The Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation was established in 1984 and is housed in the old administrative building of the Bank of Cyprus, which was built in 1936 and is situated in the historical center of Nicosia near Phaneromeni Church. Since its establishment in 1984, BOCCF main strategic aims are a) to collect, preserve and disseminate primary sources related to the cultural and natural heritage of Cyprus, with a particular emphasis on the international promotion of the island’s centuries-long Greek civilization and b) to encourage, assist and materialize the research and study of Cypriot civilization in the fields of archaeology, history, art and literature. In keeping with the objectives originally delineated for the Cultural Foundation, BOCCF currently curates two important museums (the Archaeological Museum of George and Nefeli Giabra Pierides and the Museum of the History of Cypriot Coinage) and keeps six Cyprological collections (Coins - Maps - Rare Books & Manuscripts, Engravings, Old Photographs & Watercolours - Contemporary Cypriot Art, the Archaeological Collection and the Ethnographic Collection). The Ethnographic Collection has been accumulated through the years by three generations of the Pierides family in Larnaca. It is an important collection of objects of Cypriot folk art, related to the rural and urban living in Cyprus. It includes weaved and embroidered pieces, traditional costumes, silverware and jewellery, woodcarvings, ceramics, as well as tools and utensils. The Collection was acquired by the Laiki Group in 2006 and since June 2013 it belongs to the Collections of the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation.

One manner by which the BOCCF achieves its objectives for dissemination of its Museums and Collections is the publication of books and folios that pertain to archaeology, history, art, literature and the environment. In addition to this, the BOCCF organizes exhibitions, lectures and scientific conferences devoted to these areas through its well-planned and

efficiently executed yearly program. Moreover, in recent years the BOCCF has expanded its activities overseas, collaborating closely with major organizations and museums, both in Cyprus and abroad. Since its inception, it has held more than 55 exhibitions in Cyprus, in Greece, and in a number of European cities and more than 100 scientific conferences in Cyprus while participating in many others abroad.

BOCCF’s aim is always to bring the primary resources, through the work of the scientists, closer to the wider public in order to achieve the engagement of the audiences and a prosperous dialogue between academia and the people. The Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation (BOCCF) has a twofold objective for 2020: first, to offer an alternative, subversive outlook on the cultural scene, both on national and European level – appealing to large audiences with cultural topics the Foundation has been delving into for the past 35 years. In order to achieve this, the BOCCF will open up to new endeavours, revisiting the concepts “Private” and “Public” with an eye to creating a grey area between the two, allowing to “restore” the BOCCF Collections, by means of various innovative methods and specific actions, to their natural owner, the “Koinon Kyprion” – Common to All Cypriots. Second, the BOCCF will set out to build bridges that are not readily discernible by the wider public, bringing together cultures of different countries (e.g. Cyprus and other contemporary countries) different eras (e.g. antiquity and present day) or different arts, different genres and topics, different sciences – fruitfully redefining the value of parallel presentation but also of comparativeness that unites rather than separates.