Disappointment, Sadness, Anger as Millo’s Paphos Mural Painted Over

Hundreds of Cypriots and expatriates posted their apologies, disappointment and anger on Facebook after Italian artist Millo’s wall mural was painted over in Paphos.

In an act that is the antithesis of art, the owner of the building painted over the beautiful depiction of a couple holding each other. The chosen colour? Beige. Anonymous beige.

It has not been confirmed who was responsible for the decision.

The wall has gone from being a piece of art to being an easily overlooked, characterless part of a nondescript building.

“As the then President of the Pafos 2017, European Capital of Culture Organisation I feel ashamed… Please accept our apologies.”

Christos Patsalides.

Art is undervalued in Cyprus, which is all the more reason for investment, awareness raising and a change of mindset in the state and municipalities.

Millo’s mural attracted tourism and was a landmark in Paphos. The now-empty wall is a symbol of our cultural poverty and lack of respect for the artist’s copyright and efforts. If the work of a world-renowned street artist is treated this way, imagine how the local artists are treated.

Investing in the arts

It is reassuring that the public spoke out instead of being indifferent. It’s better to be different and stand out than to fade out and conform.

Imagine if you will a world without books, music, paintings, architecture, film, photography. Without design, fashion, colour. It would be a poorer world, one in which our souls would yearn for expression.

For decades, economists have warned that Cyprus’ economy must diversify from tourism or risk national productivity being over-dependent on one sector.

The change has happened to a certain extent. Cyprus’ economy has expanded into financial services, retail, and to some extent, industry. One overlooked sector is the Arts.

The arts are part of our life

If you look around you right now, you will see the arts in action. Your table, chair, car, cup, even simple everyday things around us are designed. These things are functional art but the fundamentals are there – form and proportion materialised into something concrete we can use.

Even this article is a result of the arts. Writing is literally an art and something we take entirely for granted.

A country’s reputation for the arts is incredibly important across many economic sectors. Cultural tourism, for example. One wonders how many hundreds of millions of Euros were generated for Italy by just one artist; Leonardo Da Vinci? It is not just a matter of the money but the importance that Italians place on their artists and the support they give them.

Positive change is needed.