VIRTUAL: Prague Heritages
Abstract
This paper looks at how memorials dealing, in one way or other, with the division in Nicosia, might interact with practices related to nostalgia. Today, nostalgia is frequently discussed as a particular mode of desire that develops links with specific versions of the past to deal with the present, leading to the reconstruction of alternative visions for the future. It is not only understood as a reactionary notion but rather as a spatio-temporal practice that plays a key role in the way our environment is being envisioned, represented, perceived and built. In the field of critical heritage, a growing analytical interest around the theme of nostalgia observed within the last two decades reveals the need to reframe the status of nostalgia in the broader area of heritage by seeing it as an active affective practice. The impact of nostalgia becomes even more powerful in sites marked by loss, or a sudden change. In Nicosia, the violent event of the partition in 1974 due to the Turkish invasion has dramatically affected not only the physical fabric of the city but also its socio-political and cultural networks. By interrogating the internal structure, ingredients and goals of the examined memorials and artworks we aim at unravelling the diverse forms that nostalgia can take in practices dealing with the past. This research is part of a broader theoretical debate that seeks to reconsider the intertwined relationship between nostalgia and heritage and the impact that this relationship might have in the making of a vibrant urban environment.
Christakis Chatzjichristou, PhD, Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Cyprus. Received his first degree in Architectural Engineering in 1986 from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Architecture in 1991 from the same institution. Awarded a PhD in Architecture from the Bartlett School of Graduate Studies at the University College London in 2002. Received a number of awards in architectural competitions and participated in the Venice Architecture Biennale for Cyprus (2006, 2008). Selected to curate the Cyprus Pavilion at the Architecture Venice Biennale (2010).
Kyriakos Miltiadou graduated from the Architecture School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2015 where he ranked first in his year. He continued his studies at the Bartlett School of Architecture by undertaking post-graduate research in the Advanced Architectural Research course (PGCAAR) graduating with distinction in 2017. He has participated and been awarded in several architectural competitions and exhibitions. In 2022 he received the National Architecture Award in the category ‘Project of Young Architect’. He is currently a PhD Candidate at the School of Architecture, University of Cyprus. His PhD studies are supported by grants from ‘Sylvia Ioannou Foundation’, ‘IKY’ and ‘Evagoras Scholarship’.
2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Thursday 29th June, 2023