{"id":7310,"date":"2025-05-21T17:10:48","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T17:10:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/05\/21\/vima-art-fair-and-the-quiet-politics-of-a-nascent-regional-scene\/"},"modified":"2025-05-21T17:10:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T17:10:50","slug":"vima-art-fair-and-the-quiet-politics-of-a-nascent-regional-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/05\/21\/vima-art-fair-and-the-quiet-politics-of-a-nascent-regional-scene\/","title":{"rendered":"VIMA Art Fair and the Quiet Politics of a Nascent Regional Scene"},"content":{"rendered":"
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VIMA taps into Cyprus as a place of confluence of identities and a multicultural node, but the fair\u2019s founders are cautious about overtly calling it political. Photo: Daria Makurina<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The days of the art world having a \u2018slow season\u2019 are over. And amid a never-ending parade of fairs, gallery weekends, openings and festivals\u2014three planes in one week, artworks melting into one another, fatigue setting in\u2014enthusiasts and professionals alike can find themselves unmoored.<\/p>\n

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A serious collector friend confessed to me that somewhere over the Aegean, in desperate need of solace, she turned to the only podcast she had downloaded on her phone: an episode of France Culture dedicated to Algerian-French existentialist philosopher Albert Camus<\/a> and his conception of the absurd and of the necessity of going on and finding joy in the struggle.<\/p>\n

By the time she landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, she felt soothed. In her cab to Limassol, she noticed real estate billboards zipping past her window. \u201cWhat\u2019s up with those?\u201d she wondered as her taxi stopped next to the former wine warehouse that was hosting the inaugural edition of VIMA, the latest addition to the May art fair calendar. Stepping out of the car into the hair-whipping Mediterranean winds, she made her way toward the artfully run-down and oh-so-cool venue. Once inside, she immediately noticed that VIMA felt different.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not your typical art fair, which are identical everywhere,\u201d she told me over abundantly sugared Cypriot coffee. \u201cThe vibe is easygoing, the blend of Middle Eastern and local galleries is quite unique\u2014bref<\/i>, there is a sense of Cyprus!\u201d<\/p>\n

Cyprus as a multicultural node<\/b><\/p>\n

The second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, the coastal city of Limassol has been dubbed \u201cLimassolgrad\u201d for the strong presence of Russians who have been coming since the collapse of the Soviet Union and even more since the war started.<\/p>\n

But it is not only the Russians who have flocked to Cyprus. It\u2019s also the Lebanese, the Israelis and (perhaps most invasive all) the digital nomads coming to take advantage of Cyprus\u2019 tax status. This is a lot to handle for a country already split between the Greeks and the Turks, home to two British airbases and Europe\u2019s most eastern avant-poste, just a few short hours from Gaza and Beirut.<\/p>\n

The trio behind VIMA Art Fair, Edgar Gadzhiev<\/a>, Lara Kotreleva<\/a> and Nadezhda Zinovskaya<\/a>, is Russian, though all three have made their homes in Cyprus and are actively engaged with the local art ecosystem. To build VIMA, they worked closely with a team of local experts, including Cypriot cultural figures Alexandros Diogenous<\/a>, Tasos Stylianou<\/a> and Andre Zivanari<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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SEE ALSO: Art Basel Expands to the Gulf With a New Qatar Edition in 2026 <\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWe were doing long research, and it appeared that it is the right time to do the art fair exactly here,\u201d Kotreleva told Observer. \u201cAt the moment, there\u2019s a lot of private capital moving to Cyprus. And those people seem willing to collect art.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the fair positions Cyprus as a place of confluence of identities and a multicultural node, the founders are cautious about calling the fair political. \u201cWe have Russians, Lebanese, Ukrainians, Israelis and English people coexisting here,\u201d Gadzhiev explained. \u201cWith the fair, we want to provide a safe space for the art.\u201d The wine warehouse was also part of the vision. \u201cWe feel that this could show other owners of post-industrial buildings that this could be the way forward,\u201d said Kotreleva, who researched the modernist heritage of Limassol.<\/p>\n

Gadzhiev stressed that VIMA is not just about commerce but also about building infrastructure. \u201cWe need a space of connection between the market and the galleries,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no popular media telling art news here. People often don\u2019t know where to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, VIMA is an art fair on the margins<\/b><\/p>\n

Stopping at the booth of the Nicosia gallery \u0393\u039a\u0391\u03a1\u0391\u0396 art space, I spoke with Cypriot artist Giorgos Gerontides<\/a>, whose work consists of paintings and sculptures made from modified children\u2019s toys and explores latent violence. \u201cMy practice is based on toys that represent animals or weapons and how children learn from them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gerontides grew up in Nicosia, studied in Athens and now lives in Thessaloniki. \u201cIn small places like Cyprus, you can work better\u2014you are more concentrated,\u201d he noted. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to run to openings or to meet people. But of course, you need to travel to see and communicate.\u201d<\/p>\n

He found that VIMA had quality works. \u201cI like the space, the architecture, the way they create exhibitions and performances.\u201d He also commented on the necessity of context in a region where previous art fairs didn\u2019t have a cohesive program. \u201cHere you feel that it\u2019s not only about sales, it\u2019s also what we show and what we can learn from all these galleries coming to Cyprus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arsen Kalfayan<\/a> and Roupen Kalfayan<\/a> of the Athens and Thessaloniki-based Kalfayan Galleries saw promise in Cyprus as a growing market. \u201cWe are particularly happy that we are in Cyprus, which we believe has potential. Maybe it needs time, but the size of the fair is already quite good\u2014not too big, not too small. It\u2019s right for the island.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In a country shaped by migration, division and post-industrial transformation, VIMA offered a platform for layered cultural exchange. Photo: Daria Makurina<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI think this fair will put Cyprus on the map again,\u201d said Maria Stathi<\/a> from Art Seen. \u201cAt the fair, there are some incredible artists and strong galleries.\u201d Based in Nicosia, the gallerist decided to present an all-women showcase of very engaged and political artists from Cyprus. That regional focus was echoed by Nika Gallery, which operates between Dubai and Paris, and presented Arab and Russian artists whose work is focused on migration. \u201cWe are aiming to be a platform, a bridge between totally different cultures,\u201d said founder Veronika Berezina<\/a>. \u201cI like that the vision of the fair is very much related to our vision\u2014being in the middle, in the crossroads, open to different participants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maria Stathi emphasized the diversity of the fair\u2019s audience. \u201cI saw some of our local collectors, but also collectors from abroad,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to see people flying over, especially for the first edition.\u201d<\/p>\n

The obvious question is whether the local techno expats will pump money into the fair, as has happened in places like South Korea. VIMA\u2019s founders said that although they are not relying on tech wealth to power their collector base, they acknowledged the potential of certain audiences to propel the fair forward. \u201cSome support culture\u2014our main sponsor is from the IT sector. He\u2019s a passionate person, and his company is very corporate social responsibility-driven.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building a platform for layered cultural exchange<\/b><\/p>\n

Every art fair is commercial, but in the panels led by curator and writer Nadine Khalil<\/a> and a lecture by artist collective Slavs and Tatars, VIMA tackled socio-political questions head-on. In a more subtle way, similar explorations also emerged in \u201cThe Posterity of the Sun,\u201d a group exhibition curated by Ludovic Delalande<\/a> and installed in an open space near the site of the former winery. Left deliberately raw, the show made full use of Cyprus\u2019s stark light and elemental setting. \u201cI thought it was better not to pretend it\u2019s a white cube, but to embrace its nature and build a dialogue with the architecture,\u201d Delalande told Observer.<\/p>\n

The selection spanned generations and geographies, with artists from Palestine, Lebanon, France, Tunisia and beyond. The works\u2014from monumental felt installations made in the wake of the Beirut port explosion to delicately pigmented ceramics encoding the memory of sunsets\u2014formed a meditation on temporality, fragility and the materiality of art. \u201cI wanted to create a dialogue between Cypriot artists and artists from abroad\u2026 and to start from here, to look at the world from Cyprus,\u201d the curator said.<\/p>\n

The title of the show comes from a 1950s book of poems and photographs by Albert Camus and Ren\u00e9 Char\u2014a tribute to their friendship and the sun-drenched landscape of the South of France. \u201cThe sun is something we need to live, but also something we must be protected from,\u201d Delalande mused. \u201cIt reminds me of the human condition\u2014we are all under the sun, and we will all disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recalling her avian journey into Camus\u2019 absurd, my collector friend found those thoughts echoed surprisingly directly in the fair. Standing before Adrian Pepe<\/a>\u2019s large felt installation that hung like a golden fleece in the setting sun, she found closure along with a rare sense of resonance between a broad philosophy and a small slice of the art market inspired by the spirit of a place. \u201cWe are already planning the next edition,\u201d concluded Kotreleva. \u201cFor us, it\u2019s about building a cultural ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"VIMA<\/p><\/div>\n