CVAR - Severis Foundation

CVAR - Severis Foundation Unique museum showcasing the work of foreign artists on Cyprus, historical costumes and memorabilia

The Centre of Visual Arts and Research (CVAR), located at 285 Ermou Street in the heart of the old city of Nicosia, is home to the unique collection of the Costas & Rita Severis Foundation showcasing the work of foreign artists on Cyprus. The CVAR also includes historical costumes and memorabilia related to three centuries of Cyprus’ history. It frequently holds educational events, workshops, tours, seminars and its research centre which is open to the public, houses an extensive collection of archives, over 10,000 books, and over 40,000 old photos related to Cyprus.

👀 Sneak Peek: Constantia HotelThe artist must have visited Famagusta and was impressed by its long golden beaches lined ...
11/09/2026

👀 Sneak Peek: Constantia Hotel

The artist must have visited Famagusta and was impressed by its long golden beaches lined with hotels. The picture focuses on the last hotel on the town’s long beach called Constantia after the Byzantine town. Her work has an almost ghost-like effect; the lines are rather shaky but vivid colours bring it to life.

❗️You can find this 'Sneak Peek' and more on our website
https://bit.ly/45zDlSJ

👓 This artwork is not currently exhibited but you can see many more exhibits in the exhibition rooms of CVAR.

🎨 PNT-00470 > Irene Shane, Constantia Hotel, Famagusta, Oil on board, 31x47cm, ca. 1960

Το Κέντρο Εικαστικών Τεχνών & Έρευνας, CVAR - Ίδρυμα Κώστα & Ρίτας Σεβέρη σας εύχεται μια όμορφη σχολική χρονιά, γεμάτη ...
10/09/2026

Το Κέντρο Εικαστικών Τεχνών & Έρευνας, CVAR - Ίδρυμα Κώστα & Ρίτας Σεβέρη σας εύχεται μια όμορφη σχολική χρονιά, γεμάτη γνώσεις, δημιουργικότητα και ειρήνη σε όλα τα παιδιά!

Το Τμήμα Εκπαίδευσης του CVAR συνεχίζει το πολιτιστικό του έργο, και προσκαλεί μαθητές και εκπαιδευτικούς να συμμετάσχουν στα ανανεωμένα εκπαιδευτικά προγράμματά του, σχεδιασμένα για να εμπλουτίσουν τις γνώσεις για την ιστορία της Κύπρου.

Ανακαλύψτε τα εδώ:
https://bit.ly/4hUC1kv

Τα εκπαιδευτικά του CVAR αποτελούν μέρος των Εκπαιδευτικών Προγραμμάτων CREATES, τα οποία πραγματοποιούνται με τη στήριξη του The Hellenic Initiative, Καναδά και του Active Citizens Fund.

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The Centre of Visual Arts & Research, CVAR - Costas & Rita Severis Foundation, wishes all children a wonderful school year, filled with knowledge, creativity, and peace!

CVAR’s Education Department continues its cultural mission and invites students and teachers to participate in its updated educational programs, designed to enrich knowledge of Cyprus’s history.

Read more on our website:
https://bit.ly/4ciZUyC

CVAR’s educational programs are part of the CREATES Educational Programs, which are carried out with the support of The Hellenic Initiative, Canada, and the Active Citizens Fund.

🔍What am I looking at? Sir Garnet Wolseley Ceramic statuette of Sir Garnet Wolseley on a horse. Sir Garnet Wolseley was ...
09/09/2026

🔍What am I looking at? Sir Garnet Wolseley

Ceramic statuette of Sir Garnet Wolseley on a horse. Sir Garnet Wolseley was the first High Commissioner in Cyprus, who arrived in July 1878 – December 1878. Embossed around base: SIR G. WOLSELEY, 35.5 x 24 x 5 cm

Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley (4 June 1833 – 25 March 1913) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He became one of the most influential British generals after a series of victories in Canada, West Africa and Egypt, followed by a central role in modernizing the British Army in promoting efficiency. Wolseley was married in 1867 to Louisa (1843–1920), the daughter of Mr. A. Erskine. His only child, Frances (1872–1936) was an author and founded the College for Lady Gardeners at Glynde. She was heiress to the viscountcy under special remainder, but it became extinct after her death. In their later years, Lord and Lady Wolseley lived in a grace-and-favour apartment at Hampton Court Palace. He and his wife were wintering at Villa Tourrette, Menton on the French Riviera, where he fell ill with influenza and returned to England, where he died on 26 March 1913. He was buried on 31 March 1913 in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral, to music played by the band of the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment, of which he was the first Colonel-in-Chief. In recognition of his success, an expression arose: "all Sir Garnet", meaning that everything is in good order.

🔖mmr_00001 > Sir Garnet Wolseley, Ceramic, 35.5 x 24 x 5 cm, 1833 - 1913

👓 You can see this exhibit up close, along with many others, in the 3rd-floor exhibition room of CVAR.

❗Head to our website to explore this and future entries!
https://bit.ly/3QASPkM

Join us on Tuesday, 8 September for a night full of music!Let's share our passion for the music of Hector Berlioz at Sep...
04/09/2026

Join us on Tuesday, 8 September for a night full of music!

Let's share our passion for the music of Hector Berlioz at September's Music Talks, under the guidance of:

- Iosif Hadjikyriacos, Curator of Stavrides Archive, Larnaca
- Demetrios Michaelides, Emeritus Professor of Archaeology, University of Cyprus
- Costas Severis, President of The Costas & Rita Severis Foundation

while enjoying a glass w**e!

👀 Sneak Peek: Tables and ChairsDrawing of a room's interior. Two chairs sit next to a table against a wall. A niche or w...
04/09/2026

👀 Sneak Peek: Tables and Chairs

Drawing of a room's interior. Two chairs sit next to a table against a wall. A niche or windowsill is visible with vases sitting inside. The artist has drawn the typical mat-woven chairs of Cyprus.

❗️You can find this 'Sneak Peek' and more on our website
https://bit.ly/45zDlSJ

👓 This artwork is not currently exhibited but you can see many more exhibits in the exhibition rooms of CVAR.

🎨PNT-00974-018 > Robert Knight, Tables and Chairs, Drawing, 19x19cm, 1955-1957

Women’s Walk and Talk tour of Famagusta by nightStarting at 5pm by bus at Agios Dometios Crossing Join us on 27 Septembe...
02/09/2026

Women’s Walk and Talk tour of Famagusta by night

Starting at 5pm by bus at Agios Dometios Crossing

Join us on 27 September or 3 October!

We will be visiting the walled city of Famagusta with all the monuments lit up!

During our walk, there will be music, while local delicacies will be offered. You will hear the stories of those who lived in the monuments; you will see knights passing through and ladies-in-waiting walking along the narrow paths of Famagusta. You will try salep, nar juice, and sarma and, finally, you will enjoy the last act of Othello at his castle.

After the play, you'll have the option to either return to Nicosia with the first bus or stay for dinner in Famagusta and return with the second bus. Please inform us of your choice when you reserve your spot.

Men are also welcomed!

For more information and reservations, please call: 99630872, 22300994 // 00905428635676
Participation cost: €10/person

With the gracious support of the Swiss Embassy in Cyprus, the Irish Embassy in Cyprus and the Embassy of Finland in Cyprus.

Organised by CVAR and the Turkish Cypriot Association of University Women

🔍What am I looking at? Cyprus zaptieh Eight Nostalgia toy zaptieh models by Shamus Wade of London, 5.4 cm.These zaptieh ...
02/09/2026

🔍What am I looking at? Cyprus zaptieh

Eight Nostalgia toy zaptieh models by Shamus Wade of London, 5.4 cm.

These zaptieh replaced the old Cyprus Regiment established by Sir Garnet Wolseley in 1878.

Shamus Wade was, from the late Sixties through to the Nineties, one of the world's leading authorities on, and dealers in, lead toy soldiers. Wade was a young advertising copywriter in London when he began collecting toy soldiers — an enthusiasm that led to his renting a tiny Saturday morning stall on the Portobello Road. It proved a magnet for young collectors, including James Opie, the author and Bonhams expert. "Toy soldier dealer, collector, author, military historian ... Shamus Wade was a man of many attributes," Opie said. In 1974, encouraged by this growing interest, Wade created a series of "new old toy soldiers" commissioned from the manufacturers Jan and Frank Scroby. These were made in the style of old toy soldiers — solid-cast and hand-painted — but they were not copies. The "Nostalgia" series re-created in miniature the different regiments of the Empire, including the Indian Princely States, between 1850 and 1910. Wade's Nostalgia soldiers became some of the most renowned collectables on the toy soldier market. Today, they are enjoying a considerable revival in popularity, as collectors discover the challenge of putting together complete sets. The number issued varied considerably. Wade used a limited-edition system of taking orders in advance, and having only that number manufactured — after which the moulds were destroyed.

🔖mmr_00009 > Nostalgia Set N-126. Toy Soldiers - Cyprus Zaptiehs, Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee 1897, Metal, 5.4 cm, 1897

👓 You can see this exhibit up close, along with many others, in the 3rd-floor exhibition room of CVAR.

❗Head to our website to explore this and future entries!
https://bit.ly/3QASPkM

🍂Happy September / Eylül / Σεπτέμβριο!These are the events at CVAR this month:- Music Talks: Hector Berlioz, 8/9- Women'...
31/08/2026

🍂Happy September / Eylül / Σεπτέμβριο!

These are the events at CVAR this month:
- Music Talks: Hector Berlioz, 8/9
- Women's Walk and Talk, 27/9 & 3/10
- Education: New Educational Cycle 2026-2027
- Books Bazaar, Monday - Saturday, 09:30-17:00

See you at the museum🍂

👀 Sneak Peek: Kolossi, CyprusA bucolic view with a shepherd and his flock in front of Kolossi castle and the sugar refin...
28/08/2026

👀 Sneak Peek: Kolossi, Cyprus

A bucolic view with a shepherd and his flock in front of Kolossi castle and the sugar refinery.

Michael Owen (1938-2024) was a British-born artist who lived in Cyprus since 1971. He began his artistic journey during his National Service in Malaya, where he developed a passion for painting. Having traveled extensively in Scandinavia and the Middle East, Owen studied under Louise Henderson in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1965. From 1969 to 1971, he painted in Australia and New Guinea.

In 1971, Owen arrived in Cyprus, and in 1973, he moved to Lania in the Limassol District, where he opened the ‘Lania Gallery’ to showcase his oils and watercolors. He later opened a second gallery in Lania in 2003. Michael Owen became a naturalized Cypriot and worked from his studio in Lania and his land in the Akamas Peninsula, Paphos.

Throughout his career, Owen held numerous exhibitions in Cyprus, including ’45 Years of Michael Owen Gallery’ in Nicosia in 2018, ‘Here and There’ in Limassol in 2017, ‘Watercolours & Oil Paintings’ in Limassol in 2016, ‘New Works’ in Lania in 2015 and 2013, and ‘Synopsis’ in Lania in 2011.

He passed away on January 4, 2024, in Lania Village, Cyprus, leaving behind a rich artistic legacy admired and appreciated by many.

❗️You can find this 'Sneak Peek' and more on our website
https://bit.ly/45zDlSJ

👓 This artwork is not currently exhibited but is located in the CVAR’s ground-floor store room.

🎨PNT-00978 > Michael Owen, Kolossi, Cyprus, Watercolour, 31x41cm, 20th century

Address

285 Ermou Street
Nicosia
1017

Opening Hours

Tuesday 09:30 - 17:00
Wednesday 09:30 - 17:00
Thursday 09:30 - 17:00
Friday 09:30 - 17:00
Saturday 09:30 - 17:00
Sunday 09:30 - 17:00

Telephone

+35722300994

Website

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