Hambis Printmaking School in Limassol to close amid lease transfer refusal
The Hambis Printmaking School and Museum in Platanisteia, Limassol district, is set to close and be demolished after authorities declined to transfer the lease of its buildings to the non-profit company running it. Founder Hambis Tsangaris, who revitalized the site from ruins, announced the decision in a statement, expressing deep disappointment and calling Cyprus "a country to be pitied." The school and museum, housing over 6,000 prints dating from the 16th century to today, will continue operations as possible until the handover, with all added materials to be given to friends.
Tsangaris and the non-profit asked for the lease transfer since December 2024, but new laws and bureaucratic demands, including forming a share capital company controlled 51% by him, stymied progress. Despite intervention from the Commissioner for Administration and Human Rights and repeated communication, the Limassol District Administration refused the request, prompting the board of the non-profit to condemn years of mistreatment.
Tsangaris, himself a refugee since 1974, emphasized that the property belongs to Turkish Cypriots and criticized officials for failing to protect such assets. He stressed the school and museum's cultural significance but resigned to its fate, voicing no further requests for help.
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