Behind-the-scenes exhibition wraps up International Nicosia Festival

What happens in the few minutes before an artist steps onto the stage? And what remains on their face and body immediately after the final bow, when the performance has ended, but the intensity still lingers? These unseen, transitional moments are captured in Peras, the photography exhibition by Nikolas Louka, presented by the International Nicosia Festival at its closing ceremony on Friday at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre.

After three months filled with theatre, music, dance and other parallel activities, the festival is coming to an end. To mark the occasion and celebrate the plethora of cultural productions that entertained Cyprus audiences, the festival bids farewell with a closing party featuring an on-stage DJ set and a photography exhibition.

The Peras exhibition features individual portraits of all artists who participated in the productions of the festival, photographed shortly before going on stage and immediately after their final bow. In the ‘before’, the camera captures anticipation, focus, tension, anxiety and each artist’s personal ritual prior to facing the audience.

In the ‘after,’ the energy of the stage has not yet subsided: joy, release, fatigue, emotion and an alertness that has not yet faded are seen.

The exhibition unfolds throughout all areas of the Nicosia Municipal Theatre – from the entrance and foyer to the stage, backstage areas, corridors and dressing rooms. Visitors move through the very mechanism of the theatre, spaces that have absorbed the intensity and energy of the festival, encountering the images exactly where they were created.

The title of the exhibition, Peras, marks the moment when something ends and something else begins. It is the boundary, the threshold, the brief moment of transition. More than a series of portraits, the exhibition forms a collective narrative.

Behind the lens is visual artist Nikolas Louka, whose work has been presented in major cultural venues worldwide. His solo exhibition, Beyond the Blur, was shown at the Cyprus High Commission in London, while 2033 Miles was exhibited at Shoreditch High Street in London. His photographs were also part of the project Anew at the Venice Biennale, during the 17th International Architecture Exhibition. Since returning to Cyprus in 2024, he has continued to develop new projects both locally and internationally.

On the same evening as the exhibition, the International Nicosia Festival 2025 also comes to an end, making Peras a shared point of reference between the conclusion of a major cultural cycle and the personal ending of each performance, as reflected in the faces of the artists.

After 10pm, the theatre stage transforms into a dance floor, marking the passage from the ritual of performance to collective celebration, and the conclusion of a three-month festival dedicated to celebrating culture.

Peras

Photography exhibition by Nikolas Louka with behind-the-scenes shots from the productions of the International Nicosia Festival 2025. Followed by a closing party with DJs. January 9. Nicosia Municipal Theatre, Nicosia. 8pm. Free