The Art Encounters Foundation is an independent cultural institution, which was set up in 2015 with the aim of insuring support for the development of the contemporary art scene in Romania. The programs initiated by The Art Encounters Foundation intend to play a role in consolidating the position of the art scene, by supporting and encouraging art, promoting the artistic production, through encouraging various participatory artistic practices, the development of new forms of artistic expression, the organizing of exhibitions, the publication of books and albums of contemporary art, but also by supporting key institutions of art and culture.
Activating both locally, nationally as well as internationally, The Art Encounters Foundation operates as a flexible structure, by mediating a new status of contemporary culture through a constant dialogue between artists and their public. It supports cultural diversity through promoting some of the most valuable Romanian contemporary artists, but also by encouraging and sustaining young initiatives.
What conveys real value to the program run by the The Art Encounters Foundation is not only the quality of the involved artists and curators (covering different generations), but, mostly, the end product - the exhibitions, publications, workshops and conferences, as well as the the range of educational activities.
The Art Encounters Foundation launches a residency program dedicated to the young artists, to take place in 2017. Its purpose is to stimulate creativity, encourage the exploration of artistic practices in collaboration with the local artistic environment, facilitate cultural exchange, and establish a vivid, meaningful dialogue between the communities and actors from different cultural fields.
Given the recent appointment of Timișoara as European Capital of Culture 2021 and the organization in 2017 of the second edition of the Timișoara Art Encounters biennial, Timișoara is on the right track for becoming a major focus point of the national and regional artistic interest. The rich cultural calendar announced by the program proposed for 2021, with national and cross-border exchanges and cultural mobilities, is based on creating bridges across cities, people and domains, capable of sustaining the long-term cultural development of the city. At the same time, the Art Encounters biennial, which will take place between September 30 and November 5, 2017, will comprise a series of exhibitions focused on Romanian Contemporary Art, lectures and workshops, and will be preceded in the spring and summer months by an intense activity of research carried out in Timișoara by invited curators and artists.
The artist-in-residence program founded by the Art Encounters Foundation aims to become a permanent platform for experiments, production and dialogue for young Romanian artists.
The artists who participated in the 2015 Art Encounters residency program are: Bogdan Armanu & Silvia Amancei, Biroul de Cercetări Melodramatice (Irina Gheorghe and Alina Popa), Mihut Boșcu-Kafchin, Alex Mirutziu.
Founder and President of The Art Encounters Foundation, an art collector actively involved in the contemporary art scene in Romania, member of The Russian and Eastern European Art Acquisitions Committee of the Tate Modern Museum, London.
Executive Director of The Art Encounters Foundation, in charge of coordinating the entire activity of the Foundation, including the organization of the Art Encounters biennial event.
Logistics coordinator of the The Art Encounters Foundation, in charge of the transport of artworks and the art storage of The Art Encounters Foundation.