Lavish Alice Carman came to stay in early summer. Here are some of her wonderful dip pen drawings she did while at the residency of the city. 

Australian Visual Artist Catherine Kennedy spent her first two weeks at the the residency absorbing the local culture. Then a week before her departure she came up with this impression of Heraklion city. She was a super person dodging the cars up and down a ladder as she painted a wall on a narrow street which really needed some love. Thank you Catherine! 

Luna is a multidisciplinary artist from Australia. While at the residency she painted the previous mural and made three amazing costumes. Here are her words on the costumes. 

​Rhea - Mother of Zeus. First in a series of three ritual robes inspired by Crete and the mythology of Ancient Greece.
All my ritual robes are made from second hand and recycled fabrics.
It’s my way of signalling respect to the earth and using my gift to identify objects of high resonance to create spiritually charged ritual items.

"Untitled (Loom)" is a small mural on Pediados inspired by the carvings on Cretan looms. Created using foam roller stamps and stencils, the process mimics that of wood carving with a chisel to create a geometric repeat design. The colours are inspired by traditional Cretan textiles. 

Emerging photography/print artist Milica Ticeric came to stay in July. She just sent some of her work. It's always interesting to see through foreigner's eyes how they perceive Heraklion City/Crete.  

Mathew who runs the residency was saddened by the early death of a local known as either Georgina or Gorgo. Georgina had a fatal stroke in October 2023. She was the last of her family who all died prematurely. Everybody in Heraklion city knew her as she was often seen walking the streets alone sometimes with her little dogs. Some locals made fun of her sadly. Georgina was no saint but she was truly authentic in a country that has not grown to fully accept it's people that don't fit into a standard model.

Two-tailed Mermaid Mural in Heraklion, Greece.
This October I spent three weeks in Heraklion, Crete, at the art residency of Mathew Halpin. I had the best time exploring the local culture and art scene, and got to be in this wonderful artistic space that Mathew has created. I could learn and reflect my studies into this mural, which, as Mathew put it, is like a "gift to the local community", and that was exactly what I was aiming for. The opportunity to work with Mathew has been one of a kind. His expertise and artistic insight taught me a lot and I greatly appreciate it!
The mural itself is a composition of symbols and colours inspired by Cretan folk art throughout history to the last detail, especially textile art - embroidery, knitting and carpet designs. The more I found out about Cretan culture, the more I felt their strong sense of identity and individuality. In spite of the fact that there were so many outside influences, the Cretans courage to fight for preserving it has remained strong. I am definitely coming back to this beautiful island to take more time to explore it and it's history.
The double-headed eagle is a symbol from Byzantine times and the duality of the church - stretching East and West, as well as a symbol of freedom from Ottoman occupation, now a symbol of the Orthodox church. The two-tailed mermaid is from Venetian influence, and it's often also explained as being a passage between the physical and spiritual. Carnations are traditionally a symbol commonly found in Ottoman art, and in Greek Mythology they're known as the flowers of Gods. The colours I picked are inspired by Minoan frescoes, the Deep Red, Brilliant Blue, and Red Earth all form a link to the most ancient history of the island.

We were very happy to host Josephine Mead who is at the moment head administrator for Res Artis. At her request we put on an evening of local writers who came to read their short stories or poems. We forgot to take photos of the event but hopefully there is a video of a reading coming soon. 

As part of a large EU project to unite communities with art linked with road safety awareness Mathew was part of a team to make this huge mural possible. With artists from the residency and locals involved we had a wonderful experience.  

Artists Kelly Christogiannis, Luna Delana and Marcus GurkeClick presented the works they produced when staying at the new residency house. Photos to follow. 

Petra came to stay in July during the worst heatwave the residency had been through. Coming from Prague this was rather confronting but she was on a mission to capture the skyline of Heraklion City. The city is interesting for it's many levels of history. The skyline is very typical of most Greek city centres. It's always interesting to see what artists find captivating in a place where rules don't normally apply. 
www.petrahudcova.com/

Here are some quick snaps of the areas the new residency is in. It was a wet spring morning so the light is not great. 

In late spring of 2023 we moved to the new residency house. Luna was set to stay at the previous residency but as the move was unexpected we had to relocate her for a short time. Being the amazing person that she is she was a huge help getting the new house ready. With the move comes a new challenge to bring some life into the neglected but beautiful area. She made this mural as our first art to happen on Pediados Street. It is inspired from a famous Cretan writers quote. 

Jesse, a visual artist from the UK wanted to make a mural that related to something in our area. We're lucky in Lakkos to have a wonderful old kafeneon that is run by a man who has collected wonderful photos of historical figures who fought against fascists via communism. The mural depicts the owner of the kafeneon and his lovely chef, plus new and old figures of people who had significant meaning to the owner. 

Quote from the artist. 

​Sorceress - Crete, 2022.
Inspired by Circe • Greek goddess witch • Daughter of the Sun God, Helios. Circe harnessed the power of plants to create magic, using potions to turn her enemies into animals (good solution I say).