Simultaneously with the activity carried out in a financial institution of the European Union, in 2017, Victoria Nagy Vajda founded the Arbor Culture and Arts Association, a project that promotes the Bessarabian culture in Romania.

She organized over 30 art exhibitions in institutional spaces and private galleries, including the first personal exhibition in Romania of the painter Valentina Rusu Ciobanu, a famous artist from the Republic of Moldova – “Valentina Rusu Ciobanu. 100 years since birth”, at the Bucharest City Museum, in parallel with “Valentina Rusu Ciobanu. A Century of Solitude”, at Arbor.art.room.

In the pandemic, she came up with a solution in the context of the imposed restrictions that particularly affected the cultural sector by blocking access to exhibitions and cultural events, and launched the first exhibition platform in Virtual Reality (www.theopen-art.com) dedicated to artists from the Republic of Moldova and Romania, but also to museums that wanted to exhibit in VR (Virtual Reality).

Also during the pandemic, she inaugurated the Arbor.art.room exhibition space, located on Transilvaniei street, at number 11, very close to Sala Radio.

Simultaneously with the activity carried out in a financial institution of the European Union, in 2017, you founded the Arbor Culture and Arts Association, a project through which you promote Bessarabian culture in Romania. What was the context in which this project took shape? Did it happen spontaneously or was it a long considered decision?

Yes it is. I exist on two fronts, a professional front, where I do the work I aspired to since high school – to work in an international institution, and another passionate one, which is related to my cultural projects.
It would seem that for more than 5 years I have been working in two shifts, 8 hours at the office, and a stolen time, after the evening reading with my children, until midnight, for the plans dedicated to the artists that I want to make come true.

So Arbor comes from a series of dreams put on hold, and the moment I felt I had all the energy and resources to bring them to life, this journey began whose ultimate destination is to promote culture, be it fine art, theater, literature or art education.

I was born in Bessarabia and I see that there is a lack of organizations that constantly promote Bessarabian art in Romania, so Arbor fills this gap and brings into dialogue the common cultural values ​​from the two banks of the Prut.

What does the ARBOR Association mean to you? Is there a story regarding the choice of the name ARBOR?

I would have liked Arbor to be a cultural institute active in all cultural spheres, from visual arts to theater, art education, and literature. Hence the choice of the symbol of the tree, which branches, rises and, at the same time, deepens its roots. It is about the hope that the projects I make have an impact and remain in the collective memory. I chose this symbol together with my children, with whom I discuss almost everything, from topics of interest to events and artists that I promote. Our discussions become so serious that some of them become characters in their games.

What are the most fascinating or challenging aspects of your day-to-day work as a cultural entrepreneur?

I find the ideas that light up like lights and gradually turn into projects with tangible results the most fascinating. And the biggest challenge, which is the same for most independent cultural operators, is obtaining financial support. So far, I have completed most projects with my own funds, whether it was exhibitions or the production of a play.

It will soon be 6 years since you have been active in the cultural sphere, during which time you have developed numerous cultural projects. During the pandemic, you launched the first exhibition platform in Virtual Reality (www.theopen-art.com) and opened the Arbor.art.room Gallery. How would you describe the entire experience?

I lived that period intensely, and the work was done from the homes of those involved, whether they were in Bucharest, Tg. Mureș, Chisinau or Berlin. It went quite well for us with remote work, it fit perfectly on the research side in the case of projects with the Republic of Moldova. What mattered most was that we had the right people and partner institutions very dedicated to common work.

Under these conditions, in the last 5 years I have realized more than 30 art exhibitions in institutional spaces and private galleries, I have built the VR gallery on www.theopen-art.com which hosts 12 VR exhibitions. Moreover, I transposed the workshop of the painter Valentina Rusu Ciobanu into virtual reality. I cannot describe the joy of the artist, who at 100 years old, entered her studio by putting on her VR glasses. I edited 4 exhibition catalogs, and a book of stories for children initiated a program to promote Bessarabian prose writers and produced podcasts and video materials. Last but not least, I produced the show “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams, at the Alexei Mateevici Theater in Chisinau, directed by a famous director, Iosif Shats, of whom I am proud.

How were the projects received by the artistic community in the Republic of Moldova and in Romania? What about the public interested in beauty and creativity?

The fact that the collaboration proposals are accepted by the artists and cultural institutions of the Republic of Moldova shows how necessary and welcome they are. In Romania, I say it with all responsibility, we have to fight against a way of looking at our common culture in separate chapters. I follow the resonance of the cultural pages I manage on the Internet, and I find that more than 80 percent of the likes come from the Republic of Moldova, although our projects are aimed at the public in Romania.

On the same discriminatory note are the comments of the evaluators at the funding contests, when they object that the proposed programs would not be relevant for the public in Romania. These are obstacles that we have learned to overcome, as Arbor projects have gained more and more credibility and audiences over time. I am grateful to the transparent funding institutions, the media institutions that supported us, and the public radio and television that always showed openness to promoting the culture across the Prut.

How do you feel about the art market/scene right now? How much has it evolved since 2017 – the moment when you started a series of cultural projects – until now?

It is very difficult for me to answer this question. I only know that the cultural offer is very consistent in Romania, but the interest is not on the same level. It concerns a whole chain of education and the quality of common life, which we must improve. Perhaps the pandemic restrictions have also affected us, the public too slowly returns to the theaters, unfortunately in the art galleries even more slowly.

We live in a society that emphasizes production, consumption, profit and success. To what extent does the selection process of the artists in the Arbor.art.room Gallery portfolio or the exhibited works influence you?

The Arbor Arts and Culture Association is a non-profit organization. All projects are thought through the prism of their artistic value. There was never an emphasis on profit or commercial success in the selection process. We know from history that not a few times great creators went against the taste of their era.

You personally handle the selection of works. Do you only display the pieces you like?

In the case of art exhibitions, I am often the person who does everything: choose, panel, build the exhibition route, curate, and write the presentations. But there are also projects where I have the simple role of administrator or sponsor because I trust the professionalism of the collaborators I work with.

Have you encountered situations where the artist scheduled to have an exhibit did not create the type of art compatible with Arbor.art.room Gallery’s vision and standards? How did you react?

Fortunately, it did not happen because all the artists I invited had some activity profiles that I knew very well. I had very few inconsistencies with some curators. But along the way, I learned to develop relationships with the project team so that the terms, conditions, and principles of the project were clear from the start.

As a cultural manager, I am responsible for the messages of the artists that I exhibit and that reach the public through Arbor. Therefore, it must be about messages that do not discriminate and that are in line with our shared values.

Can we consider art anything an artist does or says? What exactly makes something a work of art?

It is a tricky question and I do not know who could answer it in definitive terms. For me, it is art when the proposed built universe is coherent, it imposes itself. But I admit that in the exhibitions I organize I like to highlight the testimony of the artist. It is a useful bridge to connect with the public.

What is the relationship with the artists you promote? Do you visit them at the workshop? Do you share your views on their working style, artistic approach?

In most cases, it is an open relationship with emotional and financial support when appropriate. I like to go to the studio to select the works, and when it is an artist living abroad and I cannot travel, I choose based on the photographs, always adding a couple of backup paintings in case my live impressions would change.

I will never pass judgment on artists’ creations. Criticism of a work of art must be done by people who have professional training in the field. What I can say is that when the artist exhibits at the Arbor, it means that they enjoy my appreciation as a cultural manager, and when I can afford to buy them a work, it means that they also have my appreciation as an art lover.

Which exhibition can be visited at the moment at the Arbor.art.room Gallery?

On March 2, the exhibition “Abstract states” by Alina Cociere, an artist with Bessarabian origins, established in France, will open. It is an exhibition I have wanted for years and will be the first in a series called “Window to Europe” featuring artists who started their careers in the late 1980s when high-impact changes occurred in our space. In 2019, I met an artist, who told me that when he left Moldova, he understood that he knew nothing about contemporary art and that he had to start his “study” from scratch to be competitive in the new scene that hosted him. I was very impressed by this case, and here, in 2023, Arbor.art.room will dedicate its space to the promotion of these “migratory” creators.

What does 2023 look like for the Arbor Association?

The year 2023 will be another year dedicated to Valentina Rusu Ciobanu because we are working on editing the catalog raisonné intended to contribute to the rediscovery of the artist as a major female figure in contemporary Romanian art. The project is primarily an impressive research work, with archival documents and up-to-date analysis of all her works, including those found in museums and private collections abroad. The catalog will be launched during two conferences, which will be held in Iasi and Chisinau, the cities where Valentina Rusu Ciobanu was formed as an artist.

At Arbor.art.room we already mentioned the “Window to Europe” series. Another beautiful project is from the area of ​​artistic education, it is carried out in partnership with the Academic High School of Fine Arts “Igor Vieru” and refers to mythology as a source of artistic inspiration.

More about the Arbor projects I invite the followers of Empower Art& Artists to access our website www.arborinstitute.eu , and the VR exhibitions can be visited virtually on www.theopen-art.com.