The first part of the Stories of Shifts workshop took place in March 2023, at NiMAC [Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre, Associated with the Pierides Foundation], in the context of the four-year long project OPEN UP. The workshop was curated and organised by Lia Haraki and Danae Anagnostou, by combining practices and different fields, such as motion picture, narration and performance. The workshop was attended by seven participants, one from each partner institution of the Open Up programme (France, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Portugal, Sweden and Finland). Participants will create a five-minute audio-visual project, which will then compose an installation at the closing festival of OPEN UP in October 2023, in Nicosia.

The intensive workshop started every day with the guidance of choreographer Lia Haraki, focusing on creative ways of narration of personal stories. Then, optional master classes followed based on the creation of the audio-visual projects, such as elements of creative process, the preparation and the completion of the production, as well as its dissemination. The evening sessions were led by renowned professionals: Alexandra Matheou, Alkis Papastathopoulos, Julian Ross, Maryan Abdulkarim, Payal Kapadia, Seemab Gul and Chrisanthi Badeka. The workshop continues with individual guidance meetings until the completion of the seven pieces/projects.