Ten Contemporary Art Exhibitions from Cluj-Napoca, 03–07.2023

Abstract

Fabrica de Pensule was a welcome exercise for the artistic community in Cluj. An ambitious action modelled on the art hub in Leipzig but keeping in mind the propor­tions. Unsurprisingly, the exercise ended, as most such agglomerations do, after an average of 5 years. Hopes were rekindled when another artistic hub appeared shortly after the last studios in the factory disappeared. Centrul de Interes, however, de­stabilized itself in an even shorter time. Even though there is a certain constancy of artistic events in this space, it is no longer what Fabrica de Pensule used to be and what we all hoped Centrul de Interes would revival. It no longer has a vibe, as Gen Z would say. Fabrica de Pensule and, initially, Centrul de Interes, were attractive not just because they were exhibition spaces, but because they emanated the effervescence of creative studios. Artists’ studios were the lifeblood of this ecosystem of contemporary art production and exhibition. In fact, those are the only things that artists essentialy need: a place to create and a place to exhibit! Otherwise, other factors join the platform: gallerists and curators who push things further. Well, the two models of the artistic ecosystem in Cluj did not come out of the 5-year average statistics. However, the community of contemporary artists from Cluj did not evaporate with the dispersion of these two coagulation points. The year 2020 triggered a resettlement on the artistic map of Cluj, of creative studios and exhibition spaces.