Seven artists will open the doors to their workshops on the weekend of October 1-2, as part of the project Taking a walk through the UAP workshops in Amzei Square, an initiative of the Nucleu 0000 Association, which aims to familiarize the general public with the creative spaces in the center of Bucharest.

During the weekend of October 22-23, other artists will be waiting for their visitors in their workshops on Șelari Street 13.

The program begins with two openings, which will take place on September 30, from 7 pm, in the building of the Union of Fine Artists of Romania at 7-9 Biserica Amzei Street, and at Atelier 35.

Scattered around the center of Bucharest, the buildings of the Union of Fine Artists of Romania are home to dozens of workshops, used as creative centers by artists of various ages, interested in different artistic languages or practices - some famous, others just starting out.

Tucked away in heritage buildings, most often in historic parts of the city, the workshops are rarely accessible to the general public and most often remain closed even to specialists in the artistic community. They are symbolic spaces, either because they hide biographical clues, histories, sketches, or objects that could give new meaning to an artist's work, because they fuel rumors and urban legends, or simply because some consider them the most coveted places in the city.

"We've devised a series of events to highlight the meaning of the studio in an artist's life. It's a vital space for development. We started by documenting the workshops in the UAP buildings in Amzei Square and Șelari in Bucharest. Next year, we want to continue with others throughout the country. So we invite the public into a usually closed place, the studio, a multifunctional space where a creator is free to experiment, destroy, and build, without making value judgments. If one wishes, one can share these stirrings, but it is not necessary. There are artists who open the doors of studios, but most remain solitary. Historically, it is rare that artists have created without a studio, working in their own homes. For visual artists, a place for experimentation and research is essential for the conception and realization of their work," says Gabriela Mateescu, founder of Nucleu 0000 and initiator of this initiative.

During the event, the workshops of artists Beniamin Popescu, Elena and Marcel Scutaru, Roman Tolici, Nicolae Comănescu, Mihai Coltofean, and Flavia Lupu are open to the general public for the first time. Each of these formal spaces reveals a self-made universe, of questions, routines, the searches that ultimately define the development of an artist.

In addition to its educational function, the Taking a walk through the UAP workshops in Amzei Square initiative tries to bring into public discussion, especially in the circles directly concerned, the problem constituted by the lack of creative workshops in Romania.

"We painted in attics with cats on Batiștei. I had an attic the size of a Duster, I opened the door from my bed, and Aunt Paulina - who had 35 cats - told me I had talent. I painted in a basement with cats on Stirbey, I painted on Bastille Falls, because a friend had the key to X's studio and he would unlock it for me at night to work there. We used the Butchers' Tower in Târgu Mureș, Green Hours, Dalles Hall, we broke the door of a tutoring room in the university dormitory and worked there locked inside, obviously more at night, we rented a common space on Vespasian, Gara de Nord, above a sunflower seed baking and salting joint - it smelled so strongly you could faint," says artist Nicolae Comănescu.

Program

September 30: 7 pm - 11 pm, Inter-Exterior pop-up exhibition in the UAP workshop building at 7-9 Amzei Church Street, Sector 1.

Five artists (Claudiu Cobilanschi, Sergiu Doroftei, Alina Marinescu, Ioana Nicoară, Ionuț Zevideanu) have been invited to create a series of artistic interventions in the hallways and basement of the building.

The exhibition is open until October 2.  

Also on September 30: 7 pm - 11 pm, Opening of the exhibition Nucleu 0010 - Untimely Encounters at Atelier 35, where 4 artists without studios (Roberta Curcă, Alexandra Ivanciu, Diana Miron, Marina Oprea) have been invited to converse, be inspired and work with 4 artists who have studios assigned by the Union of Fine Artists (Nicolae Comănescu, Anca Mureșan, Beniamin Popescu, Elena Scutaru).

The exhibition is open until October 21. 

October 1-2: the workshops of artists Beniamin Popescu, Elena and Marcel Scutaru, Roman Tolici, Nicolae Comănescu, Mihai Coltofean, and Flavia Lupu, will be open from 12 pm to 6 pm, at Amzei Church Street 7-9.

Beniamin Popescu: Saturday and Sunday, October 1-2, between 12 pm and 6 pm

Roman Tolici: Saturday, October 1, between 2 pm and 5 pm

Nicolae Comănescu: Sunday, October 2, between 2 pm and 6 pm

Elena and Marcel Scutaru: Sunday, October 2, between 1 pm and 3 pm 

Flavia Lupu: Sunday, October 1, between 3 pm and 5 pm

Mihai Coltofean: Sunday, October 2, between 1 pm and 6 pm

maia@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Nucleu 0000)