Pame Kaimakli is a neighborhood festival in the isolated Kaimakli district (divided by the UN buffer zone) launched in 2013 by the residents and grown into an annual community event. Since 2017, Urban Gorillas (NGO) has organized Pame Kaimakli, employing artistic and socio-cultural practices to activate the community and provide alternatives for a healthier and inclusive urban environment. Pame Kaimakli explores ideas of democracy, publicness, co-creation, community engagement and transformation of urban spaces.
The Pame Kaimakli Festival began in 2013 as a small, resident-led initiative to bring new life to one of Nicosia’s oldest neighbourhoods. What started as a few informal gatherings and performances quickly revealed the power of community through events such as opening doors, sharing courtyards, and turning familiar and unfamiliar sites into experiential places of encounter.
Since 2017, the non for profit organisation Urban Gorillas has worked alongside residents, artists, and volunteers to shape the festival into a unique annual event. For a few days each year, Kaimakli becomes a living stage: streets become theatres, rooftops transform into cinemas, courtyards host concerts and workshops, and even abandoned houses are re-imagined as spaces for art and dialogue.
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