4 – 11 March 2016
Opening: Friday, March 4, 7:30pm
The “Female Heroes of Cyprus” exhibition is a collection of portraits and stories about women, from the ancient world to modern day, who are examples of love, courage and dedication in our community.
In the exhibition will find mythical, historical, modern and unknown portraits of women who should be known. You will discover stories of women of our community who are pioneering and strong,who have influenced and support society, who are often not recognised but live amongst us, who are essential for our community to work, who love and lead behind the “stage’s lights”.
The artworks are a collection of mosaics and paintings mainly by the artist Mary Chojnowski. Many of the artworks in the exhibition have also been created with the contribution of local artists and by schoolchildren and other community groups from Pafos with the guidance of Mary. Therefore, the exhibition represents a joint effort by artists and community on highlighting the theme of Female Heroes of Cyprus.
The exhibition is also intended to be an educational opportunity: to explore the role of women in our community, to inspire with positive female role models and to showcase the artworks as a result of teamwork in schools and other community groups.
It will be a useful opportunity for teachers and carers to get inspiration for their own art projects and get to know helpful community artists. The artist Mary Chojnowski will also be available for the week of the exhibition to meet school groups for an explanation/tour of the Female Heroes Event (by appointment, contact details available through Technopolis). All ages welcome.
“As a woman artist and mother, I appreciate the sacrifices we women make for our families, our friends, our society and how we choose peace and love above success and power. We do this in so many different ways. These are the stories I want to share and bring to light. I am inspired by my work with children, and I want to celebrate ordinary people who are in my opinion beautiful human beings doing beautiful work! I don’t want to make art which is over-intellectual or conceptual or difficult to understand. I want to make art which make us change positively our lives and I want to change the way we teach children about Heroes. I believe we need to redefine heroism to show that it is not just found in male role models or in recognized faces. I hope families, teachers and children will find this exhibition helpful, inspiring and educational”
I would just like to say that this exhibition for me is about:
1. my gift: showing the public my love of mosaic art and people, all sorts of people. People are a big inspiration for me, hence portraits are a major part of my work. My favourite motto right now is: “the face is the icon of the soul” I am ambitious too, so I want to show off my work too because I know it is unique and emotionally engaging
2.togetherness: even though I love to be alone a lot of the time to make art, I also love to bring people together especially in Paphos where we are such a unique mix of cultures. I want people to come to my events and learn something new on an emotional level. Not just art techniques, but to ask questions about how we can make our lives more meaningful. So I want people to be inspired by my portraits and use that information to help them in their own lives.
3. public art:I love mosaic and I want to make bigger pieces of public art in and around Paphos..I would love the female heroes to be a park project where visitors/tourists could see mosaics about the interesting people and history of Paphos. I think we need lots more good, outdoor mosaic art in Paphos. So I am hoping to find some sponsors for this idea!
4. most importantly, Women: I am so often inspired by women in my life, I have met so many interesting and admirable women in my journey. They make me think “wow” all the time so I wanted to pass that experience on with art, because that’s my gift. people may be surprised at some of my portrait choices but thats all the more reason to come and have a discussion with me at the exhibition.
Mary Chojnowski
