Ioana Ciocan “New generations of art collectors are emerging in Romania”

For the 9th edition of Art Safari, the biggest art event in Romania, Business Review talked to Ioana Ciocan, the event’s general manager, about the current trends and challenges on the local and international art scene.

By Oana Vasiliu

How would you describe the DNA of Art Safari?

Boldness is key. Art Safari has been a daring project from the very beginning. It takes time, hard work, but also courage to become the largest and the most appreciated art event in Romania. (…) The success of that 2015 edition—20,000 visitors—gave us courage to organise the next editions and the chance to massively evolve, and here we are in 2022, ready for two editions in a brand new format: 6 months of art in the heart of Bucharest.

Let’s talk about changes on the art market and the continuing art boom since the beginning of Art Safari. How does today’s market work? Can you point to specific trends?

Romania has a relevant position in CEE and will have much to say in contemporary art, and in recent years Art Safari has contributed to shaping tastes and educating the public, including collectors. New generations of collectors have begun to emerge over the past few years, resuming the tradition of art investment that had faded away during the communist period. This new class of young collectors is discovering the great Romanian masters—Aman, Luchian—and also acquiring super contemporary Romanian art, such as that of Irina Dragomir, who will have her own exhibition at Art Safari – 9th edition.

What advantages does Art Safari bring to the Romanian art scene?

We are a leading brand in the field of art and culture, we have the power to reach wide audiences, to shape behaviours, to bring art in people’ lives in an unprecedented way, and convince them that art and culture represent important parts of our national identity in a European and global context. We are a oneof-a-kind project in Romania, with a great potential to place Bucharest and the entire country on the European cultural map, not just on a regional level.

What makes Art Safari so special this year?

It will be the first time when Art Safari, a cultural project funded by the Culture Ministry, will last 3 months, and the second year in a row when it will take place in the gorgeous Dacia-Romania Palace, in the old city centre, the future headquarters of Pinacoteca Bucuresti, on 18-20 Lipscani, through a partnership with the Bucharest Museum. Another first will be the fact that Art Safari will return in the fall, in the same place, with a resounding anniversary edition. We have long wanted to present Art Safari in a large format, especially since the effort we make to organise it is very significant, and this unique event deserves to last longer. In addition, Art Safari is also funded by the Culture Ministry this year, in an extraordinary recognition of the event’s leadership in the field of cultural projects and its potential to place Romania on the European art and culture map. (…) Moreover, this edition will showcase art worth over EUR 14 million, including works by Picasso and Dali, featured for the first time at Art Safari. Even though the space where Art Safari will take place will be the same as last year, the architectural concept of this edition, signed by architect Ioana Corbu, will certainly surprise visitors, offering an exciting show at modern standards. For the first time, the exhibition space will also benefit from a lighting system that will highlight every artwork in Art Safari, while the pavilion dedicated to the PicassoDali duo will be accompanied by music. (…)

The value of our insurance policy for the exhibited art has increased, because we are no longer talking about an insurance period of 10 days, but 6 months. And our border with Ukraine does not help our insurance rates at all, because now we’ve had to introduce a war clause into the policy. This was in addition to the terrorism clause, which has been in place for several years. Our international partners have been quite concerned about this proximity to Ukraine, but we are very happy that there was no question of cancelling the event or postponing it, because we are prepared to protect the artwork like every big museum does. And people need art; it gives them hope.

Art Safari will continue until August 7, 2022.

Mihai Chirilov (TIFF): “The festival has established itself as a connective and vibrant experience”

The Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF) will return in full force between June 17-26, to the way it used to be before the pandemic. Business Review talked to Mihai Chirilov, TIFF’s artistic director, about cinema after the coronavirus.

By Oana Vasiliu

What will be the size of the lineup at this edition? Will it be smaller than usual?

It’s going to be just like in the good old times, with almost as many movies and events as we used to have before the pandemic. As most people know, TIFF was successfully carried out as an in-person event even during the pandemic, by sacrificing its usual size due to an absence of indoor locations (in 2020) and proper screening conditions (in 2021). Right now, there is no reason to hold back. (…) There will be slightly fewer films than there were in 2019, but all in all the 2022 edition qualifies as a normal one—whatever “normal” might mean nowadays. The last twenty years have established the festival as an extremely connective and vibrant experience, and these were precisely the values that were the most affected and endangered by the pandemic. We want people back, congregating and communicating, getting together through art. That’s why we are going to emphasise TIFF’s social dimension and the need for cerebral dialogue by introducing a music sidebar called Soundsquare, located in the nicely refurbished inner courtyard of the Arts Museum and dedicated to emerging bands, and by adding daily talks about certain films debated by key public figures. (…)

Which movies do you consider to be the greatest catches of the year?

Every film that has just been screened at Cannes and reaches TIFF in such a short time is a great catch. “Final Cut!” directed by Oscar winner Michel Hazanavicius opened the French festival and now lands in the Unirii Square in Cluj, expecting to gather a couple of thousands of viewers. So does “Metronom,” the Romanian debut feature that brought Alexandru Belc the directing prize in the Un Certain Regard sidebar. Icelandic writer-director Hlynur Pálmason returns to TIFF after having been awarded here for his two previous films “Winter Brothers” and “A White, White Day,” with “Godland,” equally shown in the Un Certain Regard section. The newest work by one of the Transylvania Trophy winners premiered in Cannes and will get the coveted Surprise Film slot in Cluj (watch out for upcoming news!). Elsewhere, we are happy to host the Romanian premieres of: “Alcarras” (the Berlinale’s Golden Bear, d. Carla Simon); “The Good Boss,” the top winner at this year’s Spanish Oscars (d. Fernando Leon de Aranoa, with Javier Bardem in the main role); the newest works by TIFF regulars Peter Strickland (the outlandish “Flux Gourmet”), Ulrich Seidl (the provocative “Rimini”) and Chilean Matias Bize (the intimate and devastating “Private Messages”).

Last but not least, and possibly the greatest catch of them all, is the Krzysztof Kieślowski retrospective, with most films shown in brand new restored prints, including the “Three Colors - Blue, White, Red” trilogy, complete with a rare photo and multimedia exhibition as part of the big Polish Focus put together at this edition.

What should people make sure they don’t miss this year at TIFF?

Castle in Bontida, marking the centenary of this classic silent horror by F.W. Murnau, complete with a new score written for a huge orchestra by the uber-talented Simona Strungaru. I wouldn’t mind the nostalgia trip provoked by the tribute screening of Buena Vista Social Club, the cult doc directed in the late ‘90s by Wim Wenders—especially since one of the band’s last standing men Eliades Ochoa will be performing live in Cluj on the occasion. Three other documentaries are not to be missed: “The Orchestra with the Broken Instruments” (d. Yuval Hameiri), a highly successful experiment that ended with an impressive and cohesive performance of Israeli and Palestinian musicians using damaged instruments; “The Balcony Movie” (d. Pawel Lozinski), the simplest yet most clever idea for a film ever; and “The Round Number” (d. David Fisher), with an edgy and fearless investigation of a tabu matter which is very likely to stir controversy.

You’ll be much safer booking your ticket for one of the salivating Film Food events (matching a themed film screening with a sophisticated dinner prepared by a celebrity chef; they usually sell out quickly, so move fast) or watching the newest—and shockfree—film directed by enfant terrible Gaspar Noe, “Vortex.” Gerard Depardieu as “Maigret” is a treat, and so is the extended final car chase in the action-packed Korean film “Escape from Mogadishu.” And if you want some roaring fun, take a chance with either “The Unemployment Club” and its irreverent comedic romps or “Cop Secret”, a buddymovie parody with gay cops.