Nicosia Walk: Monuments and Memory in Nicosia, 1960-1963

Building Identity: Monuments and Memory in Nicosia, 1960-1963.

Saturday, 27 January 2024, 10:30-12:30.

Facilitators: Loizos Kapsalis, Esra Plümer Bardak

Starting/Ending Point: Home for Cooperation

***Registration is mandatory and will be completed with the confirmation of the online purchase. Please remember to bring a valid ID/Passport with you.***

During this walk, we will visit monuments erected in the walled town of Nicosia across the divide in the period 1960-1963. We think about how different groups inhabiting the urban space sought to represent their sense of self and their place within the newly founded state. Revisiting their histories, we will consider how these monuments have played a role in social, cultural, and political contests that took place during the first years of independence from British rule.

Around the world, monuments constitute the most visible representation of collective identity in the urban landscape. Commemorating past events that are deemed significant by those who commission or design them, they are a visual testimony of a community’s aspirations for the future. At the same time, monuments commonly present selective interpretations of the past, and may contribute to the creation or perpetuation of conflict, particularly in divided societies.

This educational walk is part of the project, ‘DeepNic: Mapping Nicosia’s Urban Centre, 1960-2020,’ which traces changes in demography, business activity and monument building, to produce a digital deep map showing the transformation of the urban centre of Nicosia since 1960. DeepNic is implemented by CYENS Centre of Excellence in collaboration with the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research and Appios Creative Studio and, has received funding from the Research and Promotion Foundation’s, RESTART <Excellence Hubs (Bridge Programmes)> and Pillar IV – Bridge Programmes, RIF Proposal No: EXCELLENCE/0421/0566.

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