Liliana Laichici is the manager of the Culture and Art Center of Timiș County, which opened in 2000 by merging three institutions: the Banatul Ensemble, the Popular Art School and the Conservation, Valorification of Traditional Culture Center.
Recently, she inaugurated the Pod Gallery, an exhibition space dedicated to contemporary art, located in the attic of a historic building in Timișoara.
In the following, you will find out the story of this new space and the proposed curatorial program, the role of the Timiș County Culture and Art Center in the context of the Timișoara 2023 national cultural program, and the most exciting or challenging situations that a cultural manager faces.

How is the Culture and Art Center of Timiș County positioned in the current Romanian cultural landscape?

Cultural centers are vital institutions in the Romanian cultural landscape. The role of county centers has become, in recent years, very important, a fact that was also reflected in their name, as a result of the measures and legislation adopted by UNESCO through the Paris Declaration (2003) for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, as a countermeasure to the current of globalization, which was rapidly leading to the disappearance of the identity of the peoples in the world. The structure of these institutions was adapted to the imperatives of the 21st century, namely: the safeguarding of material and immaterial, national and universal cultural heritage. We need these landmarks to remind us who we are, where we came from, and most of all, where we are going.

How does the local artistic community receive the projects? What about the public interested in beauty and creativity?

The local artistic community and the viewing public are very interested in collaborating with us in our projects. At the “Romanian Traditions” festival, which took place in November, the invitations sold out in 8 minutes. And there were around 400 seats. That says it all, right?
What does the Culture and Art Center of Timiș County mean to you?
It is an essential part of my life. We have formed a close-knit collective here, which functions like a family, which comes to work with love and fulfills its duties not as obligations but as personal challenges through which we become better and more at peace with ourselves.

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

Every day is different. That is quite a challenge. These people, these “haughty” artists who always want to be better, more efficient and united, are really fascinating. Motivating them to stay that way is a fascinating challenge.

You recently inaugurated the Pod Gallery, an exhibition space dedicated to contemporary art, located in the attic of a historic building in Timișoara. What is the story of the place?

The Pod Gallery story began with the first step I took in the Cultural Center’s pod. I realized that it has a huge potential to become a community space, a space of joy and beauty. In the long term, this is what we want! Let’s gather people around art, around artists, so that everyone can find the part of peace or beauty, or heaven, they need.

Please tell us about the development directions established by the proposed curatorial program.

The Culture and Art Center of Timiş County is a professional cultural institution subordinated to the Timiş County Council, which acts to respond to national, county and local cultural needs by implementing programs aimed at enriching, preserving and communicating traditional cultural heritage or through programs of artistic education open to all categories of the public; various artistic productions, aimed at increasing access to culture in urban and rural environments.
In all its manifestations, the center acts with responsibility and care for authentic values, educating public taste, training the next generation of consumers and cultural actors, legality, efficiency and effectiveness in managing funds, and providing models of good practice that contribute to the strengthening of the creative industry.

Timișoara holds the title of European Cultural Capital. It is a year rich in exhibitions and events. How would you describe this experience from the perspective of a cultural manager?

Of course, this year’s events are much more numerous and diverse. The Culture and Art Center of TimișCounty is the implementation structure of the Timișoara “European Capital of Culture” national program. During the entire duration of the implementation of the Program, the funds allocated to the Timiș County Council are managed by our institution, with the role of financing authority. So it is a lot of work, but it has been a historic year.

2023 was certainly an effervescent cultural year. What do you think the year 2024 will look like for the Culture and Art Center of Timiș County?

I want to think it will be fine and look pretty much the same as previous years. We have the same soul, big and creative, and we have much to offer.

The interview is part of the project REPERE, an approach through which I aim to present outstanding people, with a beautiful and healthy professional career, with inspirational stories, people who have transformed Timișoara into an effervescent cultural city through numerous exceptional events initiated and coordinated over time, but also on the occasion of the celebration of holding the title of European Capital of Culture.

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 how it may be used.