Joint Europa Nostra/ALIPH photo exhibition highlighting women at the forefront of protecting heritage opens in Nicosia during the Summit 2026

Following its successful debut in Brussels last March, the photo exhibition “Portraits of Women – Beyond the Stones” was officially inaugurated on 29 May during the European Cultural Heritage Summit 2026 in Nicosia, Cyprus. Presented jointly by ALIPH – International alliance for the protection of heritage and Europa Nostra, the outdoor exhibition shines a spotlight on women working on the frontlines of cultural heritage protection in fragile and crisis-affected contexts. Through powerful portraits and personal stories, the exhibition celebrates their commitment to safeguarding not only monuments, sites, museums, religious buildings, collections, and intangible heritage, but also the memory, identity, resilience, and dialogue that cultural heritage embodies.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra, and Gala-Alexa Amagat, Project Manager at ALIPH, on the evening of 29 May. It is open to the public at the Park under Eleftherias Square in Nicosia until 26 June 2026. Three of the eight women featured were present during the inauguration in Nicosia: Ceren Kurum , Natalie Neophytou and Inge Bisgaard.

Featuring architects, archaeologists, curators, and heritage professionals and volunteers from Cyprus, Greenland, Italy, Malta, Ukraine, Iraq and Yemen,“Portraits of Women – Beyond the Stones” highlights the vital role women play in protecting cultural heritage threatened by armed conflict, climate change, and natural disasters.

 

The photo exhibition spotlights eight women: Inge Bisgaard (Greenland), Susy Galeone (Italy), Simone Mizzi (Malta) and Lesia Voroniuk (Ukraine), who received the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards for their extraordinary contribution to preserving cultural heritage in their city, region, or country; and Ceren Kurum (Cyprus), Natalie Neophytou (Cyprus), Rana Bashar (Iraq) and Khadija Mahdi (Yemen), who have been partners of the ALIPH Foundation, implementing critical on-the-ground projects to protect cultural heritage at risk in countries impacted by climate change or in crisis due to armed conflicts.

The exhibition forms part of the activities of the #Women4Heritage network, coordinated by Europa Nostra under the Europa Nostra Heritage Agora project, which is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. Through this initiative, Europa Nostra continues to promote greater visibility, recognition, and leadership opportunities for women in the heritage sector across Europe and beyond.

Europa Nostra warmly thanks ALIPH and all contributors who helped make this second edition of “Portraits of Women – Beyond the Stones” possible. By bringing these inspiring stories to a wider audience, the exhibition reaffirms the essential contribution of women to the protection of our shared cultural heritage and to building more resilient, inclusive, and peaceful societies.

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