5
Trip to theChildren’sArt
created by schoolchildren
who participated in two educational programmes:
Journey through Byzantine Art
and
Hymn to
Freedom
over the 2013-2014 academic year.
The exhibition, held for the fourth consecutive
year to mark International Museum Day and
International Arts Education Week (19-25
May 2014), was organised by the Archbishop
Makarios III Foundation, in collaboration with the
Directorate of Primary School Education of the
Ministry of Education and Culture.
The exhibition also included works by pupils
who took part in the
The Children’s World of the
Gallery
programme run by the State Gallery of
Contemporary Cypriot Art.
Journey through ByzantineArt
The
Journey through Byzantine Art
programme,
implemented since 2007 as part of the Department of
Primary Education curriculum, aims to teach children
about Byzantine art andCypriot cultural heritage. The
Journey
takes children through the fascinating world
of the museum and by participating in organised
tours, pupils become familiar with Byzantine art
and appreciate the Museum’s rich collection of
masterworks, including; repatriated stolen treasures
from churches in the occupied areas, icons from
the 9th to 19th centuries, as well as murals from the
10th century among others. The
Journey
ends when
experts teach theseyoung travellers howancient icons
and manuscripts are preserved and restored; a skilled
task which takes place at the preservation workshop
of the HolyArchbishopric of Cyprus.
Hymn to Freedom
The Museum’s programme
Hymn to Freedom
is based on works by romantic artists of the
19th century, inspired by the Greek revolution.
Children’s work is subsequently inspired by the
heroic livesofGreek fighters andCypriot defenders
of freedom during the revolution, and is motivated
by the value of freedom and Cypriots’ anticipation
for the reunification of the country, which is still
under occupation after nearly four decades.
About the Byzantine Museum
The Byzantine Museum of the Archbishop
Makarios III Foundation, which opened in 1982,
is the fruit of many years’hard work by the Church
of Cyprus to preserve and promote the Byzantine
Byzantine museum
