Editorial

92
until her family was forced to leave for mainland
Greece as they refused to take up Italian
citizenship during World War II. She grew
up in Athens where she attended the School
of Fine Arts. By 1963 she had met her husband,
Aris Georgiou, former director of the
Paedagogical Academy and moved to Cyprus.
For 27 years she taught Art in secondary
schools, an experience she carried out with
great zest and enthusiasm. It was during
this period that she indulged her love for
the theatre by creating students’ theatre workshops
and staging performances befitting professional
standard.
In 1983, she had her first solo exhibition with
works inspired by the Cypriot landscape
and Cypriot antiquities. Her buoyant, blithe
spirit is reflected in the vibrant colours she
uses and the recurrent images of antiquities
mirror her deep love of anything Greek. In
fact, her latest exhibition was dedicated to the
Elgin marbles
and expressed her fervent desire to have them
reinstated in their place of origin.
The exhibition opened in Nicosia in 2002,
toured several European capitals: Athens, Brussels,
London, Luxembourg.
On the move in real life, Clara moves with
ease in her art too from one medium to another:
oil paints, acrylic, mixed media, stained
glass, wood painting. But her first choice is
always the humble but demanding media of
watercolours. According to the artist:" it suits
my disposition in the transparency and the
sensitivity it requires".
She is also an accomplished stage and costume
designer and has collaborated over the years
with the Cyprus Theatre Organisation (THOC)
and other theatres. For a number of years she
was the Secretary of the Cyprus International
Theatre Institute, and in this capacity
she participated in many I.T.I. conferences
around the world.
The present accolade awarded by Vicenza
Numismatica to Clara Zacharaki Georgiou
is an international recognition for
her work. "This award", the artist
points out, "is a matter of value
that gives me great happiness
because it comes from a town
in Italy where I am totally
unknown. I consider this as a
great honour for me and, of
course, an honour to Cyprus."
The Central Bank of Cyprus offers
for sale to the public any available
stock from its issues. Details can
be found at its website: www.cetralbank.gov.cy