The 'Lakkos Artist Residency' has moved to a new house and location still within Heraklion city's old town -a 5 minute walk from the old venue. but now closer to the city centre. As with the previous location we will continue to bring life to a beautiful old area that has seen better days and needs a bit of life and art injected into it.
The residency is artist run and survives only on the fees artists contribute to keeping the project happening,
We are now situated in a lovely old Modernist house and have scaled down a bit, just hosting three artists at a time. The relocation happened in May 2023. We have done a few average and smaller murals and are slowly gaining confidence in the locals which are mainly older people. Of course not everybody is expected to make public art, writers and more quiet creatives are also welcome.
In 2019 the residency also acquired a second location in a beautiful Cretan village only 30 minutes from Heraklion city. Sadly the lease expired on the previous residency and the new residency house got damaged in the 2020 earthquake. Funds from the city residency go towards eventually fixing the village house to get the project up and running again hopefully in 2025.
In the summer of 2023 were very lucky to have Josephine Mead who is the Communication and Programs Coordinator for Res Artis come to stay. She did this short interview with Mathew about running the residency. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WafcdzMiSv0
Heraklion is the largest city on the Greek island of Crete. Crete itself is the largest Greek island and is closest to Africa. The city hosts the main airport and ferries transportation routes to Athens and other Greek islands. Although the city of Heraklion, devastated in World War 2 bombings and has seen much thoughtless development, there are pockets of the original old town like Lakkos and Pediados street which is where the new residency is. Heraklion is one of Greece’s major urban centres. Its development begun in the wake of the 9th century AD (in antiquity, Knossos was the island’s most important centre, followed by Gortyn). In later times, Heraklion came under Arabic, Venetian and Ottoman rule; its conquerors initially gave it the name Khandaq or Handak which evolved to Candia. Among the most outstanding sights of Heraklion are the fortification walls or 'old Venetian walls' that demark the “old city”. The first fortifications were built by the Arabs and were later reinforced by the Venetians (15th century). From the seven bastions, only the Martinengo bastion survives to this day; there visitors will find the tomb of the renowned writer N. Kazantzakis, overlooking the city. From the four gates to the city, only Chanioporta (1570) with the characteristic winged Lion of Saint Marc and the New Gate (1587) at the southern side survive today. In the old (Venetian) port, next to the modern facilities, one can see the vaulted tarsanades where ships used to be built, while the western side is dominated by the Koule fortress (16th century).
In the heart of the city there are many monuments dating to the Middle Ages, a period in which Heraklion witnessed great prosperity. From the port, ascending 25 Avgoustou (August) street, one reaches a square where the church of Agios Titos is found (built in 1872 at the site where a Byzantine church once stood), while next to it lies the Venetian Loggia (16thcentury), a magnificent, ornate arcaded Venetian building decorated with blazons, trophies, etc., which served as a meeting place for the Duke and other noblemen during the Venetian period. A typical feature of Heraklion is its Venetian and Turkish fountains, scattered all around the city. The most famous one is the Venetian-style Μorozinifountain, also known asthe Lions(1628), a landmark for local inhabitants and visitors alike. Other noteworthy Venetian fountains are the Bembo fountain (1552-1554) on Kornaros Square, the Sagredo fountain (1602-1604) built in the northwestern corner of the Loggia, and Priuli fountain (1666) located near the port. The most interesting Turkish fountains are the Charity fountain (1776), next to the Bembo fountain, which today functions as a café, the “Idomeneas fountain” (behind the Historical Museum of Crete), the “Genitsar Aga Fountain” (on Ikarou street), etc. Among the churches of Heraklion the one that stands out is the imposing and sizeable Metropolis of Agios Minas (on Agia Ekaterini Square), built between 1862-1895. Adjacent to it, stands the chapel of Mikros Agios Minas and on the northeast is situated the church of Agia Ekaterini (16th century), which functionsas a museum housing exhibits from the Cretan Renaissance. The church of Agios Markos (13th century) towers over Venizelou Square, while other important churches in the city are the Monastery of Agios Petros and Pavlos, the Panagia Akrotiriani, the Panagia ton Stavroforon, etc. One should not miss out on a visit to the Archaeological Museum, one of the most important museums in Greece; it contains almost all the unique treasures of the Minoan civilization unearthed at Knossos, Phaistos, Malia and other sites. Other museums that are worth visiting are the Historical Museum, the Museum of Natural History and the Acquarium “Cretaquarium” (in the area of Gournes). Practical Information
Shops opening hours.
Monday 8.30 until 14.30 Tuesday 8.30 until 2.30 then 17.30 until 20.30 Wednesday 8.30 until 14.30 Thursday 8.30 until 2.30 then 17.30 until 20.30 Friday 8.30 until 2.30 then 17.30 until 20.30 Saturday 8.30 until 14.30 Sunday closed Most supermarkets are open all day except Sundays.
Beach to walk to, plus fantastic taverna. (No shade here so better after 17.00, half an hour walk, or 10 min bus ) www.google.com/maps/place/Ta+Kalitera/@35.3389031,25.1085178,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x149a59f7cda4f421:0x6a16c0a0516de9d7!8m2!3d35.3385091!4d25.1088432 Beaches to bus or drive to www.cretanbeaches.com/en/beaches-of-crete/central-crete-beaches-heraklion