This year, Timișoara was the host of an effervescent cultural program held on the occasion of being the European Capital of Culture in 2023.

Every year, at least two cities in the European Union receive this honorary title. More than 60 European cities have been designated to carry this prestigious title. Only two cities in Romania received this distinction: Sibiu in 2007 and Timișoara in 2023.

The initiators of the program to grant the title of “European Capital of Culture” are Melina Mercouri, the Greek Minister of Culture at the time, and her French counterpart, Jack Lang, who proposed in 1985 this project aiming to bring Europeans closer together through a broad cultural manifestation that promotes the richness and diversity of European cultures, highlighting, at the same time, our common history and values.

The title of European Capital of Culture means more than organizing events; it is a transformative process that engages multiple creative energies, stimulating experience, cooperation, and collaboration between cultural institutions and organizations in different fields, from art to technology, architecture and education.
At the same time, significant investments are made in modernising infrastructure, and historic buildings, institutions or cultural centres representative of the city’s history are restored, an approach that has long-term beneficial effects on the city’s development at a cultural, social and economic level.

In 2016, Timișoara, together with the cities of Eleusina in Greece and Veszprem in Hungary, was nominated for the title of European Capital of Culture for 2021. Still, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the implementation of the national cultural program Timișoara – European Capital of Culture was postponed to 2023.

The cultural program debuted in February under the slogan “Shine your light – Light up your city!” inspired by the statement “Timişoara was the first city in which…” a phrase that reflects the city’s glorious past on the Bega. In 1884, Timișoara became the first European city with electric street lighting. And Timișoara is also the city where the revolution against the communist regime began.
“Shine your light – Light up your city!” was an appeal addressed to the citizens, encouraging them to believe in their ability to generate change through the power of example, participation, and active involvement in the city’s life.

“Through this slogan, we want to launch an invitation to a double mobilization: on the one hand, “Shine your light” – encourages citizens to freely express their values ​​and attitudes, metaphorically described as an “inner light”, and on the other, with the help of this light to remove the darkness and passivity around them through a civic process fueled by culture.
We aim to set civic energy in motion, “exporting” the values ​​of other European cities, which we believe stimulate an open, visionary attitude among citizens. We can light up the city together through our curiosity, through our love for art and respect for diversity, through our determination to take a step forward and take a stand for our common European values,” said the representatives of the Timișoara European Capital of Culture Association at the time of the inauguration of the national cultural program Timișoara 2023.

The cultural and artistic events held throughout the year were truly exceptional. The complex cultural program, defined as a transformative cultural journey, was built around three main directions of action, called “territories”: People, Places and Connections.

The People’s Territory is aimed at extremely diverse public categories, people being the main recipients of this broad manifestation through culture designed to unite them, reveal new horizons and support them on the path of free expression and critical thinking.

The Territory of Places meant a significant urban regeneration through the restoration of numerous historical buildings and centers, but also through the activation of public spaces, cultural events taking place in different central or lesser-known neighborhoods, in public transport, in the vegetable market or the antique market, in alternative spaces or heritage buildings.

The Connections Territory acted as a link between the People and Places territories, favoring the creation of a constellation of cultural partnerships, collaborations and interactions that generated unique experiences, with a regional and transnational dimension, redefining the international status of Timișoara about territorial interdependence.

A complementary but necessary and vital territory for the cultural sector was the Power Station funding program, implemented by the Project Center of the Municipality of Timișoara, which equally supported the initiatives of novice and experienced cultural operators. At the same time, the program directly supported the artistic community and cultural journalists through the creative grants Energie!

Timișoara 2023 had three milestones: the opening in February, the city’s celebration in October and the closing event in December, but throughout the year, there were dozens of theater performances on the street and in the hall, numerous exhibitions of art, dance performances, concerts, conferences and cultural debates.

The opening of the Timișoara 2023 national cultural program took place on the weekend of February 17-19, 2023 and was marked by a series of concerts, shows and exhibitions.

The central collective exhibition “Chronic desire – Sete cronică” (February 17 – April 23), organized by the Center for Projects of the Municipality of Timișoara, brought together 34 artists from Romania, Europe, Asia and the United States of America, whose works were exhibited in four representative spaces for the city of Timișoara: “Corneliu Miklosi” Public Transport Museum, Maria Theresia Bastion, Timișoara Garrison Command, and Ștefania Palace.
The exhibition concept, formulated by the curatorial team made up of Cosmina Goagea, Corina Oprea and Brîndușa Tudor, invited the public to reflect on some current topics, such as the war on the country’s border, climate change or ethnic inequalities.

Probably one of the most visible projects of the cultural program Timișoara – European Capital of Culture was the temporary installation “Nursery.1306 plants for Timișoara”, an intervention by MAIO Architects, a significant architecture studio from Barcelona. Installed at km 0, in Victory Square, a place with a special meaning for the people of Timișoara, the vertical modular construction with five floors, each platform having its uniqueness, was designed for the community aiming to create a dialogue and a connection between people, the environment and public space.

The “Victor Brauner: Inventions and Magic” exhibition (17 February – 28 May) was another key moment of the inauguration of the Timișoara – European Capital of Culture program in 2023. The exhibition, hosted by the Timișoara National Art Museum, presented approximately 70 works of painting, drawing, engraving, and sculpture for the first time in Romania – more than half of which came from the Center Pompidou in Paris. Carefully curated by Camille Morando, the exhibition was a successful attempt to recover Victor Brauner’s work in the Romanian space, to which the French Cultural Institute from Timișoara and the Art Encounters Foundation contributed.

Another exceptional exhibition event, the result of a joint effort of four important institutions: Timișoara National Art Museum, French Cultural Institute of Timișoara, Art Encounters Foundation and Timiș County Council (the financier of the project), is the exhibition “Brâncuși: Romanian Sources and Universal Perspectives ”, which can be visited until January 28, 2024.
The curator of the exhibition, Doina Lemny, an important researcher-museographer at Center Pompidou and an expert in Brâncuși’s art, punctuated the stages of the artistic journey of Brâncuși, emphasizing the formative years and the permanent connection with his native country.
The 100 works, of which 22 sculptures, 55 photographs, 11 drawings and a selection of video recordings made by Brâncuși himself, come from exceptional loans from the National Museum of Modern Art, Center Pompidou in Paris, Tate in London, the Foundation Guggenheim, the National Art Museum in Bucharest and the Art Museum in Craiova, as well as from private collections.

The “after SCULPTURE / SCULPTURE after “ project, opened to the public in May, was part of the series of exceptional events that took place in Timișoara on the occasion of the celebration of holding the title of European Capital of Culture. “after SCULPTURE /SCULPTURE after” was an essential step to reaffirm/reposition sculpture as an important and relevant artistic practice in the Romanian artistic landscape, which captured the dynamics and transformations that sculpture has undergone in recent decades. The project, conceived and coordinated by Sorina Jecza and Atilla Kim through the Interart Triade Foundation and Atilla Kim & Architects, brought together an impressive selection of over 70 artists from Romania and abroad.

An event related to the Timișoara 2023 cultural program was the Biennale Art Encounters – My Rhino is not a Myth. art science fiction, now in its fifth edition. Adrian Notz, the curator of the Biennale, had with him a young team of curators and writers: Cristina Bută, Monica Dănilă, Edith Lázár, Ann Mbuti, Cristina Stoenescu and Georgia Țidorescu. Conceived at the intersection of art, science and fiction, the exhibition project took place in 23 spaces in Timișoara and was complemented by conferences, multiple guided tours and art laboratories.

Another important event was the personal exhibition of visual artist Adrian Ghenie, curated by Diana Marincu. Adrian Ghenie, one of the most important contemporary Romanian artists, had his last solo show in Romania 14 years ago. The exhibition “Adrian Ghenie – The Impossible Body”, organized by the Art Encounters Foundation, brought together a series of drawings and paintings exhibited for the first time in Timișoara.

In October, for three days (October 6-8), Timișoara – the European Capital of Culture was celebrated along the Bega River, a defining element of the city’s identity. The events held on the banks of the river aimed, first of all, to reconnect the inhabitants of Timișoara with nature and raise awareness of the importance of the river as a natural landscape and navigable channel, but also of the beneficial effects generated by creative energies.

The symbolic closing of the year in which Timișoara was the European Capital of Culture was celebrated for four days (December 7-10) through an effervescence of cultural and artistic moments that highlighted the valuable practices acquired during the cultural journey.
The catalyst moments of the closing festivities were the premiere concerts with Jessie J, Róisín Murphy, Katie Melua and José González. The more than 100 events held in Piața Unirii, Cinema Timiș, Cinema Victoria, MX – the “Corneliu Mikloși” Museum, the Palace of Culture and dozens of other locations throughout the city brought together more than 115,800 spectators.

“Last weekend was a great start to what’s to come. Our ambition is to remain the Capital of Culture in Europe, not only for years to come. A city that competes without complexes with the great European cities. Our strategy of changing the community by investing in culture continues. It is our stake to show that investing in culture and creativity brings prosperity to the whole community. I congratulate all those who made possible the exceptional year we had and thank you for being part of Timișoara forever”, concluded Dominic Fritz, the mayor of the Municipality of Timișoara.

“Timișoara 2023 forever”, the symbolic closing ceremony of the program “Timișoara 2023 – European Capital of Culture” – was an invitation to look back and, at the same time, a reaffirmation of the commitment to continue the process of urban regeneration through cultural events.

What will remain after this cultural year? Certainly, a much more united and civically involved community, a much more visible city at the national and international level, cultural programs with diverse themes, new partnerships and collaborations, revitalized local and regional economies and numerous other growth opportunities.

This journalistic material was made through the financing program Energie! Burse de creație, supported by the Municipality of Timișoara, through the Center for Projects, within the Power Station component of the National Cultural Program “Timișoara – European Capital of Culture in the Year 2023”. The material does not necessarily represent the position of the Center for Projects of the Municipality of Timișoara, and this one is not responsible for its content or manner it may be used.

Cover photo: Adrian Anghel