Freedom, a Bridge between Earth and Sky
“Freedom, a Bridge between Earth and Sky” is a contemporary artistic project that explores the concept of freedom as a force connecting the individual to the collective. Through visual artworks and performances, the artists engage in a dialogue with the history, natural environment, everyday culture, and objects of collective memory of Kypseli, one of the most notable villages of Epirus. The result is a living narrative that reveals hidden stories and memories of its people, fostering a continuous dialogue between past and present.
The project developed through engagement with contemporary culture, forming the basis of an artistic journey through Kypseli, Tzoumerka. “Freedom, a Bridge between Earth and Sky” was designed and realized by CHEAPART, with the financial support and under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture (YPPOA), the Municipality of Central Tzoumerka, Kypseli Municipal District of Arta, the Pantelis Karalis Museum of Folk Art and Life, and with the participation and collaboration of local the community.
Since 2021, CHEAPART has developed a series of exhibitions and research initiatives in regions where dialogue and fresh perspectives are most needed. By linking contemporary thinking with artistic creation, these projects generate vibrant spaces for exchange, rooted in the history, myths, and traditions unique to each place.
«Freedom, a Bridge between Earth and Sky»
The history, landscape, and character of the people of the Kefalochoria of Tzoumerka extend into the present, entering a dialogue with contemporary ideas of freedom, community, and the release from the burdens of modern life. Shaped by the region’s mountainous human geography and geomorphology, this environment has inspired contemporary Greek and international artists to create works, performances, and workshops that respond to its traditions and spirit.
⟶ Group exhibition, Contemporary artists on the pathways of freedom, from earth to sky
Twenty contemporary artists and three curators from Greece, Austria, Germany, and Finland came together in the group exhibition “Freedom, a Bridge between Earth and Sky”, hosted at the Kypseli Elementary School and the Pantelis Karalis Museum of Folk Art and Life, in a collaborative artistic project inspired by local traditions and culture.
Participating artists: Sebastian Boulter, Sof Fachouridou, Georg Georgakopoulos, Paolo Incarnato, Richard Jochum, Athina Kanela, Babis Karalis, Thalia Kerouli, Lars* Kollros, Nikos Kryonidis, Leftheris Plakidas, Christian Rupp, Elio Samara, Nefeli Stam, Stratos Sterianos, Athina Vahla, Despoina Vaxevani, Werner Widmer, Sascha Zaitseva.
⟶ Events and Tours
engage with the surrounding environment, local artists and creators, and the Kypseli community, forming a living narrative of diverse creative practices.
Local community in contemporary dialogue
Workshops / Talks:
Sof Fachouridou, Mapping workshop
Athina Vahla, Kinesiology Workshop
Leftheris Plakidas, Talk - Presentation "Man and Nature"
Performance:
Athina Kanela, "Concrete", performance
Nefeli Stam, "Train Poetry", sound performance
Stratos Sterianos, experimental soundscapes based on traditional rythms
Traditional music from Tzoumerka: Yiannis Kousiounelos, Roula Antoniou
Guided Tours and Walks:
Guided tour by Giannis Angelou, Holy Monastery of Evangelistria in Kypseli, Rare cedar forest
Monastery of Kipina, Plaka Bridge, Syrrako in Tzoumerka, Red Church
Culinary workshops:
The Epirus pie: Mrs. Chrysanthi Karali, Mrs. Alexia Bouri
Ritual of Traditional Distillation
At Kypseli Elementary School, Sof Fachouridou conducts a mapping workshop, beginning with a brief presentation on the concept of maps, analog and digital mapping methods, and their technical, political, and artistic applications. During the following days’ excursions, participants create their own maps using drawing, writing, photography, or digital GPS tools.
Composer and musician, Nefeli Stamatogiannopoulou, presents a sound performance with electronics, electric bass, and voice. Since childhood, she has cultivated a habit during train journeys: taking notes, recording sounds and rhythm, a personal, almost secret ritual that gradually transformed into creative material. With voice and bass as her primary instruments, and through a composition that blends natural and electronic elements, Nefeli constructs a piece that moves fluidly between poetry and sound, memory and improvisation. “Train Poetry” invites the audience into a listening experience that needs no explanation, only an open heart. A sound journey presented for the first time, unfolding in its own irregular rhythm.
Drawing from the musical heritage of Epirus, visual artist Stratos Sterianos presents an experimental soundscape, where tradition meets electric instruments and looping techniques.
Athina Vahla Renowned choreographer, performance artist, and lecturer at Central Saint Martins in London, Athina Vachla, leads an open-participation kinesiology workshop, featuring exercises and creative studies based on her artistic practice, which emphasizes collaboration and humanism.
In her performance "Concrete", visual artist Athina Kanela questions social conventions and the boundaries that are often reproduced without serving any essential function. How dependent are we on these structures, and how can we renegotiate them? Through the symbolic and physical rupture of a self-constructed concrete boundary/prison, Kanela activates a powerful performative gesture; an act of resistance and reflection on the individual and collective potential to surpass social limitations.
Photographer and journalist Lefteris Plakidas reflects on Man and Nature, as well as his work in the exhibition “Freedom, a Bridge between Earth and Sky.”
"Atrapos (Pathway) of Water and Stone", Visual notes
Artists, curators, visitors, and audiences capture their excursions through photography, sharing them in a large-scale projection that is refreshed daily, both in physical space (exhibition venue, Kypseli Elementary School) and online.
Atrapos (Pathway) of Water and Stone
Organised / Produced by: CHEAPART
Exhibition Design and Curation: CHEAPART, APART Art Research and Applications
Program Directors:
Georg Georgakopoulos
Fotini Kapiris
Babis Karalis
With the financial support and under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture
With the support and under the auspices of the Municipality of Central Tzoumerka
Support: Kypseli Municipal District, Arta
Museum of Folk Life and Folk Art, Pantelis Karalis
Delta Dyo NPO
Artistic and curatorial coordination: CHEAPART, Δ2
Promotion: APART Art Research and Applications
Local community, Support
Atrapos (Pathway) of Water and Stone”, Curated by: CHEAPART
Hosted by:
Kypseli Tzoumerka/ Epirus/ Zig Zag Festival 2025
[L] Opening of "Freedom, a Bridge between Earth and Sky", [R] Opening night with Mayor of Central Tzoumerka, Mr. Christos Hasiakos, Deputy Mayor Mr. Antonis Galanis, President Mr. Pavlos Doulamis
Exhibition view, Kypseli Primary School
Exhibition view, Kypseli Primary School
[L] Exhibition view [R] Pantelis Karalis Museum of Folk Art and Life
[L] Opening at the Pantelis Karalis Museum [R] Sof Fachouridou, Mapping workshop
[L] Kinesiology workshop, Athina Vachla [R] Athina Kanela, "Concrete", performance
[L] Tour, Holy Monastery of Evangelistria Kypseli [R] Screening of «Atrapos (Pathway) of Water and Stone», Visual notes.
[L] Nefeli Stam, “Train Poetry” performance [R] Epirus folk, Yiannis Kousiounelos, Roula Antoniou
[L] Culinary workshop , Mrs. Chrysanthi Karali, Mrs. Alexia Bouri [R] Group photo, Organisers and artists of "Freedom, a Bridge between Earth and Sky"
[L] Culinary workshop [R] Group photo with Kypseli community
