MoldArte puts European spotlight on the cultural scene of the Republic of Moldova

Today, 28 October 2022, the National Theatre "Mihai Eminescu" in Chișinău hosted the closing conference of the MoldArte project, funded by EUNIC through the European Spaces of Culture program 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.

The event was attended by Liviu Jicman (President of the Romanian Cultural Institute), Joachim Umlauf (Director of the Goethe-Institut Bucharest), Paulus Adelsgruber (representative of H.E. Stella Avallone, Ambassador of Austria in Chișinău and President of the EUNIC Moldova cluster), Vasili Braga (Director of the Association of Creative Companies of Moldova), Andriano Marian (founder of the Moldovan National Youth Orchestra) and Mirela Spătaru (Artistic Director of MoldArte).

"It is a moment of review in which we present the activities organized in 2022 in the framework of this project, funded by EUNIC Global and organized through the Romanian Cultural Institute, theGoethe- Institute and the Embassy of Austria in Chișinău, partners in the EUNIC Chișinău Cluster. It is important to maintain the moldarte.eu platform open to all organisations and cultural professionals who want to register. This very valuable tool puts the cultural scene of the Republic of Moldova into the European spotlight. I can assure you that we will continue to make use of this resource and make it available to our colleagues in the branches of the RCI worldwide, in order to promote our cultural actors and initiatives internationally, at all appropriate occasions", said Liviu Jicman, President of the Romanian Cultural Institute, during his speech at the conference.

Running from March to October 2022, in both online and in physical formats, the project brought to the public's attention more than 50 events (conferences on topics of local interest, workshops and research visits, development of the platform as a container of articles, interviews, podcasts, resources, announcements of opportunities).

In September-October, research visits took place in Soroca, Bălți and Chișinău with the aim of developing collaborations and joint initiatives. Romanian and foreign experts as well as journalists from Bucharest and Iași participated in these visits.

„Soroca has an important tangible and intangible cultural heritage, both, which, together with its geographical location, makes it an interesting destination. Its location, on the border of Ukraine, although complicated now, at wartime, could normally represent an important asset for tourism and cultural exchange. I was very impressed by the abilities and strong motivation of the cultural professionals I met, especially their efforts to educate and involve young people in cultural life, and this is essential”, writes Cristina Farinha, cultural policy expert, about her visit to Soroca.

A special place in the MoldArte project was occupied by courses and workshops on topics such as: Cultural Management, Financing/Sustainability/Advocacy in Culture, Participatory Budgeting and Portfolio Creation in the fields of Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Literature and Music. Specialists from Romania, the Republic of Moldova and partner countries were present in Chișinău to support these workshops.

"A good start for a novice cultural manager like me. I look forward to the next lessons! Thank you very much!", one of the participants of the MoldArte courses wrote at the end of the event.

In order to support local needs for inclusion and participation and starting from the lack of visibility and weak dynamics among institutional and independent actors, MoldArte has created and developed an integrated online and on-site platform, a viable and sustainable networking tool for professionals (artists, cultural managers, public or private organizations).

6 Public Talks can be viewed, conducted and subtitled in Romanian, respectively in English, on the platform www.moldarte.eu. The talks address topics such as Art as a motor for social inclusion and civic involvement, Capitalising on local heritage in modern projects, The status of the artist, The role of the independent artist, Education through culture or International opportunities / Cultural collaboration. On the same platform visitors can access the 6 podcasts by Tania Insurățelu about the "behind the scenes" of the creative sectors and the difficulties artists face in the Republic of Moldova; 20 articles (interviews, summaries and analyses of cultural and creative events or artistic projects taking place in the Republic of Moldova); a mapping of organisations and independent artists in the Republic of Moldova; as well as opportunities, studies, a library and other relevant information for those who want to learn more about culture in the Republic of Moldova.

International Opportunities / Cultural Collaboration is the debate that closes the series of meetings organized within MoldArte and can be followed by clicking on the following link: https://moldarte.eu/public-talks-2/. The guests of the final talk are: Andrei Chistol (State Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Republic of Moldova), Natalia Cernat (Small Grants and Social Inclusion Programme Officer, Cooperation Office of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Moldova), Eugeniu Harabara (national coordinator of the "EU4Culture" project in the Republic of Moldova),  Alexandra Isaicul (Coordinator of the Info Centre in Moldova for Erasmus+ Youth and the European Solidarity Corps) and Erwin Kessler (general manager of the Museum of Recent Art in Bucharest). The meeting is moderated by Oana Borș (cultural manager, teacher and curator).

***

The European Spaces for Culture aims to test and implement innovative models of collaboration in culture between European actors - EUNIC members and EU delegations - and local partners in non-EU countries, in the spirit of the EU's strategic objectives and 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

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

Strategic local partners:

Ministry of Culture - Government of the Republic of Moldova; National Art Museum of Moldova; Artcor Chișinău; Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts Chișinău; National Theatre "Mihai Eminescu" Chișinău;  Union of Filmmakers of the Republic of Moldova; Association of Independent Filmmakers of the Republic of Moldova - Alternative Cinema; Union of Musicians of Moldova; Trigon; Organ Hall; Union of Writers of the Republic of Moldova; Union of Architects of the Republic of Moldova; Union of Choreographers of the Republic of Moldova; Union of Craftsmen of the Republic of Moldova.

Media partners:

TVR Moldova, TVR Iaşi,

Radio Chișinău, Radio România Cultural,

Timpul Magazine, Arta Magazine

#diez.md, The Institute, Modernism.ro.