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My name is Melina and I am creating a room-sized camera obscura installation inside the UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus, in collaboration with the Home for Cooperation as part of the Buffer Fringe Performing Arts Festival 2026.
This immersive artwork will project the outside world, including the border, into a shared interior space, inviting people from both sides of the island to experience new perspectives, meet one another, and reflect together.
Through workshops and participation, the project aims to support:
- Reconciliation and connection across communities
- New understanding of identity, perception, and belonging
- Dialogue in a historically divided space
“The inclusion of this installation at the Home for Cooperation as part of the Buffer Fringe 2026 programming will enrich not only the artistic scope of the festival but also enhance the educational component which accompanies it, and will focus on the role of arts in creating spaces for and moments of solidarity in times of crisis.”
Andri Christofides, Executive Manager of the Home for Cooperation
For more information and to make a contribution please see below
With love and thanks, Melina
@melinamichael_work
1. What is the Photography Peace Project?
- The Photography Peace Project (a working title) is a creative initiative that uses photography as a tool to explore themes of peace, connection, belonging, and understanding.
- It encourages individuals and communities to express their perspectives on identity, displacement, and shared experience through image projection.
- The project involves workshops, exhibitions, and collaborative activities that promote dialogue, reflection, and a sense of collective belonging.
- Its core aim is to inspire empathy and highlight shared human experiences through visual storytelling.
2. What is a Camera Obscura?
- A camera obscura is an early optical device that led to the development of modern photography.
- It is typically a dark room or box with a small hole or lens on one side.
- Light passes through the hole and projects an inverted image of the outside scene onto a surface inside.
- Artists historically used it to help with drawing and understanding perspective.
- It demonstrates the basic principles of how cameras capture images.
- It makes photography accessible, hands-on, and inspiring for all ages.
3. Who is the Audience for the Project?
- Young people and students interested in photography and creative expression.
- Members of the community who want to engage in discussions about peace and social issues.
- Ministers, governors, and members of the Assembly of the Republic.
- Educators and organisations interested in using art as a teaching and engagement tool.
- Audiences and participants connected to the Buffer Fringe Performing Arts Festival, which focuses on cross-communal artistic collaborations, experimental performances, and socially engaged creative work in Cyprus.
4. What Impact will this have?
- Encourages dialogue around peace and understanding.
- Builds connections between individuals from different backgrounds.
- Raises awareness of social and cultural issues through visual media.
- Empowers participants to share their voices and perspectives.
- Makes photography accessible to those who may not otherwise have the opportunity.
- Creates a space for creativity, reflection, and connection.
5. What are the Outcomes?
- A documentary art film that sensitively communicates ideas around conflict & peace.
- Public exhibition and screening showcasing participants’ involvement.
- Increased awareness and engagement within the community.
- Personal development in cultural and political understanding, film and photography skills and creative confidence.
- Stronger collaboration and communication among participants and local trades people.
- Connecting with networks to fund a permanent camera obscura in Cyprus.
6. What Will Your Support Help Achieve?
- Deliver hands-on photography workshops using camera obscura techniques.
- Provide materials and resources for participants.
- Create a public exhibition to showcase the work produced.
- Reach wider communities and expand the project’s impact.
- Support the growth of creative skills, confidence, and collaboration.
7. Why Support This Project?
- Your contribution helps turn creativity into a tool for positive change.
- You’ll be supporting voices, stories, and communities that deserve to be seen and heard.
- Together, we can build a project that inspires peace through art.
About Me
I am an artist, researcher and creative facilitator from London with Cypriot heritage, working with photography and participatory arts for over 20 years. This project connects my personal history with a long-term practice of using art for learning and community engagement.
Raised by a single mother who worked four jobs while I was growing up: as a Greek dance teacher, an advice worker and interpreter for the Cypriot community, and as an assistant manager at a day centre for Islington Council. My mother’s dedication and resilience became the inspiration behind the community work I now deliver. Today, I am the sole carer for my mother, who is elderly and severely visually impaired, while also raising my own children, working for the established camera obscura photography artist Richard Learoyd alongside delivering creative community initiatives for local Hackney artists & residents and striving to bring my project, which initially began as a PhD at Goldsmiths, University of London to fruition.
After two years of making competitive grant funding applications in an environment marked by a major lack of available funds, I reached a turning point through an opportunity with the Home for Cooperation, where I decided to locate my project in Cyprus and focus on this element of the research, as it is deeply connected to both my heart and heritage. As the project responds to themes of division and belonging, peace-building, and contemporary global conflict, I believe it aligns strongly with current international cultural and social priorities. Throughout this process, I have received significant written and verbal support from educational institutions and governing departments, all of whom have advised me to seek funding through crowdfunding sponsors.
The project will be documented through a participant-led film, artworks and publication, reflecting both its impact and its complexities. It also lays the groundwork for a permanent camera obscura in Cyprus as an ongoing site for community engagement, education, and cross-cultural dialogue. Works developed through this year’s research and development will be exhibited as part of the Buffer Fringe Festival 2027.
Funding will support:
- Building the camera obscura installation in Cyprus
- Community workshops in Cyprus
- Research and development in the UK & Cyprus
- Travel and transport in the UK & Cyprus
- Film, artwork, and publication production for the UK & Cyprus
This project explores how perception can evolve into connection, using light and shared experiences to create space for deeper understanding.
If you’re able, please consider donating or sharing. Every contribution helps build a place where people can see themselves, and one another, in new ways.
Sponsorship may take the form of financial, in-kind or collaborative funding support for any of the funding elements listed.
Donors may choose to have their name or organisation’s logo included in recognition of their contribution, both on a plaque attached to the camera for visibility and in all online and published documentation.
Project Budget Summary
Total Project Budget: £25,000
Funding Requested: £22,000
In-kind / Self-Funded Contribution: £3,000
(covering materials, equipment access, and unpaid labour/time)
Please see budget breakdown below.
Camera Obscura Construction & Installation:
Optical Lens (Loan, courtesy of Richard Learoyd)
Technical Drawings £200
Construction (steel/wood frame, cladding, projection screen, paint, signage) £5,500
Transportation & crane hire £300
Subtotal: £6,000
Travel Abroad (Cyprus):
3-4 Research/Exhibition-Visits/Attendance (flights, accommodation, local transport) £9,000
Research & Development / Community Engagement:
Community workshops (facilitators fees, materials) £2,000
Documentation (photography, interviews) £1,000
Language course and research time £1,000
Subtotal: £4,000
Film Production:
Filming £1,200
Editing £1,000
Sound, lighting, and colour grading £800
Subtotal: £3,000
Artworks Production:
Materials and fabrication £1,500
Publication:
Design and small-scale print production £1,500
Total: £25,000
Notes on Contribution:
The £3,000 in-kind contribution reflects:
Artist/researcher unpaid time beyond fees
Use of existing equipment and resources
Additional material support not covered by the funding request
Creating a luminous space for reflection within the UN Buffer Zone, the
project reclaims a site of division, transforming it into a powerful ground
for connection, shared perception, and collective understanding.
Organizer
