Depicting the history and presence of the Cypriot Community in London, then and now.
Date: 19 July 2024
On 26 June 2024 the Cyprus Centre at London Metropolitan University presented Further Snapshots in Time, an extended exhibition of archive and contemporary photographs depicting the history and presence of the Cypriot community in London, concentrating primarily in Haringey, Camden and Islington. The photographs making up this exhibition, along with a great deal more, are now accessible to view.
The event touched on the story of Cypriot emigration starting with the influx of Cypriots in the late 1920’s then through the decades with the primary focus being the 1980’s. The exhibition largely portrayed the community and their places of work, leisure and worship and is an extension of one given in 2022 marking the return of the Cyprus Centre to London Met.
Exhibition curator and director of the Cyprus Centre, Dr Alicia Chrysostomou said: “Cypriots living in London, particularly in those pockets of north London traditionally associated with the community, will have witnessed much change to their surroundings over the years. Sometimes this change has been incremental, so slow as to be barely noticed, an altered shopfront, a café or restaurant changing hands, a drip feed of movement. Sometimes change has been seismic such as in the large scale demise of the rag trade. A chance glance at a photograph taken decades ago stirs memories and tells the story of change. Yet few may have taken snaps of something as ordinary and mundane as say a parade of shops. Such snapshots would have a profound story to tell when viewed from the distance of time.”
Alicia adds: “Fortunately such photographs do exist. Further Snapshots in Time, documents not just the changing face of the High Street but of the community itself. Taken during the late 1980’s by the then nascent Cyprus Centre, large selections of these revisited photographs are now available to view.”
The photographs depict both archive and contemporary images of the Cypriot Community in London. Original archive material of course predominates but comparative images showing a modern revisiting of selected are also shown. The story of the community’s history in London and the subsequent inception of the Cyprus Centre is an interesting one.
This exhibition would not be possible without generous support of the A.G. Leventis Foundation, and the Global Diversities and Inequalities Research Centre at London Metropolitan University. Nor would it be possible without Nigel Harris whose extensive photographs taken on behalf of the Cyprus Centre during 1987 - 90 provides the backbone of this exhibition. Digitalisation of the originals and additional contemporary images are provided by Sebastian Rezai. Original research into the community was conducted by Prof. John Charalambous, George Hajifanis, Litsa Kilonis and Jackie Morgan. Additional research and text is supplied by Dr Alicia Chrysostomou.
Photo credit: Nigel Harris
Photographs from the exhibition
