The Team
Niki Papaspyrou and Marios Fournaris
Curators
Marios Fournaris is a visual artist, art historian, and curator. He holds a PhD in Art History from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2025), following studies in painting, sculpture (BFA, AUTh, 2010), and new media (MFA, University of Dundee, 2012). His practice and research are grounded in contemporary art, with emphasis on the public sphere, cultural theory, and critical engagement with art institutions.
He has presented his artistic and theoretical work internationally through exhibitions, conferences, workshops, and residencies, including Biennale ECC Personal Structures, part of the Venice Biennale’s parallel programme, and Photo Basel. He teaches at the University of West Attica, has taught at UC Berkeley, and is a postdoctoral researcher at the Industrial Systems Institute.
He is a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors and the Association of Greek Art Historians. His work is held in private and public collections, while his curatorial interests focus on aesthetics, social experience, and contemporary cultural discourse.
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Niki Papaspyrou is an art historian and curator. She studied History and History of Art (BA, 2004) and History of Art and Architecture (MA, 2005) at the University of Reading (UK), and graduated with distinction from the Department of Theory and History of Art at the Athens School of Fine Arts (2010). She is currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Visual and Applied Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
From 2007 to 2015, she worked at the Byzantine and Christian Museum, contributing to major documentation, reinstallation, and exhibition policy projects. She was a member of the curatorial team for the exhibition “Doménikos Theotokópoulos before El Greco” (2014). Since 2007, she has curated exhibitions of contemporary Greek art in collaboration with public and private institutions, and has participated in research and archival projects focusing on the history and criticism of modern Greek art. She served as co-coordinator of the project “Efi Strousa: a new journey” (Association of THISTE Alumni, National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum, and ISET, 2023–2025). She is an active member of AICA Hellas and the Hellenic Society of Art Historians.
Vassilis Vassiliades
Artistic Director
Vassilis studied Painting at the Pietro Vannucci Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia
Italy where he graduated in 1996.
Vassilis Vassiliades
Artistic Director
Vassilis studied Painting at the Pietro Vannucci Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia
Italy where he graduated in 1996.
Michail Elia
Chief Coordinator
Michail Elia is a professional artist. He has shown a variety of works in eight solo and more than forty group shows in Cyprus and abroad. He had also organized many art and art related events the recent years. He lives and works in Larnaca Cyprus.
https://www.facebook.com/artistmichailelia/
Maria Papadopoulou
Head of Marketing, Communications & Events
Maria is a marketer and event planner.
She studied in London and holds a Bachelor Degree in Marketing from Middlesex University and two Masters degrees in International Management from Kings University and Investment Management from Cass Business School. After a five-year work experience in Athens in the banking sector she recited in her hometown Larnaca in 2011. She is now the founder and director of WonderDots Ltd offering new age marketing, event planning and project services. Throughout her career she has planned numerous unique and successful events. As an art lover she is excited to be part of the Biennale Team.
Stavri Papadopoulou
Visual Identity and Events Associate
Stavri is a freelance set and costume designer for film and theatre productions. She has an MA in Theatre Design from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. In 2016, Stavri founded Once In a Blue Moon; a creative platform that supports and encourages a new era of creative events and performances in Cyprus. Since then, she has successfully produced, co-directed and designed several site specific, devised performances and experiential events. Stavri was a semi-finalist (top 20) for the Linbury Prize from the National Theater London in 2019. She was also shortlisted as an emerging designer for the World Stage Design 2022 in Calgary, Canada.
www.stavripapa.com / www.onceinabluemoon.eu
Doros Demetriou
Media Coordinator
Doros Demetriou, born in Nicosia in 1970, is a cinema historian, events organizer, and film screenings curator. He’s a member of ECFA and elected to the Director’s Board of CIFEJ. Doros manages film screenings and education programs at Cultural Workshop Agion Omologiton, Nicosia, and co-directs the IVAC film festival. He serves as vice-president at the “Fotodos” Photography Club and collaborates with the Ministry of Education and Culture on film education programs. Additionally, he advises at BCEFF in Canada and AEI Film Festival in Cyprus. Doros lectures on Cinema History, studied Cinematherapy, and co-founded the CineTexts webpage. He holds degrees in Electronic Engineering and Visual Theories/Cinema.
Theodora Andreou
Head of Children's Educational Programs
Theodora Andreou is an actress, director, and educator from Larnaca. She holds a BA in Turkish & Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Cyprus (2014) and a diploma in Drama from Vladimiros Kafkaridis Drama School (2018). She has participated in numerous theatre productions, including Electra (2017), Fuenteovejuna (2021), The Line (2022), and Princess Zehra (2023), while also working as an assistant director in productions like 1984 (THOK, 2022) and The Play That Goes Wrong (ALPHA Cyprus, 2022). She founded Theatrola in 2019, a theatre workshop for children and youth, and has been teaching at the Larnaca Cultural Foundation for Children & Youth since 2021. Passionate about interdisciplinary art, she collaborates on educational projects, including STEAM Learning – Birds of Cyprus, an award-winning educational toy series. In 2024, she managed production for the Larnaka Biodesign Festival and performed the Object theatre “Trypomazis, Tiny Me!” at Rialto Theatre. She continues to explore theatre, education, and creative storytelling through various artistic initiatives.
Theodoros Philippou
Art Handler
Born in Athienou, Cyprus, in 1970 Graduated from Pancyprian Gymnasium in Nicosia. Moved to the UK in 2005. Repatriated back to Cyprus in 2020. Founded and managed The O Gallery from 2020 to 2023.
Lives and works in Larnaca.
Konstantinos Charilaou
Exhibition Production and Events Assistant
Konstantinos is an interdisciplinary designer, STEAM educator, and event planner, currently contributing his expertise at Youth Makerspace Larnaka, a cutting-edge hub for innovation and education under the Youth Board of Cyprus.
He is also a Creative Strategist at Simlead Product Design, where he develops innovative strategies, facilitates design thinking workshops, and leads product development initiatives.
A graduate of the IED Milano – European Institute of Design, Konstantinos specializes in designing and facilitating workshops, leading impactful events like Makerfair, and engaging diverse audiences in the dynamic world of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics).
Eleni Philippou
Press Officer
Eleni Philippou is a travel, culture and features writer, whose work focuses on discovering people’s stories, sharing artistic initiatives and encouraging readers to engage with the local community. Her articles have been published weekly at Cyprus Mail since 2018, under Visit Nicosia and Larnaca Biennale as well as in international publications such as The Guardian, Culture Trip, Breeze in-flight magazine and Versopolis Review. She studied Spanish and International Media Communications at the University of Nottingham before living in Spain and Panama. In recent years, she began hosting journaling workshops to encourage reflection and self-awareness whilst teaching the experimental, analogue art of cyanotype photographic printing. www.eleniphilippou.com @the.curious.curly