Dystopia:
Il Paradiso
The first part of the Dystopia trilogy.
Open project →Watch on YouTube ↗Culture · Art · Disability · Cyprus
NEOFYTOS
NEOFYTOS is a cultural organization working at the intersection of contemporary art, disability culture, research and access. We make space for disabled people as creators, thinkers, performers, researchers and audiences.
DISABILITY CULTURE✦CONTEMPORARY ART✦THEATRE✦RESEARCH✦ACCESSIBILITY✦INCLUSION
The organization
Culture changes
when access changes.
“Culture of Disability” is cultural expression and action derived from people with disabilities, inspired by them and/or addressed to them.
Neofytos was created as an organization of culture dedicated to challenging confinement and exclusion through cultural creation, education, research, collaboration and disability awareness.
Its work brings together artistic practice, lived experience, scientific knowledge and practical accessibility — refusing the idea that disability should be kept at the margins of culture.
Read the story of Neofytos →Featured / DIS
DIS
Festival
Larnaka · Cyprus → Europe
A European festival where disability culture takes centre stage.
DIS Festival brings artists, audiences and communities together through performance, visual arts, workshops, conversations and accessible cultural experiences. Founded in Larnaka, Cyprus, DIS creates space for disability-led artistic practice, collaboration and exchange across Europe.
Explore the festival, its artists, open calls, past programmes and evolving archive.
Enter DIS Festival →Selected work
Projects with
a point of view.
Dystopia:
Dystopia:
Inferno
A work exploring dependence, confinement and the social environment.
Open project →Watch on YouTube ↗(διαμαρτυρία)
– δυστοπική εκδοχή
Work by Marianna Pafiti.
Open project →Watch on YouTube ↗Commentary on
Dystopia Inferno
Visual exhibition by Loucas Ioannou, inspired by the dystopia of disability and death.
Open project →Eutopia
Visual installation by Katina Kosta, Kastelliotissa, 2024.
Open project →Facebook Event ↗Ιστορίες
Αναπηρίας
Theatrical reading.
Open project →YouTube ↗“Dis” Group Art Exhibition
The “Dis” Group Art Exhibition was a contemporary art exhibition organised by the Neofytos Cultural (Disability) Organization in collaboration with the Cyprus Chamber of Fine Arts (E.KA.TE.).
The exhibition brought together artists to explore disability, difference, identity and social inclusion through contemporary artistic practice. Rather than approaching disability solely as a medical or individual condition, the exhibition was informed by the social model of disability, examining how social attitudes, structures and barriers can shape the experiences of people with disabilities.
View exhibition →Instagram ↗Lecture
Το Ταξίδι
A personal history of disability becomes a conversation about inclusion.
Marianna Pafiti looks back on twenty years of living with multiple sclerosis, bringing together memory, illness, disability and activism. The Journey moves beyond testimony to ask how a life can be reconstructed after profound change — and what it takes for society to create genuine conditions of participation, dignity and belonging.
Knowledge / research
A cultural organization
that thinks.
Join the work
Make room
for everyone.
Artists. Researchers. Disabled people. Cultural organizations. Educators. Volunteers. Partners. The invitation remains open.
Get involved →Visual exhibition · 2022
Commentary on
Dystopia Inferno
Neofytos archive
Disability, confinement, death.
A visual exhibition by Loucas Ioannou, inspired by the dystopia of disability and death.
Read the project →Visual installation · 2024
Eutopia
Neofytos archive
An installation by Katina Kosta exploring ritual, memory and the possibility of a shared human space.
Through a process of ceremonial improvisation, eutopia brings together references to the mandala, the magic carpet, prayer, abstraction and ecclesiastical space. Conceived as both refuge and meeting point, the installation imagines a feasible “eutopia” grounded in solidarity, respect and collective experience.
Presented at Kastelliotissa Hall, Nicosia, from 27 March to 8 April 2024.
Identity
The Name / Στόχοι
The Name
Neofytos
Named in memory of Neofytos Antoniou, the organization carries a name that speaks both to exclusion and renewal.
In Cyprus, the figure of Saint Neofytos and his life in seclusion gives the name a historical connection to confinement. At the same time, its Greek root, φύω / φύομαι — meaning to grow or to be born — points towards emergence, transformation and new beginnings.
This dual meaning reflects the organization’s purpose: to challenge exclusion while creating space for growth, participation and change.
Στόχοι
Culture. Participation. Access. Change.
Neofytos works to strengthen Disability Culture, challenge social isolation, expand access to education and cultural participation, build international collaborations, support research and promote greater public understanding of disability.
Through art, education, advocacy and dialogue, we work towards a society in which disabled people are not simply included, but are active creators, participants and contributors to cultural and public life.
Accessibility is the medium
Everyone gets
their way in.
WCAG 2.2 AA is the production baseline, strengthened by human review and disability-led testing. Accessibility belongs in the content, code, media, navigation and interaction — not in a last-minute widget.
Accessibility commitment →Low visionScalable text, strong contrast, readable layouts and no colour-only meaning.
Blind usersSemantic HTML, headings, landmarks, labels, alt text and screen-reader-friendly controls.
Deaf / hard of hearingCaptions, transcripts and visual alternatives for audio and video.
Motor accessKeyboard operation, visible focus, generous targets and no drag-only interaction.
Cognitive accessPredictable navigation, clear language, consistent help and reduced motion.
PhotosensitivityNo unnecessary flashing and a genuine reduced-motion experience.