5 June 2025 - Volt defends democracy and freedom of expression as a cornerstone of society
Volt condemns the withdrawal of the publication by the Cypriot participation in the Architecture Biennale, following the intervention of MP Pavlos Mylonas and the acceptance of this unacceptable pressure by the Deputy Minister of Culture, Vasiliki Kassianidou.
This act constitutes censorship and institutional authoritarianism and is not neutral. There is no institutional, legal or moral basis for withdrawing an artistic work based solely on the personal views of a politician who was offended. It is a clear retreat from a populist and nationalist discourse that targets artists and instrumentalises the concept of culture as a vehicle for a “national narrative,” ignoring the essence of art: to question, to express, to clash, to inspire.
Art is not diplomacy or a tourist brochure, and it certainly does not express the positions of each government. It expresses the artist themselves. A democratic and liberal state does not fund art to control it, but because it recognises its role in democracy. Cultural censorship, especially in a small country like Cyprus where the arts often depend on public funding, is dangerous.
And most importantly: our national survival and the resolution of the Cyprus problem do not depend on artists and their works. They depend on political will, diplomacy, responsibility and courageous leadership that refuses to hide behind creators to cover up their own timidity.
Volt stands by every artist, architect, researcher and creator who is subject to censorship or targeting. Any attempt to limit freedom of thought and creative expression will find in opposition. Because if we are not consistent, always, we won’t know what else will follow.
And this is the line we do not negotiate.
Art is free. Democracy is the field of its expression. And it will remain so.