Italian, Greek artists to inaugurate MoAD
Source: Financial Mirror
The newly-established Museum of Art and Design will host its inaugural exhibition on Friday, October 17, with a star-studded lineup of international artists and speakers.
This landmark event marks a significant milestone in Cyprus’s cultural landscape and underscores the museum’s mission to become a leading destination for international contemporary art.
The exhibition, held at the museum’s own premises near the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, will showcase works by two acclaimed creators, Italian mixed-media artist Leonardo Blanco and Greek painter Mara Tsafantaki.
Blanco is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture and installation. His works are held in both public and private collections, with permanent installations in San Marino, Strasbourg (at the Council of Europe), Nazareth (Basilica of the Annunciation), and Beijing (Water Cube Museum).
In 2009, Blanco represented the Republic of San Marino at the 53rd Venice Biennale of Visual Arts, and has received several prestigious public commissions, including the creation of a monumental steel sculpture, now permanently installed at the entrance to San Marino’s city centre.
Mara Tsafantaki is a graduate of the Athens School of Fine Arts, under the mentorship of Professor Chronis Botsoglou. Her work has been showcased in several solo exhibitions in Athens and in numerous group exhibitions both in Greece and internationally.
Since 2003, Tsafantaki has illustrated numerous children’s books, published by leading Greek publishing houses Patakis and Papadopoulos.
Her illustration for “Little Leo and the Circusmicroworld”, written by Kostas Charalas, was longlisted for the 2006 Greek State Illustration Awards and later published in South Korea.
The Museum of Art and Design inaugural event will include a keynote address by Italian designer Giulio Masciocchi, whose aesthetic direction has shaped the prestigious collections of renowned Italian brands across the fashion, accessories and design industries.
Masciocchi’s multidisciplinary practice encompasses concept and product design, interior design, creative direction, textile and surface design, as well as graphic communication. His work is characterised by a refined aesthetic sensibility and a distinctive contemporary vision.
In 2016, Masciocchi established G.DISEGNI, his personal atelier and design studio dedicated to applied arts. The studio operates across diverse creative fields, from textile and porcelain design to product development and fashion design.
The Museum of Art and Design inaugural reception will be held on Friday, October 17, 6-9pm, followed by public viewing on Saturday and Sunday, October 18-19, 5-8pm.
“This inaugural exhibition represents our commitment to bringing world-class contemporary art to Cyprus while fostering dialogue among international artistic communities,” said artist, design and art consultant Maria Ignatiou Shiakalli, founder and Artistic Director of the Museum of Art and Design.
Distinct cultural perspectives
“The works of Tsafantaki and Blanco offer profound engagement with global cultural narratives, inviting visitors on a compelling exploration of cross-cultural expression. Selected for their innovative approaches and universal themes, Tsafantaki and Blanco will present new series that reflect distinct cultural perspectives,” she added.
Maria has been actively involved in art education, curation and philanthropy for the past two decades, working on prestigious international projects, collaborating with galleries, collectors and developers.
More recently, she was appointed as the exclusive art consultant for Reem Mall in Abu Dhabi, one of the UAE’s most ambitious architectural projects and in 2023 she was selected to create the monumental artwork Falcon’s Flight, symbolising the emirates’ vision for the future.
Yorgos Taxiarchopoulos is Chief Curatorial Strategist at the Museum of Art and Design. He is currently Artistic Director of the Limassol Municipal Arts Centre – Papadakis Warehouses and Founder of ACEY Europe – Arts & Culture Community, a non-profit entity based in Greece, bringing institutional credibility and global network expertise.
The Museum of Art and Design is located at 37 Demostheni Severi Street, near the Foreign Ministry and the Presidential Palace, Nicosia.
For information, call +35722011349
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