The Pharos Arts Foundation is a non-profit cultural and educational organization dedicated to the promotion of a wide range of activities in the fields of the humanities and the arts. Using Cyprus as its main venue, the Foundation presents cultural and educational programmes.
Through the Concert and Recital Series, a number of performances by soloists and chamber music ensembles from all over the world are presented, annually culminating with the International Pharos Chamber Music Festival. The Cyprus Artists Series, which is presented concurrently with the Concert and Recital Series, is dedicated to the promotion and support of leading musicians of Cypriot ancestry, as well as musicians residing and pursuing a career in Cyprus. In 2009, the Pharos Arts Foundation introduced the International Contemporary Music Festival, the mission of which is to propagate the music of 20th and 21st centuries and present contemporary works and newly commissioned compositions. The Music Education Programme presents concerts for students of state and private schools from different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds, promoting music as a non-verbal expression vehicle which transcends the boundaries of language.
The Visual Arts Programme features contemporary art exhibitions by international artists working in all ranges of media; the Pharos Centre for Contemporary Art hosts contemporary art exhibitions. Exhibition catalogues on the hosted artists, as well as other monographs and books on contemporary art and photography are published by Pharos Publishers. The annual Brazilian Culture Month presents a series of events showcasing aspects of Brazilian culture through art, music, dance, films and lectures. The Lecture Series serves as a forum for the exchange of ideas by influential thinkers on issues of global importance. Finally, through the Foundation's Residency Programme, artists, writers, musicians, scholars and composers are invited to visit Cyprus and create new work.
The Pharos Arts Foundation is directly dependent on sponsorship and other contributions for the continued development and enrichment of its activities.
Facts about the Pharos Arts Foundation:
Only in the last five years, the Foundation:
In 2008, the Pharos Arts Foundation celebrated its tenth anniversary with a major exhibition, Pharos = Ten, held at the Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre. The exhibition encompassed art-works and installations by a great number of international artists who had previously exhibited at the Pharos Centre for Contemporary Art, as well several events organized by the Foundation, such as concerts and recitals by renowned Cypriot and international musicians, lectures by important scholars, dance workshops and master-classes.
The Pharos Arts Foundation has created two venues to host its concerts and cultural events: