From Limassol to the world: VIMA wants to put Cyprus on the art map – all the while building bridges

“The time has come.”

This was the sentiment Lara Kotreleva heard over and over again when testing the waters on the possibility of hosting an art fair in Cyprus. 

The more she, together with co-founders Edgar Gadzhiev and Nadezhda Zinovskaya, learned about the island’s art scene, the clearer this reality became to the visionary team – three Russian art and marketing professionals, who have all made their home in Cyprus in recent years.

“The growing number of galleries and artists who are actively working here and building international connections provides a solid foundation for hosting an art fair on the island,” Kotreleva concluded. And so, the team began to build towards Vima: the first international contemporary art fair in Cyprus, slated to open in May 2025 in the seaside city of Limassol. 

An art fair in a former winery overlooking the sea certainly sounds idyllic – but Euronews Culture wanted to dig a little deeper, exploring what Vima (touted as one of the big art openings of 2025) means for the island, and the challenges (as well as opportunities) that come with working in the very particular Cypriot context.

Talking of challenges, it might be good to address the “elephant in the room”. At least, this was how it was termed by one audience member at a public discussion event around the time of VIMA’s launch. Amid a barrage of generally very positive comments and questions, this person, not unreasonably, had questions about whether the project – founded by three Russians – could be thought of as a “neocolonialist” venture. This is not an issue the team shy away from; in fact, they are very humble about their strengths and weaknesses with regard to setting up an art fair in their (relatively new) home.

For the founding