Elena Baturina and BE OPEN Art awarded the first Artist of the Region prize at a ceremony in Nicosia, Cyprus

LONDON, June 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 8, 2023 BE OPEN Art, an online art gallery created by the BE OPEN think tank, a humanitarian initiative founded by international entrepreneur and philanthropist Elena Baturina, held an opening ceremony for the art competition BE OPEN Regional Art: the Eastern Mediterranean art.

The exhibition will be open to the public until June 21 at the Nicosia Center for Visual Arts and Research. It is dedicated to celebrating emerging artists from the Eastern Mediterranean and displays artworks selected by the BE OPEN public and experts during a regional competition that lasted from January to March 2023.

Each month, works by 20 emerging artists from Cyprus, Turkey, the Greek Dodecanese Islands, and the countries of Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt were posted to the online gallery for the public to select the Regional Artist of the Year. Month.

Based on the overall number of votes, Jovanna Theodosiou was selected as the Artist of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Jovanna herself studied Fine Art at Kingston University, UK, and currently lives and works in Nicosia, Cyprus. As a regional winner, she received a cash prize of 500 euros and an important representation at the exhibition.

The exhibition featured works by other regional artists: 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.

The exhibition was warmly supported by the Ministry of Education of Cyprus: "We are pleased to see that the creative youth of Cyprus benefit from the international initiative of BE OPEN which offers much needed support to young artists. This exhibition will become a celebration of our artistic and cultural tradition.We hope that these philanthropic projects will help more of our creative youth to be recognized and appreciated in Cyprus and internationally.In addition, it will contribute to the achievement of the Government's objectives of providing opportunities for all our children and young people develop their talents and abilities to the fullest extent possible," said Education Minister Dr. Athena Michaelidou.

Eleni Loukalidou, Nicosia City Councilor and Chair of the European Affairs Committee, greeted the artists and guests on behalf of the City of Nicosia: "I greet everyone in this celebration of the arts, youth, creativity and talent of Cyprus and other Eastern Mediterranean countries, conceived and organized by the BE OPEN Foundation Being a very important part of our rich and ancient culture, the visual arts have always played an immense role in expressing who we are as people, as part of a world bigger. I am very happy that thanks to the BE OPEN regional art program and this exhibition, more people around the world will learn the names of the young and talented people of Cyprus. I hope this will become the beginning of their great future ."

Awarding the winner, BE OPEN founder Elena Baturina said: "We established BE OPEN Art with the sole purpose of showcasing and supporting emerging talent. So many young artists around the world deserve to be seen, and BE OPEN is happy to contribute. to their artistic aspirations, help them get the attention they deserve and the opportunity to express their opinion in art. Our congratulations, this certificate and a cash prize go to Jovanna Theodosiou. We wish Jovanna to continue to follow her heart, and the best of luck in his artistic future".

BE OPEN Regional Art is a series of competitions for emerging artists, whose goal is to support those whose art best represents their regional, cultural, and ethnic identities. Each regional stage lasts three months, so there will be four stages a year, naming a winner for each of them. The regional winners receive a cash prize of 500 euros, while a selection of the works of art that best represent the region form an exhibition, in order to share the art with the general public and celebrate the participating artists. The ongoing leg of the regional program takes place in the Caribbean, and then BE OPEN Regional Art will travel to Southeast Asia and Central Africa later in the year.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2097715...

View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/elena-baturina-y-be-open-art-otorgaron-el-primer-premio-artista-de-la-region-en-nicosia-chipre-301850681.html