: 7–28 November 2026

Join us in İzmir to discover the outcomes of Maya and Joana’s research and explore the connections between ecological practices, local knowledge and the more-than-human world ✨

Project partners:
@mapadasideias @d6_eu_ @archntua @bjcem_aisbl @frichelabelledemai

Local partners:
@k2izmir @laescocesabcn @deltapiproductions

Co-funded by creative.eu

#matchproject #izmir #exhibition #CreativeEurope taken in İzmir, Turkey by @contesteddesires

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3 days ago

MATCH Dialogues #1 | Creative Practice, Climate and Community Gardens

Meet the speakers

Panel 1: Lizzie Reid, Maya Agniadis and Nafsika Hadjichristou

Panel 2: Joana Amora and Hannah Taylor

Panel 3: Swati Devichi and Christina Zampoulaki

📅 27 October 2026
🕒 15:00–17:00 WET / 16:00–18:00 CET / 17:00–19:00 EET
💻 Online

The MATCH artists will share their research and reflect on how creative practices in community gardens can respond to the effects of the climate emergency across the Mediterranean.

To join us, register via the link in bio.

Stay tuned to discover the key themes and questions that will guide the conversations in each panel!

Project partners:
@mapadasideias @d6_eu_ @archntua @bjcem_aisbl @frichelabelledemai

Local partners:
@deltapiproductions @k2izmir @laescocesabcn

Co-funded by @creativeeurope

#matchproject #dialouges #creativepractice #climate by @contesteddesires

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10 days ago

Save the date | 12 November 2026 ✨

Join us in Turin for the international conference “Decolonizing Heritage: Artistic Practices, Conflicts, and Transformations”, the final conference of Contested Desires, Constructive Dialogues (CDCD) project.

📅 12 November 2026 | 9:30–16:00
📍 Gallerie d’Italia, Turin

Bringing together artists, researchers, cultural practitioners and representatives of cultural institutions, the conference will explore decolonial practices, the role of artists and local communities, and the relationships between cultural institutions and their audiences. Together, we will also reflect on the legacy of CDCD and its future perspectives.

🌐 Join us in person or online!

🔗 Registration is open – link in bio.

Stay tuned for more details about the conference programme!

Contested Desires: Constructive Dialogues is funded by the creative.eu programme of the @european.union and is implemented in partnership with:
@eccom_it @d6_eu_, @xarkis__ , @labonnebcn @herengracht401, @muhnac @MuseuNacional @museodellecivilta @proprogressione @bjcem_aisbl @museoegizio @creativecourt._ @la_fabrique_art_studio

Associated Partners: @d6culture @larnaka2030 @cyprusuniversitytechnology @fondazionesbac @casa_arabe

In collaboration with: @nubuke_foundation @museodelamemoria RMCG - @uniofleicester

#contesteddesiresconstructivedialogues #decolonizeculture #finalconference #turin by @contesteddesires

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MATCH Dialogues 🌱

Session 1 – Creative Practice, Climate and Community Gardens

📅 27 October
🕒 15.00–17.00 WET / 16.00–18.00 CET / 17.00–19.00 EET
💻 Online via Zoom

Join us for the first of three online events exploring the issues at the heart of the MATCH programme.

Addressing pressing issues of water scarcity, extreme heat and wildfires, the MATCH artists have been exploring how creative practice in community gardens can address the ways that the climate emergency is being felt across the Mediterranean.

In this first event, the MATCH artists will share the research they have developed during the MATCH programme and reflect on critical questions that connect their practices.

To join us, register via the link in bio.

Project partners:
@mapadasideias @d6_eu_ @archntua @bjcem_aisbl @frichelabelledemai

Local partners:
@deltapiproductions @k2izmir @laescocesabcn

Co-funded by @creative.eu

#matchproject #dialouges #creativepractice #climate by @contesteddesires

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17 days ago

✨ Barcelona Exhibition Recap ✨

As part of Exhibition #4 of the MATCH project, artists Nafsika Hadjichristou @alloikosmoi and Hannah Taylor @hannah.rebekah.art shared the outcomes of their residencies at La Escocesa in Barcelona.

Nafsika Hadjichristou presented an audiovisual piece developed from conversations, drawings, collages and collective imaginaries gathered during her residency, exploring collective imagination, climate change, deep time and the living world.

Hannah Taylor held an open studio presenting her research into the relationships between soils, metals and Mediterranean plants, bringing together discarded materials, spontaneous vegetation, contaminated urban soils and phytoremediation plants.

Both events offered an opportunity to discover the artists’ research and creative processes and to engage with their work through screenings, exhibitions and hands-on experimentation.

Find out more about the two Public Sharing Events in Barcelona in the Exhibition section of our website (link in bio)

Photos from Hannah’s Open Studio © Ariadna Carreras Campoy

Project partners:
@mapadasideias @d6_eu_ @archntua @bjcem_aisbl @frichelabelledemai

Local partners: @laescocesabcn @deltapiproductions @k2izmir

Co-funded by @creative.eu

#exhibition #barcelona #laescocesa #MATCHproject taken in La Escocesa by @contesteddesires

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The journey of @ContestedDesires does not end with its final residency, but continues through the artists, communities and collaborations it has connected over the last three years.

Contested Desires has been a long journey delivering a cultural programme across multiple contexts, and taking on some of the most difficult and contested legacies of all: those of colonialism.

At Xarkis Festival in Kalavasos the 22 artists presented their artistic research through art installations, performances, conversations and stories, creating beautiful moments of connection. Thank you to the @xarkis__ team for building this kind of collaboration with the people of Kalavasos!

It was a pleasure to witness the work of the D6EU artists @sumer_erek and @emmidiately, as well as @sithabileartprojects and @boussadia66 who spent time in residence in Larnaca with us.

To every artist who joined us on this journey: thank you!

Contested Desires examines the impact of colonial legacies through artistic collaboration. Co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

Contested Desires: Constructive Dialogues is co-funded by the @creative.eu programme of the @european.union and is implemented in partnership with:
@eccom_it, @d6_eu_, @xarkis__, @labonnebcn, @herengracht401, @muhnac, @museunacional, @museodellecivilta, @proprogressione, @bjcem_aisbl, @museoegizio, @creativecourt._, @la_fabrique_art_studio

Associated Partner@d6culture, @larnaka2030, @cyprusuniversitytechnology, @fondazionescuolapatrimonio, @casa_arabe

In collaboration with: @nubuke_foundation @museodelamemoria RMCG - @uniofleicester

Xarkis Residency is also supported by the Deputy Ministry of Culture & the Community Council of Kalavasos @koinotikosymbouliokalabasou

Photos by
Andreas Gregoras @andy.g_photography
Andrea Constantinide @uniconvisuals
© Xarkis by @contesteddesires

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21 days ago

🌿 PUBLIC SHARING EVENT | BARCELONA 🌿

Tomorrow, 23 September at 18:30, join us at La Escocesa in Barcelona for the end-of-residency open studio by Hannah Taylor @hannah.rebekah.art , as part of EXHIBITION #4 of the MATCH project.

The evening will offer a look into the research Hannah has developed over the past six months, exploring the relationships between soils, metals and Mediterranean plants.

The programme will include an experimental open workshop exploring plant-based inks and metal modifiers, a collective discussion on how we can care for our urban soils, and an exhibition of works created throughout the residency around these themes.

Seasonal tapas and foraged cordials will be served throughout the evening.

📅 23 September 2026, 18:30
📍 La Escocesa, Barcelona

Come and join us tomorrow at La Escocesa for an evening of research, making and conversation around urban soils 🌱

Project partners:
@mapadasideias @d6_eu_ @archntua @bjcem_aisbl @frichelabelledemai

Local partners:
@deltapiproductions @k2izmir @laescocesabcn

Co-funded by @creative.eu

#matchproject #barcelona #exhibition #creativeeurope taken in La Escocesa by @contesteddesires

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a month ago

🌿 PUBLIC SHARING EVENT | BARCELONA 🌿

Tomorrow, 18 September at 18:30, join us at La Escocesa in Barcelona for the public sharing of Nafsika Hadjichristou’s residency, part of the MATCH project.

Nafsika @alloikosmoi is currently working on the stop-motion frames for the audiovisual piece she will present at La Escocesa. This hands-on process is interwoven with excerpts from interviews with people from community gardens in Barcelona, collected during her residency.

The audiovisual piece will be followed by an open conversation and a participatory moment.

📅 18 September 2026, 18:30
📍 La Escocesa, Barcelona

Come and join us tomorrow to discover the outcome of Nafsika’s research and take part in the conversation ✨

Project partners:
@mapadasideias @d6_eu_ @archntua @bjcem_aisbl @frichelabelledemai

Local partners:
@deltapiproductions @k2izmir @laescocesabcn

Co-funded by @creative.eu

#matchproject #barcelona #exhibition #CreativeEurope taken in La Escocesa by @contesteddesires

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a month ago

Meet the APOSTAXIS artist Elin Yurtdaş (@elinyurtdas)

Elin Yurtdaş is an interdisciplinary artist from Cyprus working across textiles, ceramics, sculpture, and installation.

Her practice explores materials, memory, identity, and place through both traditional craft processes and reclaimed materials.

Her earlier work focused on environmental issues surrounding fast fashion, plastic pollution, micro-fibres, and marine environments, while her recent practice has shifted towards Cypriot cultural heritage, home, belonging, and personal and collective memory.

Through sewing, embroidery, weaving, ceramics, and material experimentation, she creates tactile works that bring together personal experiences, cultural references, and the stories held within everyday materials.

APOSTAXIS is a cross-border art residency and exhibition project developed in partnership between D6:EU and @congress.of.cultural.activists (CoCA), bringing together artists with experience of displacement for residencies in Ukraine and Cyprus.

The project APOSTAXIS is implemented in the framework of ZMINA:Resilience, a cooperation between @izolyatsia (UA), @maly_berlin (SK) with support of @transeuropehalles (SE). Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

#APOSTAXIS #ZMINA_resilience #ArtResidency by @contesteddesires

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