The ‘Past Present’ project, carried out by the interdisciplinary production, research, and education platform PETEC, received the award for the Promotion of Romanian culture in the world during the AFCN Gala on the evening of May 20, 2024, based on the network of partnerships with the artistic space Beaconsfield (London), the Bucharest National Dance Center (CNDB) and the Triade Foundation (Timișoara). This award recognizes the relevance and cultural impact of the project at the European level, highlighting the potential of multidisciplinary artistic approaches to activate fragments of the past in an attempt to manage trauma suffered by various communities.
‘Past Present’ interwoven interdisciplinary artistic practices (visual arts, choreography, film, sound) and academic meetings on geological tragedies (the devastation of the city of Pompeii following the eruption of Vesuvius) and ideological tragedies (the leveling of the Uranus hill in Bucharest in the 80s, in order to place of the House of the People and the Boulevard of Victoriei Socialiste). These stories met and interwoven in the Beaconsfield art space in London, established in the only remaining wing of a school for underprivileged children partially demolished in the late 19th century with the expansion of the railway infrastructure.
“Past Present is a project dedicated to memory and different ways of living—in our own bodies, in the spaces around us, and in our imagination. Mirroring two destructions of cities almost 2000 years apart, Pompeii and Bucharest in the 1980s, we give voice to almost forgotten histories through performance, film, and installations, developing close relationships based on empathy both with the community we collaborated with and with the audience.
After years of working in relative solitude, the project is now taking shape in collaboration with a complex team. With previous training in architecture, I find forms of expression in relation to the spaces in which I work. Last year ‘Past Present’ took place in spaces heavily charged with their own stories and histories: Beaconsfield (London) — a former school partially demolished and transformed into a gallery; U Barracks (Timișoara) — the ruin of a military building temporarily turned into a space for sculpture; /SAC @Malmaison – former garrison and prison; CNDB – the house of dance from Bucharest. All these spaces encouraged and supported us in our interdisciplinary endeavors, through which we experienced the relationship between archival materials with performance and visual arts. I am happy about the recognition of this AFCN award, and I am curious about what will follow”, says Ioana Marinescu.
The cultural quality of this complex and exciting project was confirmed not only by the award given at the AFCN Gala but also by the fact that its next stage – URANUS – a work in progress – received funding during the first session of AFCN 2024. The project will continue to explore the role archives and affective and cultural memory in the processes of reconciliation with their own past of the community located in the Uranus-Izvor area, on the border between community art, performance and visual arts, bringing together architects, musicians, performers, film directors. URANUS – work in progress is a partnership between PETEC, the “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism, and the National Museum of Contemporary Art.
