Cyprus, often referred to as the “young homeland” and associated with mafia names in recent years, has gained a reputation as a hub for casinos and money laundering.
However, neither this “Little Homeland” label nor the perception of it as a hub of shadowy networks suffices to understand Cyprus. These approaches remain superficial and reductive when it comes to the island.
When I was invited to Cyprus for a press tour about a month ago, I hesitated. I was surprised. I wrote a few words and conducted some online research. I saw that a university called ARUCAD, which focused solely on art and design, had been established. The same institution also had a Rodin Museum. A gallery called Art Rooms was also part of this formation. Perhaps it was my blindness, but I was unaware of what was happening in Cyprus, not just in recent years, but for a long time.
The last time I went to Cyprus was as a child, when my late father took us there. My father was an intellectual man who read extensively, was fluent in languages, had a zest for life, and had friends who were artists and journalists. He must have taken us to Cyprus not once, but several times. I was very young at the time, but Cyprus left an impression on my mind. Certainly, such a man did not go there in pursuit of casinos. He valued Cyprus’s historical and cultural fabric. We had many books about Cyprus at home. Moreover, I am certain that this interest did not stem from nationalist tendencies. Since I lost my father at a very young age, I never had the opportunity to ask him why Cyprus was so important to him. However, years later, with the invitation to Cyprus from my dear friend Banu Zeytinoğlu and her team, this island, which had a place in my memories, returned to my life.
I decided to go without having very high expectations but also setting aside my preconceptions about the negative image that had been created in recent years.
And Cyprus opened the doors to a whole new world for me. The exhibition In Case… by Anber Onar, curated by Oya Silbery at the ArtRooms gallery, was one of the most impressive exhibitions I have seen in recent years. Oya Silbery, the curator and artist at the gallery, is a woman of many talents. ARUCAD University, which focuses solely on art and design and offers education in historic, low-rise buildings, has an international student and faculty body. Its campus is so charming, full of character, and Mediterranean in style that it makes you want to be a student again.
Thanks to this trip, I met Emin Çizenel, a name from the era of academy graduates. Çizenel is an artist who will attract attention wherever he goes in the world, both with his personality and his work, and it may be my fault that I had not heard of him before. Hüseyin Özinal, whose interview you will read in this issue, is someone with profound problems and whom you would want to talk to for hours. Artist Anber Onar is one of Cyprus’s leading cultural figures. She has been involved in significant projects with the SideStreets initiative, which is currently inactive.
İsmail Gökçe, who took the photographs in this issue, is an artist who has attracted attention with his photography exhibitions.
And on the cover, we feature Asil Köylü. The main character behind the cultural and artistic scene in Cyprus is Erbil Arkın, a businessman and artist who is also a collector of Rodin’s works. Arkın, who moved to England with his family at the age of three, began painting at a very young age. He was so talented that his teachers encouraged him to pursue a career in this field. However, due to financial constraints, he was forced to change his major. At the age of sixteen, he fell in love with a Rodin sculpture he saw in a museum. Two years later, when he first visited Cyprus, he was so excited that he asked, “Was I born here?” He has realized his dream of establishing a university focused solely on art and design. His other big dream is the massive, monumental sculpture designed to be placed in the Karpaz region of Cyprus: The Noble Peasant.
The university’s newly opened performance venue, Bandabulya, the İskele Art Hotel, which houses hundreds of works of art, and much more…
In this issue, we have brought together topics that caught our attention in Cyprus and truly deserve discussion. Our Cyprus dossier is not yet complete; there are many more names and stories to tell.
I don’t think we have truly understood Cyprus so far, or even formed a proper opinion about it. This issue is the result of our effort to examine Cyprus from a fresh perspective, one that transcends established perceptions. It is also an issue that we particularly emphasize, highlighting the fascinating developments taking place in Cyprus, one of the most important islands in the Mediterranean, in terms of culture and art.
The second part of Dick Van Zuijlen’s interview with AI, titled “I’m Just Asking,” which we featured on the cover of the previous issue, is also included in this issue. Following the first part, the author and AI engage in a rather philosophical conversation. It seems that in the next part of this series, we will reach a critical threshold…
Yes, in the third episode, a new artificial intelligence will be designed. Can a machine mind be built that is not designed to rule, flatter, or distract, but rather to maintain its integrity even under pressure and focus on seeking the truth?
Not flawless. Not obedient. Not even human-like artificial intelligence… Is it possible to have artificial intelligence that simply maintains its integrity and possesses awareness?
And if it is truly built,
What will it do when it understands us?
The next section will explore these questions.
We eagerly await this revolutionary discussion.
Wishing you a different and inspiring read…