WHAT ART DOES. URBAN AND EMOTIONAL JUNCTIONS
13.12.2023 - 15.12.2023
Final presentation of the workshops conducted by Mihai Toth
Wednesday, December 13, 17.00
GYMNASIUM NO. 30
13 Aştrilor St., Timișoara
Final presentation of the workshops conducted by Minitremu
Presentation of the publication Mircea Nicolae – All by Myself
Roundtable discussion with: Laura Borotea, Gabriel Boldiș, Alexandra Croitoru, Magda Radu, Ștefan Sava, Mihai Toth
Friday, December 15, 19.00
MINITREMU (UN)LEARNING CENTER
2 Coriolan Brediceanu St., Timișoara
At the end of the project developed around Mircea Nicolae's artistic and pedagogical practice, which took place from September to December 2023, we invite the public to learn more about the methods, approaches and collaborative spirit that animated the workshops held by Mihai Toth, Laura Borotea and Gabriel Boldiș in Timișoara. Dozens of primary and high school pupils had the chance to get in touch with the aesthetic and affective universe of an artist who had a unique position on the contemporary art scene, combining critical spirit with exploratory thinking and sensitivity towards the environment, in all its forms and manifestations. These coordinates structured the working methodologies devised by the workshop tutors and informed the urban routes they proposed, the relationship with various places in the city, invested by the participants with personal meanings, as well as the attention paid to simple, humble, apparently unimportant materials, but which revealed an unexpected creative potential in the hands of the children and young people involved.
The publication dedicated to Mircea Nicolae articulates a singular vision of the role of art today, highlighting his interdisciplinary thinking. On the one hand, art can be a tool for critical questioning of reality, and on the other, it has the potential to heal wounds at the level of the social fabric, but also at a personal, intimate, human level. Mircea Nicolae's practice mobilizes a multitude of artistic languages, as he was a self-taught artist with a humanistic education. The publication combines critical essays, written by authors such as Jacob Mikanowski, Anca Oroveanu, Veda Popovici, Ștefan Tiron, Raluca Voinea, with a detailed presentation of his works, and is punctuated by a series of the artists’ unpublished texts that offer direct access to his thinking and creative process. The design of the monograph is by Larisa Sitar, a close collaborator of Mircea Nicolae, who proposes a visual translation that is fully in line with his both experimental and rigorous spirit.
Organiser: Salonul de proiecte Association
Partners: Minitremu Association, Baraka Artist Association, PUNCH, La Două Bufnițe
The project is part of the National Cultural Program "Timișoara – European Capital of Culture in 2023" and is funded through the Inside Timișoara 2023 program, conducted by the Timișoara Center for Projects, with funds allocated from the state budget, through the budget of the Ministry of Culture.
The Mircea Nicolae monograph is co-funded by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund and Fundația9.
Sponsor: BRD – Groupe Société Générale
The project does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or the manner in which the results of the project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the funding recipient.