BE OPEN Regional Art is a bespoke programme by BE OPEN Art.
It is a series of competitions for emerging artists, aimed to support those whose art best represents their regional, cultural and ethnic identities. Each regional stage lasts 3 months, therefore 4 stages run a year, with a winner named for each of them.
Each regional winner is awarded with a money prize of EUR500, while a selection of artwork best representing the region will form an exhibition, in order to share the art with the wide public and celebrate the artists involved.
Aiming to showcase and support emerging talents, BE OPEN Art selects artists at an early stage of their career – the project sees its mission in looking for the new influencers in the art scene. Being featured in BE OPEN Art is an opportunity for the emerging artists around the globe to be seen, and a starting point for connections to be built between the new creators and collectors of today.
BE OPEN Art started with the Eastern Mediterranean region that included such countries as Cyprus, Turkey, the Greek Dodecanese islands, and the countries of Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Jordan and Egypt.
On June 8th, 2023 BE OPEN Art held an opening ceremony for the BE OPEN Regional Art: the Eastern Mediterranean art competition.
The exhibition was open to public until June 21st at the Centre of Visual Arts and Research in Nicosia. It was dedicated to celebrating the emerging artists of the Eastern Mediterranean and displayed the artworks selected by the public and BE OPEN Community experts in the course of a region-based competition that lasted from January to March 2023.
The exhibition featured woks by the Artist of the Region Jovanna Theodosiou, Cyprus; Chrystalla Tsiamparta, Cyprus; Aya Abou Hawash, Palestine and Lebanon; Christina Kyriakou, Cyprus; Abdelrahman Mahmoud, Egypt; Jamilee Doueihy, Lebanon; Dimitrios Ikonomou, Nicolaou Pantelis and Elena Adamou from Cyprus.
BE OPEN Art held an awards ceremony a week into the exhibition, to celebrate the Artist of the Region Jovanna Theodosiou. The exhibition was attended by artists and their families, representatives of Cyprus’s Ministries of Education and Culture, Nicosia municipality, members of academic, artistic and business communities, guests of the island, etc.
The exhibition met cordial support from the Minister of Education of Cyprus Dr Athena Michaelidou, who was glad to see “creative Cyprus youth benefit from BE OPEN’s international initiative that offers much needed support to young artists”, and expressed hope that “such philanthropic projects will help more of our creative young people become acknowledged and appreciated in Cyprus and internationally.”
Cyprus’s President of European Affairs Eleni Loukalidou pointed out that “visual arts have always played an immense role in the expression of who we are as a person, as a people, as part of the bigger world. Thanks to BE OPEN Regional Art and this exhibition, more people will learn the names of Cyprus’s young and talented,” and wished all the artists a great future.
The Founder of BE OPEN Elena Baturina thanked the participants and guests of the exhibition, and reminded of the purpose of BE OPEN Art, that is “to showcase and support emerging talent all over the world who deserve to be seen and an opportunity to have their say in the art.”
