The anniversary 10th International Conference – Festival of Visual Communication, Graphic Stories, was crowned with complete success, during the three days of March 8-10, in Nicosia.

The Conference was held at the Cultural Foundation of the Bank of Cyprus and we had the honor to be prefaced by Mr. Christodoulos Hatzichristodoulou, Director of the Cultural Foundation of the Bank of Cyprus, Mr. Dimitris Skouridis, Chief Scientist of Research, Innovation and Technology and Ms. Elena Christodoulidou, Senior Education Officer of the Deputy Ministry Culture. The anniversary Graphic Stories presented and covered a range of topics that concern all creative sectors through lectures and specialized workshops.

Ten (10) lectures which delved into current topics that concern us all, such as: the reflection on the transformative possibilities of artificial intelligence in artistic creation, the effects of mechanization on design, games, the possible visibility on social media, etc. while the “Creative Europe” program was presented by the Organization for European Programs and Cultural Relations for the creative sectors. The guest speakers were Savvas Hatzichristofis – Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation and Professor of Artificial Intelligence at Neapolis University, Stefanos Karagos CEO of XPLAIN – Technology, Marketing, and Media Pioneer, Vangelis Gettos – Lawyer & Author, Agnieszka Ziemiszewska – professor at the School of New Media Arts in Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology in Warsaw, Mane Tatulyan Writer, Philosopher and Designer from Armenia, Andreas Appios – Graphic Designer, Mike Hajimichael – Professor/Head of Communications Department, University of Nicosia, Spyros Drakatos – Designer & Worldbuilder, Christos Nikas – Social Media Marketer and Designer, Michalis Karakatsanis – Officer of the Organization of European Programs and Cultural Relations.

After the scheduled lectures, a documentary was shown that was created for the ten years of Graphic Stories offering, wanting to highlight its impact and importance in the world of visual communication, both in Cyprus and globally. Through the interviews of important figures in the field, who left their mark on Graphic Stories, such as David Carson, Julia Kahl, Rob Snow, Yossi Lemel, Kostas Mantzalos, Panos Vassiliou, Haris Tsevis, Vassilis Vasiliadis, Michalis Antonopoulos, Stefanos Karagos, Dionysis Dionysiou, Irini Gonou, Artemis Roussos and Apostolis Kouroupakis as well as the organizers Angeliki Athanasiadis and Miltos Karras, the most important moments of all years, the challenges and the diversity that characterize the world of Graphic Stories are highlighted. The documentary reveals Graphic Stories’ commitment to promoting creativity, innovation and pushing new boundaries in the exciting world of design and technology.

The event concluded with a Networking Reception offered by the Organization for European Programs and Cultural Relations, and provided the audience with opportunities to exchange views, ideas and relevant information. Five (5) creative workshops were held, regarding each of them: script creation for board and video games by Spyros Drakatos, specialized workshop on the use of artificial intelligence by Stefanos Karagos, human library by Vangelis Gettos & workshops for children: experience in virtual and augmented reality [AR/VR] by Pericles Tsengk – Lecturer at the Department of Computer Science at the European University of Cyprus and co-founder of STEM Education Cyprus and illustration of a fairy tale on the theme of “Destination”, by illustrator Panagiota Michael.

The Festival took place on the ground floor of the newspaper Politis, on Saturday March 9, where the opening of the retrospective and anniversary poster exhibition of Graphic Stories was held by the Candidate Deputy Mayor of Nicosia, Mr. Chrysantho Faka, while the Candidate Mayor of Nicosia, Mr. Nikos Tornaritis, was also present. Through our retrospective exhibition, the public had the opportunity to discover the best posters from the exhibitions we have held over the years through Graphic Stories, with social and cultural themes, such as: “Nicosia, the city of utopia”, “ Writing, the Trigger of Culture”, “Graphic Design: Challenging Perception”, “Cultural Heritage, One World – One Future”, “Break Down the Walls”, “Tolerance” and “The Power of Youth”. In addition, our anniversary exhibition themed “Destination”, featuring selected designers, takes audiences in abstract and emotional directions, highlighting the importance of travel as an expression of cultural and personal destinations. The poster exhibition, with over 100 works, has been designed to function as an interactive installation that takes viewers back in time and allows them to discover all the visual material of our previous actions from 2015 until today.

Parallel activities accompanied this creative journey through time, with musical experience in reggae sounds by the unique DJ HajiMike and an outstanding live performance by the London School of Ballet contemporary dance group. The space also hosts the works of the children who created art for the needs of the “Book Artivists / Book Alchemists” project, with four different themes in collaboration with the organization “Micros Odysseus”.

All the activities of the three days were hosted at the Cultural Foundation of the Bank of Cyprus, on the ground floor of the newspaper “Politis” and at STEM Education Cyprus, in Nicosia. Graphic Stories ConFest 10 is under the auspices of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy and the Municipality of Nicosia. The exhibition is hosted on the ground floor of Politis newspaper and will be open to the public until April 9, from Monday to Friday, hours: 09:30-17:00.

Bronze Sponsor: Kemanes Printshop

Sponsors / Supporters
Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture, Embassy of Greece in Cyprus, Embassy of the Republic of Poland, University of Nicosia, ONEK, Cyprus Computer Society, Institution of Engineering and Technology [IET]

Venues: Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, Politis newspaper, STEM Education Cyprus

Communication Sponsors: Politis Newspaper, Politis Radio 107.6, RIK, Ergodotisi, Expo GR, Digital Tree Media, FastForward & Avant Garde

Under the Auspices of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Municipality of Nicosia