Together through Art - young artists for united communities
Together through Art is an independent self-supported project, born in May 2022 and dedicated to young Romanian artists. The physical space of this project hosts an NGO active in the cultural area and an art gallery which fosters young artists. The location of this space is in a degraded area of Bucharest, the houses in this area being occupied by the Roma community and homeless persons. By choosing this location, we want to bring together diverse communities, overcoming segregation.
Local
Romania
The exact location of this project is Calea Grivitei, 101, Sector 1 - Bucharest and it is relevant as it is a neglected area of Bucharest populated by the Roma community and homeless people. In recent years, this street has become an interesting mix and it includes art initiatives and small businesses, which, without any institutional help, are trying to revitalise the area in a healthy manner.
Mainly urban
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organization, in partnership with other organisations
Name of the organisation(s): ASOCIATIA CONTUR Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: GERMINA Last name of representative: ION Gender: Female Nationality: Romania Function: NGO PRESIDENT Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: 77, Amurgului Str. Town: Popesti-Leordeni Postal code: 077160 Country: Romania Direct Tel:+40 732 047 588 E-mail:ion.germina@gmail.com Website:https://asociatiacontur.ro/expozitii/
Name of the organisation(s): POGO ART SPACE SRL Type of organisation: For-profit company First name of representative: MONICA Last name of representative: GEORGESCU Gender: Female Nationality: Romania Function: OWNER Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: 101, Calea Grivitei Town: Bucharest Postal code: 010706 Country: Romania Direct Tel:+40 722 590 783 E-mail:moni.georgescu@gmail.com Website:https://pogo-gallery.com
For a clear view on our application, please allow us to present ourselves. We are two friends, Monica Georgescu and Germina Ion. In 2019 we co-founded an NGO, Asociatia Contur, dedicated to young artists. In 2022, Monica also founded Pogo Art Space SRL. "Together through art" coagulates these two initiatives in a physical space, which is located in the centre of Bucharest in a disadvantaged area, populated mostly by the Roma community and homeless people. The artistic space that we have established here is managed from our own funds and houses an office, a storage space, a space for the activities carried out by the NGO and an exhibition space.
Our projects have a triple direction: on the one hand we support young artists who have just graduated from the university of arts and who are exposed to poverty and creative abandonment. On the other hand, we want to exist in a location from which we can convey the message that the inhabitants of this neglected area are accepted and included. The third direction targets a wider audience, more exactly people with different social backgrounds who come into contact with our projects and the location we have chosen.
We strongly believe that learning is a continuous process and our aim is to offer as many educational contexts as possible for all the categories mentioned above.
As for the artists, we currently run two major programs: Young Artist Portfolio Presentation (YAPP) and Perfect-Imperfect (group coaching sessions). Beside these, we organise art exhibitions every 2 months.
Regarding the local community, our doors are always open, they are curious and we gladly answer their questions. We chat a lot and they visit the exhibitions. We have learned to respect their space and wishes and we are happy to see that we have been accepted into their community, too.
Also, we have succeeded to attract persons from different "worlds" and to raise their awareness with regards to these two communities in need.
art
education
acceptance
support
equity
Sustainability is a vital component of our project, as emerging artists will always exist. Our daily contact with them has shown the complexity of youth and the challenges of becoming an independent individual. Also, we know that educational interventions on adults require time and financial resources.
Key objectives:
- to obtain at least 2000 Euro/ month in order to keep the "Together through art" project alive
- to combat poverty and creative abandonment among young artists.
Usually, after graduation, young artists are unemployed or they get jobs outside the artistic sector. Through our activities and exhibitions we are able to maintain them active and involved in artistic projects. Also, there is the possibility for them to sell their works and to obtain an additional income.
- to become an anchor for young artists who feel disoriented and need career counselling.
Many of the artists we are in contact with do not know what to do after graduation. Sometimes they stay for months without any income, they get scared and depressed and need support. "Perfect-imperfect" is a group coaching activity where they can address this issue.
- to offer a safe psychological and physical workspace for young artists.
Being 22 is not easy. Often, young artists feel rejected and helpless. Preparing for a group exhibition or a solo show can help them feel hope and self-confidence.
- to include isolated communities in art related activities and conversations.
We welcome everybody in our space. We have learned that the Roma community has deep artistic roots and a genuine curiosity towards our events and activities.
- to raise awareness upon the reality of disadvantaged communities.
We manage to take different people out of their bubbles and to make them to face the reality - yes, there are young artists who cannot pursue their dreams because they lack the necessary money; yes, there are poor people living among us; yes, they are friendly and we can help them.
The project "Together through art" has its origins in our art related experiences that brought people, spaces and communities closer to us. When you are experiencing art, you are never alone, you are with the artist, with your own experience and with other humans to share it with. Art connects, generates emotions and makes our brains stop the mundane and wonder.
Key objectives:
- to organise at least 6 art exhibitions in 12 months.
It is important for us to have continuity in the exhibition area in order to assure access to young art at any time. The emerging artists we include in our projects have completed their academic art training in the last 3 years and demonstrate a sustained effort to strengthen their artistic path. Each exhibition opening becomes an occasion for learning, sharing, fun and friendship.
In 2022 we have organised multiple group exhibitions in Bucharest: "In sequence" - in collaboration with Rezidenta 9 (24 emerging artists), "Possible interactions" - in collaboration with National Museum of Contemporary Art (8 emerging artists) and "Apropiere" at Pogo Art Space (6 emerging artists). Also, we are preparing for the next exhibition at Pogo Art Space in February, showing two talented young photographers: Bede Kincső and Maria Guțu.
- to organise specific events that unite the young artists' community interests and the local community needs.
For all the exhibitions we initiate, we offer the artists the opportunity to choose their own artistic research themes. Also, we try to connect these themes with the real needs of the local community. For example, the last two exhibitions explored the theme of the limitation imposed by the history of a country and the theme of human intimacy with the sinuous process it involves.
- to build up a qualitative curatorial program.
Each exhibition is carefully curated and, when possible, we offer a budget for artworks production.
- to keep the art space functional and welcoming.
We've made considerable efforts to ensure the involvement of emerging artists in cultural projects without any cost on their part. Also, visiting all our exhibition is and will be free of charge and the artworks we sell are affordable with prices starting from 46 Euro, taxes included. Also, we promote the development and advancement of underrepresented groups such as LGBTQIA young artists, female young artists and rising artists from the Moldavian, Hungarian and Roma ethnical communities .
Key objectives:
- to ensure accountability to diversity and inclusion in all cultural projects we initiate;
- to invest in a equitable manner in each artist's success and sense of belonging;
- to cultivate a diverse pipeline of emerging artists, free from exclusion;
- to ensure a safe environment where the harassment, intimidation or any offensive conduct are not permitted;
- to implement cultural projects which encourage the community-based learning, in which young artists can potentially explore cultural contexts, life experiences, social justice and different views from their own.
Back in 2019, our initiative had a great impact among Romanian emerging artists. The last initiative dedicated exclusively to young Romanian artists, the Alba Iulia Youth Art Biennale, was dissolved by the Romanian Government in 2003. From then until now, there has been no organised form of support for emerging artists. When we have asked young artists about their needs and desires, they told us they wanted to be seen, to share and exhibit their work, to get to know each other. We've made these things possible both online and offline. Until now, our online platform has gathered about 3,300 emerging artists (https://www.instagram.com/nevazutii/?hl=en), and over 150 young artists have exhibited in physical spaces during the exhibitions we have curated and organised. That offered them exposure and 17 of them were 'recruited' by different art residency programmes and art galleries. In this way, we have ensured a buffer period, of accommodation, in which the recent graduate can benefit from a more fluid transition from the status of a student, helped by the parents to complete his/her studies, to the stage of an adult who has the responsibility to support self and to create a constructive impact in the society.
The "Together through art" project revolves around cultural, social and economic realities that require the intervention of culture as a public service and the globalisation of cultural production and consumption. We want to emphasise the fact that art does not favour specific social categories. Thus, through our initiatives we strive to make visible the discrepancies within the urban environment in terms of cultural infrastructure, taking into account the natural cultural heritage, the poor public-private and national-local partnership approach in the implementation of cultural policies and the lack of integrated and transversal approach, both in terms of cultural policies and the role of culture for development and education.
Being a young initiative and depending exclusively on our own resources, we cannot mention any external stakeholder engaged in the design and implementation of the initiative. For the future, it is mandatory for us to attract financially potent partners who share our vision and believes.
We want all our projects to go beyond the vague and to have a clear applicability and measurable results. Thus, we want to create and/or develop competences in all three directions followed by the cultural projects we implement.
As for emerging artists, they develop their ability to build a portfolio that truly represents them and strengthen their confidence, exposing themselves directly to a specialised audience.
Also, the coaching meetings we organise are an opportunity for young artists to train their attention and concentration, to stop and take time to solve the challenges they face. Moreover, when an artist presents his situation and goals, those in the coaching group develop the ability to ask questions at the expense of direct advice and solutions, which most of the time do not suit the other people.
At the same time, when preparing an exhibition, the emerging artists learn what it means to collaborate, combine multiple projects for a unified result, build a coherent concept and promote and disseminate a cultural project.
In the near future, we want to involve also young art historians to organise art history workshops for children, as an alternative to the public learning curriculum which does not include any art related topics until high school.
As for the locals in the area of the exhibition space, they probably have a first contact with contemporary art, they have the opportunity to practice their social and communication skills, they learn to look at a work of art, to understand what an artistic research means, to have cultural initiatives to be heard and put into practice.
The encounter with art and with others via art, can help a wider audience to accept different perspectives, expand its notion of "we", and shows that individual engagement in the world has actual consequences. Thus, people visiting our art space engage with the surroundings and with our neighbours and become more realistic, involves and responsible.
We do not claim to be the only project of this kind, but we can say that there are very few such initiatives in Romania, maximum 3, and we collaborate very well with the other two: Artistic Laboratory (NGO) and the Accelerator program initiated by Gaep Gallery.
Young art has no fame and is not in the center of attention, that's why it is often neglected. However, young art is sincere art, it represents the basis on which the creative practices of the artists of the near future will be built. At the same time, they reflect the image of the new generation, which is quite difficult to decipher in its privacy. These are, from our point of view, the new aspects that the "Together through art" project brings. It goes beyond the romantic area of art, where the artist must create something "beautiful" or expensive to be noticed. Also, we take art out of the elitist areas of the city and bring it close to the many, where it becomes accessible, tangible and inspirational.
Also, we want to combine the practical and aesthetic dimensions of the space in which we carry out our activities. We want to overcome the cold and rigid allure of Romanian museums or established art galleries and become a meeting place for social and intellectual effervescence. The juxtaposition between cultural projects and communities which lack a consistent cultural life, represents a new element in the urban reality of the city of Bucharest.
Last but not least, we manage to counteract an outdated educational system based on the mechanical accumulation of information in an era where any information is available online. We offer young people the opportunity to do something feeling free. We have no stakes in terms of their performance, but simply want to offer them contexts in which they can develop autonomously and in harmony with the specifics of their own person.
Based on its versatility that will be further exemplified, this initiative could be extensively adapted to different contexts.
Speaking about location, this kind of endeavour suits well to every high-populated urban area in Europe, being particularly appropriate for disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Eastern European countries, which are still to reach certain standards of living and education, are a good starting point in this respect. Based on our experience, any cultural initiative is welcomed in the neglected areas. Such events are highly appreciated and they represent special occasions for these communities to feel positive emotions and to interact in a peaceful way. The simple act of projecting a movie made by emerging artists on a summer night unites the community and offers an experience to be remembered.
Also, our initiative could be reproduced in all regions of Romania where art university centres can be found. We find in young artists a great sensitivity towards the oppressed categories and a great willingness to help others. This is the main reason why running cultural projects in disadvantaged areas by involving emerging artists is a good idea that can be implemented on a large scale. The content of our projects could be replicated, transferred and improved at ease. We are equally open to share the good practices based on further collaborations and networking within a national or international context.
Taking into consideration the real-life needs and contingencies, the practices within this initiative could be further extended, improved and adapted.
Deep and transformative societal changes are possible only in the context of continuous education on a large scale.
Our programs have as a central core the creation of educational contexts for young graduates of art universities in Romania. As for the methods we use, The Young Artists Portfolio Presentation (YAPP) project offers individual coaching to young artists regarding the construction of a portfolio and its presentation. After this stage, we probe the artist's preferences in terms of cultural operators with whom he/she would like to associate and organise a physical meeting with them to facilitate a direct interaction that overcomes the shortcomings of a simple online application. Next edition of YAPP will take place on February 9 2023.
Perfect-Imperfect: the actions under this heading will consist of Action Learning Set (ALS) sessions, a method that provides a context in which young artists will be able to take their time (a session lasts approximately 4-5 hours, depending on the number of participants - maximum 5, 1 hour/ participant) to solve an immediate problem. Moreover, they will be able to draw inspiration from solving the situations presented by their group mates. We consider it important to involve young artists in such structured activities because many times they face blockages in the projects they want to start or complete (lack of funds, creative blockage, the need for help, lack of confidence, etc.), the result being the abandonment of the project. The 1st session of this program will take place on the 9th of March.
Besides all these, every exhibition we organize is an example of situational learning for young artists. This happens because they always work in a group, build their own exhibition concept, without being censored by a figure with an authoritative role - curator, teacher, well-known artists, a.s.o. This freedom allows making mistakes, which are accepted, observed and internalised as learning.
At the core of our initiative, we aimed at addressing certain needs of Romanian society in our area of expertise and interest. Furthermore, the unprecedented access to information, exchanges and mobility we are currently facing, showed us that these local issues are also challenges at a much bigger scale. Below we will nominate just three of them, the list being not exhaustive.
Social inequity in terms of access to art and culture manifests mostly with disadvantaged communities. These communities are neglected from being part of the relevant economic and social value chains. By consequence, their access and exposure to different kinds of education is scarce, particularly in the areas of art and culture. One solution we have identified was to physically establish our initiative in the proximity of the community exposed to social inequity.
Furthermore, this solution aims at supporting the social inclusion of the community, by providing non discriminatory access to our activities.
Emerging artists and art professionals who graduate universities are challenged to assure their day to day life based on their education. With some exceptions, most of them need to be known before their work integrates with the economic flow. This is where our initiative helps, it offers to a number of these professionals the visibility and part of the practical means to further continue their vocational career.
Awareness of disadvantaged communities is another subject of interest that we experience ourselves and want to address throughout our initiative. We noticed that people involved with their daily work and life challenges are not always exposed to these communities. We try to narrow this social distance by facilitating the proximity of different social categories of people.
Our initiative is an ongoing project. For keeping it alive, it needs resources, personal, collective effort and an effective collaboration with different stakeholders in order to continue producing visible results in the benefit of individuals and communities.
Being constrained by the limit of 2000 characters, we will mention as demonstrated outputs some of our emerging art exhibitions:
2020 - "Romanian Young Photographers" - online exhibitions organised together with Arts Gallery Shanghai, meant to promote young Romanian artists on the Chinese market
2020 - "Transitive" - offline exhibition hosted by Etaj artist-run space in Bucharest, a show that aimed to present the artists' diverse perspectives on the relationship between photography and the physical world, revealing the silent narratives behind each image.
2021 - "Together" - this exhibition took place as a result of a mentoring program we initiated in 2021: mature artists invited this year's uni graduates in order to prepare them for the challenges they will confront during their artistic career.
2021 and 2022 - "Possible Interactions" hosted by the National Contemporary Art Museum and implemented in two major phases, this exhibition presents the dialogue between the works of the 23 young artists and offers an image of how they are managing these times of uncertainty.
2022 - "In sequence" - hosted by Rezidenta 9 was an exhibition that explored the topics that concern the young generation, reflecting a special interest in investigating the personal universe, in a direct relationship with the digital environment, or at least being facilitated by it.
2022 - "Close" - hosted by Pogo Art Space - group exhibition showing an artistic research of human interactions with other humans, with nature, with sadness, with spaces and with pets.
2023 - "Border" - hosted by Pogo Art Space, presents two photographers, 1 Hungarian and 1Moldavian, who explore the concept of cultural and territorial limitations.
