The Marathon of Art Practices (MAP) project consisted of a series of exhibitions, workshops, talks, reading circles, video screenings, which together reconnected the aesthetic experience generated by interacting with contemporary artworks to a broader discussion about the need to create a sustainable ecosystem in the cultural sector. The results of the project will be presented at an online press conference on 30 April 2024. The project was funded by EEA Grants 2014-2021 under the RO-CULTURA Programme and implemented by Galeria Suprainfinit. Marathon of Art Practices and ran from January 2023 to April 2024. The total budget of the project was 949,664.33 lei (190,759.47 euro). The amount of non-reimbursable financial support was 844,562.74 lei (171,683.52 euro), of which the eligible amount from EEA grants was 85%, i.e. 717,877.33 lei (145,930.992 euro), and the eligible non-reimbursable amount from national co-financing was 15%, i.e. 125,684.41 lei (25,752.528 euro). The own contribution from the total eligible amount of the project was 10%, i.e. 93,840.31 lei (19,075.95 euro).
The project aimed to: train 15 artists and 5 emerging curators in the fields of curatorial theory and practice, entrepreneurship and cultural management, and 30 new potential collectors of contemporary art through dialogues with renowned Romanian and foreign experts; exhibit contemporary art works in the 9 exhibitions; support the formation of direct connections between the public and emerging artists and curators through artist talks and related events.
Two series of workshops (with 3 mentors in each series) were organised for emerging artists and curators, under the title “Critical Visions I and II”, for which participants signed up by launching two open calls. The workshops trained a total of over 30 participants in the areas of curatorial theory and practice, entrepreneurship and cultural management, with guest mentors from international curators and artists.
Nine solo and group exhibitions with contemporary artists from Romania and abroad, such as Apparatus 22 (RO), Nilz Kallgren (SE), Jina Shin (KR), Agata Ingarden (PL), Peleș Duo (DE), Christian Jankowski (DE), Andreea Anghel (RO), Maria Guță (RO), Lauren Huret (FR) were conceived and presented to the public. The group exhibition “Skin of the Shapeshifter II” was organized in Timisoara in collaboration with the partner Art Encounters Foundation. Overall, the exhibitions followed themes such as gender fluidity and queer lived experiences, new technologies and the posthuman, post-socialist space and architecture, female monstrosity and the prosthetic body, contemporary ecological thinking. The final marathon extended the theme of performativity from different artistic perspectives (free movement, performance, reading and listening circle, community lunch, live concerts and screening of video works), taking place in the gallery space as well as the Apollo111 theatre space.
The general public and target groups benefited during the project from the cultural and informational resources of Suprainfinit Gallery, which since its establishment in 2015 has had the mission to promote young emerging Romanian and foreign artists, to support the production of new artistic works, to strengthen a dynamic local contemporary art market and to participate in the visual education of the general public.
The MAP project has also benefited from the support of local and international partners. The Norwegian partner Kjersti Vetterstad added value by mentoring the project’s Artistic Director, Cristina Vasilescu, during a 7-day internship in Oslo, providing an exchange of experience in curatorial practices, contemporary art gallery management, market mechanisms and cultural entrepreneurship. Partner MARe hosted a training session for the 30 collectors and organised two guided tours of the museum. Partner Art Encounters Foundation promoted the project on their social media networks and co-organised an exhibition in Timisoara.