On October 10, the exhibition "Face Forward... into my home," featuring photographic portraits and stories of migrants, will open in Nicosia. The event is organized by Nicosia 2030, a candidate city for the European Capital of Culture, in collaboration with refugees and migrants who have rebuilt their lives in Cyprus.

According to a statement from the Municipality of Nicosia, the photographic portraits by Yiannis Kourtoglou are the result of an immigrant integration program organized by Nicosia 2030 in cooperation with the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST) and with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Cyprus. The exhibition is part of the Parallel Program of the 5th Nicosia International Festival.

The exhibition will be inaugurated by Deputy Minister of Culture, Dr. Vasiliki Kassianidou, on October 10 at 19:00 at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre.

The program included a series of workshops attended by refugees and migrants from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Participants were invited to share their emotions, memories, hopes, and expectations, inspired by works of art from the EMST collection and the Cypriot State Gallery collection. These artworks, by Klitsa Antoniou, Christina Dimitriadi, Panos Kokkinias, Nikos Kouroussis, Lia Lapithi, Maria Loizidou, and Maria Tsangari, explore migration and other contemporary issues.

Initially launched by EMST in Athens in 2017, the program was developed in cooperation with the UNHCR in Greece. Since then, it has traveled to several cities in Greece and abroad. The concept and execution of the program, as well as the curation of the exhibition, were led by Marina Tsekou, EMST's Education Curator, and Giannis Vastardis, Photographer and Specialist Therapist.

In Cyprus, the program is supported by the European Funds Unit of the Ministry of Interior, the Asylum Service of the Ministry of Migration and International Protection, the Embassy of Greece in Cyprus, the European Commission Representation in Cyprus, the UNHCR in Cyprus, the Social Welfare Services of the Ministry of Social Welfare, and the Press and Information Office.

The exhibition will be open from October 11 until December 31, Monday to Friday between 10:00-13:00, and one hour before every performance at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre.