Theopisti Stylianou-Lambert

I’m a visual artist and researcher living in Nicosia, Cyprus. In my work, research and art practice are interwoven and one informs the other. I'm fascinated by the nature of photography (especially everyday photography), archives, museums and the interrelations between photography, archives, museums and new technologies. 

I’m currently professor at the Cyprus University of Technology and group leader of the “Museum Lab” at CYENS Centre of Excelence. For my research work check out: https://museumlab.cyens.org.cy/

Solo Exhibitions:

2024 “Talking Hands”, Local Archaeological Museum Kourion, Episkopi, Cyprus

2022 “Cyprus: Island of Aphrodite II”, Cyprus High Commission, Athens, Greece (work produced in collaboration with Nicolas Lambouris)

2020 “Cyprus: Island of Aphrodite II”, Thkio Pallies, Nicosia, Cyprus (work produced in collaboration with Nicolas Lambouris)

2020 “Arte-facts”, Point Center for Contemporary Art, Nicosia, Cyprus

2013 “Tourists Who Shoot”, Architecture School, University of Rome 3, Rome, Italy

2013 “Tourists Who Shoot”, Argo Gallery, Nicosia, Cyprus

2010 “Tourists who Shoot”, the (art)Space, Prague, Czech Republic

2004 “Untitled”, at the PCFE Film School, Prague, Czech Republic

2002 “Examples”, at the New Gallery, Austin, TX, USA

2001 “The Dress”, at The Hideout, Austin, TX, USA

Filmography:

2007 “Untitled 1 (twin portrait)”, short documentary film, 11’45’’ (Received the Best Documentary Award at the 5th Cyprus Short Film & Documentary Festival, 2009)

Artist’s Residency:

2010 Arts Residency Cairo, Egypt

Fellowships/ Scholarships/ Awards:

2022 Creating Diasporic Worlds, an art commission award by the Cyprus High Commission in the UK, the Hellenic Institute, the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies, the Centre for the GeoHumanities at Royal Holloway, University of London, and the Fitzwilliam Museum – University of Cambridge (with Christine Morris, Giorgos Papantoniou and Antigone Heraclidou)

2016 Open call winner of ‘Micro-cinema of Attraction- GIF art imageries and creative techniques’, ARTos Cultural and Research Foundation, Nicosia, Cyprus and the Moving Silence Platform, Berlin, Germany

2016 Stiftung Arp e.V. Archive and Library Fellowship, Berlin, Germany

2014 Fellowship in Museum Practice, Smithsonian Institution, USA

2010 Artist’s Residency Award, Arts Residency Cairo, Egypt

2009 Best Documentary Award, 5th Cyprus Short Film & Documentary Festival

2005-2008 Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Award, UK

2005-2008 A. G. Leventis Foundation Scholarship, France

2001-2002 Lucas Foundation Scholarship, USA

2000-2001 Kelly Fearing Endowed Scholarship in Art Education and Studio Art, USA

2000-2001 Lucas Foundation Scholarship, USA

2000-2001 M. K. Hage Endowed Scholarship in Fine Arts, USA

1998-2000 Fulbright Scholarship, USA

1998-2000 Full Tuition Award, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

1999 First prize in color photography, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

Education:

2002-2008 PhD, Department of Museum Studies, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

2000-2002 MA, Department of Visual Arts Studies, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

Group Exhibitions:

2025 (forthcoming) “The World through AI” at Jeu de Paume in Paris, France. Curated by: Ada Ackerman & Antonio Somaini. Work: The Archive of Grigoris Antoniou

2025 (forthcoming) “Bugs & Metamorphosis” at the Hasselblad Foundation, Sweden. Curated by: Louise Wolthers and Nina Mangalanayagam. Work: “The Archive of Gregoris Antoniou” (commissioned work for the exhibition)

2024 “Frontpage”, Limassol Municipal University Library, Cyprus. Work: “Cyprus: Island of Aphrodite II”

2024 “Boundtraces: mapping the Cypriot photobook landscape”. Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre, Cyprus. Work: “Tracking the Loving Gaze” and “The thingness of Memory”. Curatorial team: Ioulita Toumazi, Artemis Eleftheriadou, Damianos Zisimou, Constantinos S. Constantinou

2023 Mdina Biennale, Malta. Work: “Aphrodite’s Sisters”

2022-23 “In the Sea of the Setting Sun: Contemporary Photographic Practices and the Archive”, State Gallery for Contemporary Art – SPEL. Organization: IAPT & the Deputy Ministry of Culture. Curation: Elena Stylianou (with “The Archive of Unnamed Workers” and “Shadows”)

2022 Creative Commission, High Commission of the Republic of Cyprus in London, UK (with “Aphrodite’s Sisters”)

2021-22 “The Palm-Tree Kiosk”. Phivos Stavrides Foundation - Larnaca Archives. Curation: PASHIAS, Iosif Hadjikyriakos

2021 “Situation #219: Fleeting Media. Publishing Post-Photography”, Passage of Fotobibliothek, Switzerland. Curated by Mona Schubert. (with “Tracking the Loving Gaze”)

2020 Photobook exhibition, Aarhus Photobook Week, Aarhus, Denmark.

2020 Photobook exhibition, “Situation #203: a selection of artists and theory books on today’s complexity of the photographic gaze’, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland (with “Tracking the Loving Gaze”)

2019 The Berengaria Project, Limassol Municipal Arts Centre (curator: Yianna Tsolaki)

2019 Photobook Exhibition, Athens Photo Festival 2019, Benaki Museum

2018-19 “Ar[t]chaeology”, Nicosia Municipal Arts Center, Nicosia

2018 Venice Biennale of Architecture (16th International Architecture Exhibition), Venice, Italy

2017 “Phenomenological Lightworks”, NeMe Arts Centre, Limassol (with Omiros Panayides, Tim Otto Roth and Shiela Pinkel).

2017 “Spine” artists’ book exhibition, Phytorio (Φυτώριο Εικαστικής Καλλιέργειας), Cyprus

2017 “Fakes”, Public Art, part of the Celebrating Paphos 2017: European Capital of Culture

2016 “Fusion is the Future”, Pop-Up Festival, Nicosia, Cyprus (work produced with Marios Constantinides)

2016 “Con-temporary Urbanity/ Micro-cinema of Attraction”, ARTos Foundation, Nicosia, Cyprus (work produced with Marios Constantinides)

2016 “Squeegee Riders”, Fitorio (Φυτώριο Εικαστικής Καλλιέργειας), Cyprus

2015 “The PhotoBook Show”, Benaki Museum, Greece

2015 “Artists at Work”, Smithsonian Institute, Ripley Center, Washington DC, USA

2013 “Displays”, Point Center for Contemporary Art, Nicosia, Cyprus

2013 “At Maroudias”, Xatzigiorgakis Ethnographic Museum, Nicosia, Cyprus

2012 “Palimpsest: Ein Kunstbuch - Project”, Theartspace, Duesseldorf, Germany

2012 “Palimpsest”, Art Space, Nicosia, Cyprus

2011 “Re-Aphrodite”, Apotheke, Cyprus

2011 “Ethics”, ARTos Foundation, Cyprus

2010 “Re-envisioning Cyprus”, Pantheon Gallery, Cyprus

2010 “Friskies” (a video narrative), as part of Maria Papacharalambous’ exhibition “Here & Now Happiness” at Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art (MMCA) Project Space, Thessaloniki, Greece.

2010 “Polaroid”, Politis Newspaper Exhibition Space, Cyprus

2010 “Split”, Darb 1718, Cairo, Egypt

2009 “Photography and Text”, the ArtStudio, Nicosia, Cyprus

2008 “Young Cypriot Artists (2nd Annual Exhibition)”, Akamantis Gallery, Nicosia, Cyprus

2008 “Artists’ Books”, the ArtStudio, Nicosia, Cyprus

2008 “Rolling Frame”, Aeschylous Arcade, Nicosia, Cyprus

2008 “Under Construction: Alternative Museum Spaces/ Self-portraits”, Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre, Nicosia, Cyprus

2002 “New Beginnings”, at the Artists Gallery and Studios on 6th, Austin, TX, USA

2001 “Reactions”, at the Exit Art Gallery, New York, USA (the participating photograph is now in the collection of the Prints & Photographs Division in the Library of Congress, Washington DC – exhibit no.: 2140, archive no.: 600)

2000 “Final student sculptural exhibition”, University of Illinois, IL, USA

2000 “Artists Against AIDS”, Champaign, IL, USA

2000 Co-creator and actor of the installation piece “Pretty: a performance art installation piece”, at The Armory Free Theatre, Champaign, IL, USA

1999 “Photography 1999”, Union Gallery, Champaign, IL, USA (first prize in color photography)