The European MoldArte project was launched in Chisinau

The MoldArte project, funded by EUNIC through the European Spaces of Culture and organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute, in collaboration with the Goethe-Institute Bucharest, the Austrian Embassy of the Republic of Moldova and the Delegation of the European Union from the Republic of Moldova, was launched on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Chișinău, within the European Film and Culture Festival. The event was attended by: H.E., Stella Avallone (Ambassador of Austria to the Republic of Moldova), Liviu Jicman (President of the Romanian Cultural Institute), Sergiu Prodan (Minister of Culture in the Republic of Moldova), Angela Brașoveanu Erizanu (Advisor to the President of the Republic of Moldova in the field of culture) and Corina Gîrla (Director of the German Cultural Center Akzente).

During the press conference, the Ambassador of Austria to the Republic of Moldova, H.E. Stella Avallone, pointed out that:

“The objective of this project is to develop an online platform, as an instrument allowing artists from the Republic of Moldova to create connections and establish networks with professionals from different countries. The project will also address the social problems faced by independent artists: their lives after the pandemic till this very day, in the context of the current crisis in the region.”

Attending the conference, the president of the Romanian Cultural Institute, Liviu Jicman, stated that:

“We believe in successful models and the need for a partnership between the independent and public cultural sectors. MoldArte is an opportunity to develop these partnerships, aiming at increasing international visibility and a common chance to establish new contacts and collaborations. Following models of good practices from other countries, MoldArte can become an example of internationally recognized success. I thank the partners in the project for their involvement and the independent cultural sector of the Republic of Moldova for the perseverance with which it manages to address the public. The funding of this project by EUNIC is a clear sign of the trust of European cultural institutes in the creative power of the independent artistic environment.”

Sergiu Prodan, Minister of Culture in Moldova, mentioned: “We will very carefully watch the MoldArte project and I am glad that we have this opportunity. The public discussions that will take place are extremely important and valuable for the Ministry of Culture; we will see the potential of the arts in the Republic of Moldova, highlighted by connecting to the European culture”.

Robert Kieft, Project Manager of the European Spaces of Culture – EUNIC Global program, sent a video message, expressing convictions as: “The MoldArte project covers a wide range of partners – creating a national network – and aims for the future to develop and promote inclusive cultural policies. It is particularly important that the project promotes the field of contemporary arts and cultural practices, usually not recognized by cultural policies.”

Joachim Umlauf, the director of the Goethe-Institute Bucharest transferred his message through the voice of Corina Gîrla (Director of the German Cultural Centre Akzente): “Goethe-Institute Bucharest wishes to confirm its commitment and support to the independent cultural scene in the Republic of Moldova. Over time, Goethe-Institute has also supported the culture of the Republic of Moldova, offering financial contributions or various programs and instruments. The MoldArte project aims to continue this experience and to be next to this kind of independent cultural sector. We hope that MoldArte will become a powerful tool that will be useful to all.”

MoldArte aims to create a viable and sustainable networking tool for professionals (artists, cultural managers, public or private organizations) – a digital platform integrated online and on-site, which would facilitate direct contacts between artists and organizations for the development of new local and international partnerships.

Between May and October 2022, events on topics of local interest, workshops and exchanges between participants from the Republic of Moldova and those from partner countries (Romania, Austria and Germany) will take place, with the aim of developing new collaborations and joint initiatives. “Art as an Engine for Social Inclusion and Civic Involvement” is the debate that opens the series of meetings organized within MoldArte and can be followed by accessing the following link: https://moldarte.eu/ public-talks-2/. The speakers of this first talk are Joachim Umlauf (director of Goethe-Institute Bucharest), Mihaela Michailov and Radu Apostol (founders of the Educational Theatre Center Replika, Bucharest) and Hans Knoll (director of Knoll Gallery in Vienna and Budapest). Journalist Vadim Cheptănaru is the moderator of the talk.

The second public talk, “Capitalization of Local Patrimony in Modern Projects” will be available on the website www.moldarte.eu from May 30. The participants to this talk are: Erica Peaslee (Cultural Heritage Manager, SUCHO – Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online), Carrie Pirmann (Monitor of the situation in Moldova and Transnistria, SUCHO), Adriana Scripcariu (Founder of the Museum – Workshop – School in Piscu, Romania), Marcel Lazăr (initiator of the project Moldo Crescendo, Moldova) and Dumitrița Efremov (architect and urban advisor, Moldova). To moderator of the discussion is Liliana Jitari, university lecturer at the Technical University of Moldova, Chiandinău.

The conferences are recorded, subtitled, and available to Romanian and English speakers.

MoldArte aims at developing the public cultural scene in the Republic of Moldova, at stimulating the participation of cultural actors and their approach to current social and political problems. MoldArte is based on local needs related to inclusion, participation, to the lack of visibility, and poor dynamics among institutional and independent actors and cultivates an inclusive and democratic understanding of public culture, one that can inspire other European spaces that share the problems, the vigor of criticism and the resilience of their independent scene, designing a dialogue process and developing a local network together with its partners.

MoldArte is a project within the European Spaces of Culture, which aims to test and implement innovative models of collaboration in culture between European actors – EUNIC members and EU delegations – and local partners from non-EU countries, offering the EU’s strategic objectives, an approach to international cultural relations. European Spaces of Culture is a preparatory action initiated by the European Parliament, and implemented by EUNIC in close cooperation with the European Commission and the European External Action Service. EUNIC – the European Union’s National Institutes for Culture – is the European network of national cultural institutes, with 38 members from all EU Member States and associated countries.

Funder:

EUNIC through the European Spaces of Culture programme

Organizers:

Romanian Cultural Institute

in collaboration with:

Goethe-Institute Bucharest

Austrian Embassy to the Republic of Moldova

Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova

Romanian Cultural Institute “Mihai Eminescu” in Chișinău

Media partners:

TVR Moldova, TVR Iaşi,

Radio Chișinău, Radio România Cultural,