Glyn Hughes 1931 - 2014

25 During this time of change and transformation, a number of non-profit, artist-run spaces were founded that were influential in trying out and disseminating avant-garde practices. These organizations can be defined as non-commercial associations that were collectively founded and run by artists. 10 Important artist-run spaces in the 1960s and1970s were, among others, Art Metropole in Toronto, Ecart in Geneva, Franklin Furnace and Printed Matter in New York, MOCA and La Mamelle in San Francisco. 11 Cyprus may not have followed the subversive course of western societies, yet this daring move of Christoforos Savva and Glyn Hughes to establish the first artist-run space in Cyprus had virtually the same impact: setting new foundations for understanding art in Cyprus and creating a new visual arts landscape. One where artists would have the autonomy to manage their creative presence, while at the same time creating an innovative framework for the development of art in the new Republic. Furthermore, while it was quite unusual that two people with such different backgrounds and temperaments would set up a joint venture, the truly bold, pioneering aspect of their collaboration was that these two men (one of whom was homosexual) both shared a creative space, and openly lived together. In the conservative Cyprus of the 1960s, this must have been deemed extremely radical. Moreover, through its groundbreaking presentations, the Apophasis laid the foundations for a creative synergy between various art forms, such as theatre, cinema, poetry, shadow theatre and traditional music, also an unprecedented fact for that time on the island. Welsh-born Glyn Hughes came to Cyprus in 1956, shortly after the beginning of the national liberation struggle of Cyprus against British colonial rule, while Christoforos Savva arrived in June 1959, shortly before the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960. 12 The former left Great Britain in search for a “sunnier” creative future in Cyprus, while the latter decided to settle permanently in Nicosia after years of studying, working and wandering in Cyprus, England and France.