Emerging Art Fair Sets Bold Strides in Cyprus under the Name VIMA
In May 2025, Cyprus hosted its first contemporary art fair, VIMA, in Limassol. Named after the Greek term for 'step' or 'podium', the exhibition aimed to establish a significant platform for Cypriot art while attracting global creatives, collectors, and aficionados.
Co-founders Lara Kotreleva, Edgar Gadzhiev, and Nadezhda Zinovskaya envisioned VIMA as a means to strengthen the local art market and connect the island country with the broader Mediterranean art scene. The chosen venue, a former industrial site once part of the SODAP winery, provided a meaningful backdrop for this new chapter in Cyprus's artistic narrative.
Ludovic Delalan, who curated the Special Project exhibition, 'The Posterity of the Sun', emphasized the historical and social context when conceptualizing the showcase. The open-air display featured works by 17 artists from across Cyprus and the Mediterranean, engaging with the venue's history, architecture, and natural surroundings.
Notable pieces included creations from notable Cypriot ceramicist Valentinos Charalambous and Honduran fabric artist Adrian Pepe, whose monumental artwork was originally woven to envelope a damaged building in Beirut.
VIMA's main exhibition, hosted across two large halls, showcased a variety of works by contemporary Mediterranean artists. Unlike traditional art fairs, VIMA utilized an invitation-only selection process to ensure high quality and regional relevance. The event hosted nearly 30 galleries, nonprofits, and artist-run spaces, representing approximately 100 artists from some 20 different countries.
Local artist Marina Genadieva, who was exhibiting with Nicossia-based gallery Art Seen, explained that her work is deeply tied to the history and nature of Cyprus. Her piece, 'Species of Native Flora — Section of Cyprus Buffer Zone', depicts endemic flower species found within the so-called 'Green Line'.
Extending beyond traditional art displays, VIMA offered tours, talks, live music, site-specific performances, and off-site exhibitions, engaging both local and international audiences. ViMA's organizers expressed satisfaction with the fair's success and saw it as a significant step for Cyprus's first art fair.
Recognizing VIMA's potential as a catalyst for Cyprus's burgeoning art ecosystem, its organizers look forward to further advancements in the future, aiming to consolidate the island's position as a meeting point for art and culture in the Mediterranean.
- The co-founders of VIMA, an art fair held in Limassol, Cyprus in May 2025, aimed to strengthen the local art market and connect the island country with the broader Mediterranean art scene.
- The Special Project exhibition, 'The Posterity of the Sun', curated by Ludovic Delalan, engaged with the venue's history, architecture, and natural surroundings, featuring works by 17 artists from across Cyprus and the Mediterranean.
- Local artist Marina Genadieva, who was exhibiting with Nicossia-based gallery Art Seen, showcases her work, 'Species of Native Flora — Section of Cyprus Buffer Zone', which is deeply tied to the history and nature of Cyprus.
- In addition to traditional art displays, VIMA offered tours, talks, live music, site-specific performances, and off-site exhibitions, engaging both local and international audiences.
- Recognizing VIMA's potential as a catalyst for Cyprus's burgeoning art ecosystem, its organizers look forward to advancing the fair further and consolidating the island's position as a meeting point for art and culture in the Mediterranean.
