Daphne Nikita
Biographical Note
Daphne Nikita was born in Nicosia. She studied Performance and Plastic Arts at the University of Kent at Canterbury (BA Hons.) and the History of Art at Goldsmith’s College, University of London (MA). She worked as cultural editor for the newspapers “Vima” (Cyprus) and Politis. From 1995 till October 2013, she collaborated with the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation. She collaborated with the television programme “Everything is Art” and from 1998 to 2013 with various radio programmes. From 1998 till 2011 she produced and presented the weekly cultural programme “Cultural Mosaic” on the Third Programme of CyBC. From 2011 this programme was moved to the First Programme of CyBC with the title “At 8 with Daphne Nikita”.
She collaborated with the Nicosia Municipal Art Centre as well as with the State Gallery of Contemporary Cypriot Art, giving tours to the public at various exhibitions.
She has curated many exhibitions and written notes on theory and criticism of the work of many artists.
From 2004-2008 she was a member of the board of the Costas Argyrou Museum.
In the academic year 2016-2017 she taught the History of Art on the course Art of Acting at Intercollege, Nicosia.
In March 2001, she created the Centre of Contemporary Art Diatopos, of which she continues to be the Director. At the Centre she has organised and curated a plethora of solo, group and thematic exhibitions of both established and up-and-coming artists. She has also organised book presentations, lectures, performances, dance theatre performances and musical events.
She also writes poetry and has published six collections of verse.
Indicative reference is made to the following:
Apart from the exhibitions which she created over twenty years at the Centre of Contemporary Art Diatopos, she has also curated the following exhibitions (a selection)
She has published the following six collections of poetry:
In June 1999 she represented Cyprus in the category of “poetry” at the Biennale of New Artists of European Countries and Mediterranean Countries, which was held in Rome.
She was a collaborator of the electronic magazine for poetry and essays e-poema (2007 to 2012)
Her poems have been published in various literary magazines and in the following anthologies (selected):
Poetry of Daphne Nikita is included in the following publications (selection).
Among others, the following have written about her poetry: the professor of Modern Greek Literature at Athens University, literary critic and writer Evripides Garantoudes, the professor of Greek Literature at the Ionion University, critic and writer Theodosis Pylarinos, the professor of Classical Literature at Athens University and writer Andreas Voskos, the professor of Modern Greek literature at Athens University Fotis Demetrakopoulos, the writer and literary figure Andriani Iliofotou, the poet and critic of the newspaper “Avgerinos” Yiorgos Lillis, the professor of Modern History and writer Yiorgos Yiorgis, the artist Yiorgos Taxiarchopoulos, the editor of the magazine Vakxikon.gr Nestoras I. Poulakos, and the writers Andreas Mitsou, Yiannis Antiochou, Yiannis Efthymiades, Vassilis Rouvalis, Aimilios Solomou and Demosthenes Davvetas.
Reference to her literary work has been made in the Greek press and on the internet. Also, on the occasion of her last book “The blue dinner” an interview with her was published in the column “500 words” in the Sunday edition of “Kathemerini”.
Poems by Daphne Nikita have been set to music by the prize-winning composer Konstantinos Stylianou within the framework of his cycle of songs based on contemporary Cypriot poetry “Perikallous Vasileiou” (2007) which was presented in London, Bonn, Cyprus, Athens and Paris.
Presentations of her books were held at the IANOS bookshops and Public Syntagmatos as well as at the House of Cyprus in Athens.
Her book “The blue dinner”, Kastaniotis publications was voted by the reading public in the Top 10 (short list) in the category of Greek poetry of the 8th Public Prizes for Books for 2020 publications.
For her contribution to art and letters she was included in the book “Woman of Cyprus, the Course of a Century, by Androulla Vassileiou, former European Union Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilinguism and Youth, En Tipis Publications (2019).
The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation television programme “Woman on the front line”, with the journalist Elita Michaelidou, devoted an hour to her contribution to culture (2017).
The journalist Olga Pieridou devoted two broadcasts of the programme “Small Odysseys”) (CyBC First Programme) to her course and contribution to the field of the plastic arts, writing and poetry.
Tribute to her creative and professional course in art, letters and culture was paid in Dr Kleitos Ioannides’ programme “Free Step”, CyBC (First Programme) (9.6.21).
Tributes to the twenty years of functioning and contribution of Daphne Nikita and the Centre of Contemporary Art Diatopos were paid in the newspapers “Kathemerini Kyprou” (4.4.21) and “Phileleftheros” (23.5.21).
Short extracts from critiques of her poetic work
“I consider overall Daphne Nikita to be an interesting poetic presence who seeks to make her personal mark of expression in creative rivalry with contemporary Greek poetry. She skilfully avoids the stereotypes which in recent years have become standard to a great extent in the contemporary poetry of her fellow Cypriot poets.” (Evripides Garantoudes, “A poetical fairy tale for adults”.
“Daphne Nikita has achieved her personal voice and her myth. She feels absolutely secure in the cosmogony of her poems. There, where the light replaces the darkness and its ghosts before they are silenced by sober reality, her poems are passageways from thought to feeling.” (Yiorgos Lillis “The Voices Walked”, Avghi newspaper, 21.9.2008.
“The exploitation of the methods and techniques of surrealism which she employs is very well-suited and aptly chosen. It is not that they bond with the uplifting momentum of the tale but that she succeeds through them in conveying her truths, truths much more true than the prose reality, truths transcending the commonplaces and the recognisable everyday reality which hypocritically conceals everything and projects only what conventions impose.” (Theodosis Pylarinos, “Fairy tales on white paper with red letters,” “The Intervention” magazine, Autumn 2009.
“Characteristic female poetry, chiselled closely to the limits of contemporary writing of the fully emancipated expression (of gender) from the guilty metrical moments of many famous women of the last century. Daphne Nikita, with two collections of poetry to her credit, undertakes a paradoxical venture: new poems of a liberal spirit “sit” next to choices of older pieces of verse to represent her at the 53rd Biennale of Venice, which is taking place now.
Poetry with significant potential, so apt for the later transcendence. The poet with extensive studies in Britain and her active involvement in the wider art scene of Cyprus, appears full of zest for the emotional fabric of abstract moments of daily life.” (Nestoros Poulakos, Vakxikon.gr magazine, vol. 7, 2009.
“Lucid poetry, with a strong rhythm, words fashioned and polished. Brilliant imagination which agonisingly attempts to reconstruct evil, to justify it or to exorcise it. Poetry par excellence physical. Painful.” (Andreas Mitsou, “The game and the reality”, “Avghi” newspaper, 18.7.2010).
“The poetry of Daphne Nikita has clear image-making although her clear reality often borders on surreality. A concrete and clear poetic narration which does not use witticisms and catch phrases which are unfortunately nowadays reproduced in profusion in books of poetry. The trunk of the tree is her body, her poetic and physical body which I must confess I read as suffering. How is it possible you will tell me that the body should not suffer, how is it possible that the body with its suffering does not generate poetry? Today, the poets who manifestly set out from a physical writing are forever decreasing in number, since the poetic canon requires poetry to converse intertextually with other poets and writers, lending to the poem produced the reader’s admiration and interjection, a surprise. Daphne Nikita does not resort to such artifices because she has her own nuances and has already begun to create a recognisable universe which someone can trace from book to book.” (Yiannis Antiochou, “With those whom you love the journey has no end”, Fractal magazine, 13.2.2019)
Βιογραφικό σημείωμα
Δάφνη Νικήτα
Θεοδόση Πιερίδη 6Α,διαμ.001
1087 Λευκωσία
τηλ:99.448984
email:daphne@diatopos.com
Η Δάφνη Νικήτα γεννήθηκε στη Λευκωσία. Σπούδασε Παραστατικές και Εικαστικές Τέχνες στο University of Kent at Canterbury (BA with honors) και Ιστορία της Τέχνης στο Goldsmiths’ College, University of London (MA). Εργάστηκε ως πολιτιστική συντάκτης στις εφημερίδες «Βήμα»(Κύπρου) και Πολίτης. Από το 1995 μέχρι τον Οκτώβριο 2013 υπήρξε συνεργάτης του Ραδιοφωνικού Ιδρύματος Κύπρου(ΡΙΚ). Συνεργάστηκε με την τηλεοπτική πολιτιστική εκπομπή «Πάντα Τέχνη Εστί» και από το 1998 έως το 2011 με διάφορα προγράμματα του ραδιοφώνου. Από το 1998 έως το 2011 είχε την ευθύνη παραγωγής και παρουσίασης της εβδομαδιαίας πολιτιστικής εκπομπής «Πολιτιστικό Ψηφιδωτό» του Τρίτου Προγράμματος του ΡΙΚ. Από το 2011 έως τον Σεπτέμβριο 2013 η εκπομπή αυτή μεταφέρθηκε στο Πρώτο Πρόγραμμα του ΡΙΚ με τίτλο «Στις 8 με τη Δάφνη Νικήτα».
Συνεργάστηκε με το Δημοτικό Κέντρο Τεχνών Λευκωσίας καθώς και με την Κρατική Πινακοθήκη Σύγχρονης Κυπριακής Τέχνης πραγματοποιώντας ξεναγήσεις κοινού σε διάφορες εκθέσεις.
Επιμελήθηκε πολλές εκθέσεις και έγραψε θεωρητικά και κριτικά σημειώματα για το έργο πολλών καλλιτεχνών.
Το ακαδημαϊκό έτος 2016-2017 δίδαξε Ιστορία της Τέχνης στο πρόγραμμα Υποκριτικής Τέχνης του Intercollege Λευκωσίας.
Από τον Μάρτιο του 2001 διευθύνει το Κέντρο Σύγχρονης Τέχνης Διάτοπος.
Ασχολείται επίσης με την ποίηση και έχει εκδώσει έξι ποιητικές συλλογές.
Αναφέρονται ενδεικτικά τα πιο κάτω:
α) Επιμέλεια εκθέσεων
Εκτός των εκθέσεων που επιμελείται για εικοσιένα χρόνια στο Κέντρο Σύγχρονης Τέχνης Διάτοπος έχει επιμεληθεί τις πιο κάτω εκθέσεις (επιλογή)
β) Εκδόσεις στον τομέα των εικαστικών τεχνών:
γ) Συμμετοχή με ποίηση σε εικαστικά έργα, εκθέσεις, εκδηλώσεις και performances:
δ) Λογοτεχνικό έργο
Έχει δημοσιεύσει τις πιο κάτω έξι ποιητικές συλλογές:
Τον Ιούνιο του 1999 επιλέγηκε και εκπροσώπησε την Κύπρο στην κατηγορία «ποίηση» στην Μπιενάλε Νέων Καλλιτεχνών Ευρωπαϊκών Χωρών και Χωρών της Μεσογείου που πραγματοποιήθηκε στη Ρώμη.
Υπήρξε συνεργάτης του ηλεκτρονικού περιοδικού για την ποίηση και τον δοκιμιακό λόγο e-poema (2007 – 2012).
Ποιήματά της έχουν δημοσιευτεί σε διάφορα λογοτεχνικά περιοδικά και στις πιο κάτω ανθολογίες (επιλογή):
Ποίηση της Δάφνης Νικήτα συμπεριλαμβάνεται στις πιο κάτω εκδόσεις (επιλογή).
Για το ποιητικό της έργο έχουν γράψει μεταξύ άλλων ο καθηγητής νεοελληνικής λογοτεχνίας στο Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, κριτικός λογοτεχνίας και συγγραφέας Ευριπίδης Γαραντούδης, ο καθηγητής ελληνικής λογοτεχνίας στο Πανεπιστήμιο του Ιονίου, κριτικός και συγγραφέας Θεοδόσης Πυλαρινός, ο καθηγητής κλασικής φιλολογίας στο Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών και συγγραφέας Ανδρέας Βοσκός, ο καθηγητής της νεοελληνικής λογοτεχνίας στο πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών Φώτης Δημητρακόπουλος, η συγγραφέας και λογοτέχνις Ανδριανή Ηλιοφώτου ο ποιητής και κριτικός της εφημερίδας «Αυγή» Γιώργος Λίλλης, ο καθηγητής Νεότερης Ιστορίας και συγγραφέας Γιώργος Γεωργής, ο εικαστικός Γιώργος Ταξιαρχόπουλος και οι συγγραφείς Ανδρέας Μήτσου, Γιάννης Αντιόχου, Γιάννης Ευθυμιάδης, Βασίλης Ρούβαλης, Αιμίλιος Σολωμού και Δημοσθένης Δαββέτας.
Ποιήματα της Δάφνης Νικήτα μελοποιήθηκαν από τον βραβευμένο συνθέτη Κωνσταντίνο Στυλιανού στο πλαίσιο του κύκλου τραγουδιών το βασισμένων σε σύγχρονη κυπριακή ποίηση με τίτλο «Περικαλλούς Βασιλείου» (2007) που παρουσιάσθηκαν στο Λονδίνο, τη Βόννη, την Κύπρο, την Αθήνα και το Παρίσι.
Παρουσιάσεις των βιβλίων της έγιναν στα βιβλιοπωλεία IANOS και Public Συντάγματος καθώς και στο Σπίτι της Κύπρου στην Αθήνα.
Το βιβλίο της «Το μπλε δείπνο», εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη ψηφίστηκε από το αναγνωστικό κοινό στα Top 10 (βραχεία λίστα) στην κατηγορία ελληνική ποίηση των 8ων Βραβείων Βιβλίου Public για τις εκδόσεις 2020.
Το 2022 τιμήθηκε από το Ελληνικό Ίδρυμα Πολιτισμού με τη διάκριση HFC Delegate Award για την προσφορά της στη διάδοση του ελληνικού πολιτισμού.