Contemporary artists explore the paths of freedom between Earth and Sky, engaging with the culture, customs, and traditions of Kypseli, Tzoumerka. In its fifth year, Zig Zag continues to bridge art, nature, and history, bringing contemporary art to Greece’s overlooked regions and revitalizing them with vibrant cultural energy. Inspired by Kypseli’s landscape and heritage, and exploring freedom through paths and stone bridges, twenty artists and curators from Greece and abroad unite for a seven-day multidisciplinary program featuring visual installations, performances, musical collaborations, and guided tours showcasing the region’s architecture, gastronomy, sounds, and traditions.

Exhibition concept

«Freedom, a Bridge between Earth and Sky»

The theme of Zig Zag Festival 2025, “Freedom, a Bridge between Earth and Sky,” draws from the strong liberal spirit that emerged during the Ottoman era in the villages of Tzoumerka, known as “Kefalochoria” (chief villages). Kypseli’s distinctive landscape and the identity of its people, shaped by this historical legacy, gain new meaning through dialogue with contemporary perspectives on freedom. This involves releasing societal burdens and recognising that we are not isolated individuals, but part of a larger social whole. Paths and stone bridges linking people and ideas lead us toward freedom and a sustainable future.

«Atrapos (Pathway) of Water and Stone», Visual notes. Participatory photographic project. Amid wild nature, mountains, and forest trails, rivers weave through alpine landscapes, artists, curators and visitors capture hidden details and secret facets. Renewed daily, the photographic project unfolds at Zig Zag Festival.

Discovering Kypseli Tzoumerka / Epirus

The village of Kypseli in Tzoumerka, Epirus, boasts pristine nature, diverse landscapes, and dramatic elevation changes—from alpine terrain to lush slopes, waterfalls, and lakes—immersing visitors in a vivid world of colors and sounds. Inhabited since 2000 BC by the ancient Athamanian tribes, the region’s mountainous terrain has seen conquests, devastation, and periods of prosperity. Its rugged landscape provided refuge for the Klephts and Armatoli, fostering a spirit of freedom that led to Kypseli being recognized as a “free capital village” during the Ottoman era. The village’s isolation shaped close-knit communities and inspired a unique folk song tradition. Formerly called Chosepsi, its name may derive from “chaos” and “opsis,” reflecting its dramatic setting between the Ambelia and Tzouma hills along the Goura River, or from “chosia” (ambush) and “opsis” (view), highlighting its strategic vantage point.

Program

Opening of Kypseli Tzoumerka / Epirus / Zig Zag Festival 2025 with Mayor of Central Tzoumerka, Mr. Christos Hasiakos, Deputy Mayor Mr. Antonis Galanis, Kypseli President Mr. Pavlos Doulamis, municipal representatives, members of the Kypseli Municipal District of Arta, organizers, artists, and visitors.

 

Workshops / Talks:

Sof Fachouridou, Mapping workshop

Athina Vahla, Kinesiology Workshop

Leftheris Plakidas, on Man and Nature

 

Performance:

Athina Kanela, «Concrete», performance

Nefeli Stam «Train Poetry», sound performance

Stratos Sterianos, An Experimental twist to traditional music

Traditional Music from Tzoumerka, Yiannis Kousiounelos, Roula Antoniou

 

Guided Tours and Walks:

Holy Monastery of Evangelistria in Kypseli (1700), Kostas Aggelis

Rare cedar forest

Monastery of Kipina

Plaka Bridge (single-arched stone bridge of 1863 over Arachthos River)

Syrrako in Tzoumerka

Red Church (1280 Byzantine church in the village of Vourgareli)

 

Culinary workshops/ local kitchens:

Making the Epirus pie, Mrs. Chrysanthi Karali, Mrs. Alexia Bouri

Ritual of Traditional Distillation