Director Achim Wieland has died at the age of 57

by Apostolos Kouroupakis

Director and visual artist Achim Wieland died at the age of 57 after a long and exciting career in Cyprus's arts community. Achim Wieland attended the presentation of the popular play "Tea Ceremony" at the Off Fringe Festival in Catania, Sicily. The Festival is said to be dedicated to Achim by its organizers, who write that Achim "left" in a cherished environment—that of the festival—surrounded by love and appreciation—which he took from Catania. We dedicate this festival to him, whose eyes shone as the festival performers delighted him, they say in their statement.

SRSLYyours, a collective of international actors, writers, visual artists, and dramatists working on an inclusive and non-hierarchical process of content development on socio-political issues, was led artistically by Achim Wieland and Marios Ioannou.

"This group is made up of dreamers who hail from various parts of the world, including Germany, Cyprus, Sweden, Italy, Japan, and Montenegro so far. When it comes to modern world truths, we regard the theater as a sacred space where they can be brutally exposed. Poetic realism is something we adore. Typically, we adhere to devised theater techniques. Achim Wieland and I are the artistic directors. We enjoy creating performances using a myriad of SRSLYyours (with seriousness yours) ingredients."

The fact is that SRSLYyours held fast to its core values because both Achim and Marios Ioannou were constantly pushing the boundaries of their creativity and engaging in what is known as an artistic practice.

German native Achim Wieland attended the Rhode Island School of Design to study graphic arts. He lectured and taught in numerous locations throughout Europe, North America, and the Middle East. He also contributed his artwork to events held by prestigious international museums like the Guggenheim and the J. Paul Getty. At the American Center for Design (ACD) in Chicago, United States, his works have won recognition and been on display.

[This article was translated from its Greek original]