by Ioana Ciocan

You have initiated the Periferic Project in Iași, in 1997 and after only 4 editions it became the first Romanian contemporary art biennale. How did this transformation

take place?

Periferic started out as a performance festival. It was 1997, a difficult time in post-December Romania. I chose this artistic environment for the first editions because it had direct reference to the human body as the witness of the collective trauma that we all lived twenty years ago. Later on, in 2001, once the Romanian economical and socio-political context started to improve, our ambitions as organizers orientated towards promoting contemporary visual arts within a conservatory context. As a consequence, new biennales emerged in various European cities such as Lyon, Goteborg, Liverpool, Tirana or Istanbul. Short time after, we were happy to see that the Periferic Biennale was perceived as having an international artistic program at the eastern limit of the European Union.


Why did the Periferic cease to exist?

Between 1997 and 2008 we had organized eight editions. In my opinion, as the initiator and artistic director of this project, there are several reasons for which I stopped it. At the end of 2008, when the economic crisis had hit, the cultural funds were cut drastically and we were no longer able to ensure the minimal budget for such an international event with higher and higher demands. On the other hand, I have considered that, for the cultural context of Iași, it would be better to focus more on smaller but more frequent projects that build a special public; this is what is happening right now with the initiative of the independent cultural sector that is working to transform Iași`s Turkish Bath into a Contemporary Art Center. I also wanted to stop the project in order to focus more on my artistic activity that I somehow neglected during the time when I was more an artistic manager.


Is the artistic community clotting faster around a project now than it done in the 90s?

It is difficult to answer. 20 years ago there was more enthusiasm and more needs to have solidarity through artistic initiative due to the country being isolated and having access to severely poor resources. Today, the people are more informed and pragmatic, but individual interests and visibility are still the first focus.


What is the current role of Vector Association Iași?

Vector Association Iași, that I setup in 2001 and whose director I was between 2001 and 2010, had experienced a period of institutional hiatus for a few years. A colleague of mine took the initiative to revive it and I consider it a very positive thing.


In 2015 you have started the Contemporary Photography Center. What is the objective of this Center?

The Contemporary Photography Center that I have founded almost two years ago is promoting dynamicphotography and image in the Romanian context, with the purpose of creating an artistic interconnected scene. Starting with this year, I have founded the Camera Plus Photography Biennale and we hope it will develop in the future years just like the Periferic did.


Tell me one major transformation that the “George Enescu” Art University in Iași has experienced since 1999 when you started teaching photography and video art there?

I believe that the university as a whole started a long and difficult modernization process at institutional level, considering the integration of the pedagogical methods that are specific for the study of contemporary art. In my opinion, another positive fact was the creation of some new study programs, such as Photo - Video.


Is the Romanian artistic education moving at the speed desired by the students?

I believe that only a part of the students have clear expectations regarding the local artistic education system. And these are the people who have travelled, who are informed and motivated to become professionals; we try to communicate with them and to find out what they expect from us. It is obvious that the education system is changing with more difficulty due to the limited resources and the people who are making part of it. At the end, I would draw the attention to the fact that young people are less and less interested in having a university path in the artistic field due to thelow incomes offered at the beginning of their careers.