“The artist and the scientist look at each other with the same curiosity and distrust with which the general public looks at contemporary art today.” A dialogue with Mirela Stoeac-Vlăduți*

Interview conducted by Mihai TOTH

Mirela Stoeac-Vlăduți is a presence on the contemporary art scene with a dynamic path, having a background in philosophy, a master’s degree in art history and starting from the journalistic area, culminating in dedicating herself exclusively to contemporary art by supporting artists and propelling to a continuous series of projects that substantially complement the discourse of the art scene both locally, nationally and internationally by opening and initiating collaborations with various cultural-artistic entities. Mirela Stoeac-Vlăduți is a curator, cultural manager of the META Spațiu Association and co-founder of the MV sci-art contemporary art space, a place for the intersection between art and science, located on the ground floor of the MV dormitories of the Politehnica University Timișoara.

Mihai Toth: Given your diverse set of involvements in the contemporary art scene, what are your prominent roles in the context of your professional activity?

Mirela Stoeac- Vlăduți: You correctly surmised that the scene I operate within allows me to play various roles depending on the needs of our organization META Spațiu. The first and, I would say, most important one is that of the initiator, the person always in the service of an idea, a concept, or a perspective that demands analysis, examination, and thought. These ideas emerge precisely from interactions with art and artists; it is an aesthetic surprise.

From this surprise, needs are born, and the need to share something with others, with an audience, with art and culture lovers translates into exhibitions. This is where my second role comes in: cultural manager and contemporary art event organizer. And this role proves to be most often the most uncharitable. Because now, we are entering the sphere of financing with budgets that are too small to cover our real needs of preparing each element for the project’s success.

I saved the nicest for last: that of curator or, sometimes, a mediator between audience and art, between artist and the gallery space, between the art object and the written text, between symbol and meaning. This role gives me the greatest professional and personal satisfaction, which is the most comforting, but I could not “play” it so freely if I did not already have roles one and two. It is thus a privilege I have created for myself, which I enjoy and for which I work enough for three positions (that is, “jobs”).

M.T.: Could you briefly go over the steps that brought you to your current position, namely of curator, manager, and cultural entrepreneur? What do you think such a position involves? If you were to choose, which of the three roles do you resonate with the most, or do they all complement each other?

M.S.V.: Without having a “recipe” or a predefined path, as in an institutionalized framework, I think my steps were typical for the independent sector. I started my META spatial adventure in 2014, together with French artist Josépha Blanchet, and we are still in it together, but in a more extended formula (Loredana Nedelcu, Dan Stoeac, Olga Torok, Cristi Vicol, Marina Paladi, Benjamin Bledea, Miruna Ciura, etc.) that also includes other wonderful colleagues, professionals without whom we could not realize everything we plan. We started this journey with ideas with our own professional and financial resources, which each of us brought forth and supported with a lot of patience and perseverance. These formed the basis of our organization.

Another important step was the organization’s legal registration in 2016, which gave us access to funds towards creating large-scale projects. As I said earlier, my current position results from a series of roles that I have taken on and outlined for myself without a pre-established formula. I would even say in opposition to one. In opposition to the public functions in which you are placed, which are handed to you on a silver platter. I was always against this model. And because I could not identify a position I approved of with which I could feel compatible, I decided to go my way in a field that is democratic and meritocratic par excellence, even outside, or especially outside, the establishment.

M.T.: What was the first moment or factor that drove you to embark on a career in the contemporary art scene?

M.S.V:
It is quite a long story, and it relates, of course, to influences in my personal sphere. But, very briefly, it is about the cultural education I received in my childhood, and for which I am grateful to my mother and my grandmother. I knew from early on, quite clearly, that I was drawn to aesthetics, literature, and philosophy. And art. But from the perspective of understanding it, uncovering its meaning, not making it.

And I still have no desire in that direction, no frustrations or drawbacks in connection to being a visual artist. And I think this offers me an incredible feeling of balance in my professional relations with artists, in creating shows, because my only wish is to promote their art, to put it in the best light possible, to popularize it as much as I can, to uncover talent, erudition, and uniqueness, and to allow them to be appreciated for their just worth. Since I mentioned justice, I recall thinking during my school years and even my first high school years that a career as a lawyer would fit me because I had a keen sense of justice, which many kids that age have, I assume.
But I abandoned the idea when I understood that justice is also a system – something I had an aversion towards. Instead, I looked towards culture, in which the color pallet is much richer, in which perspectives are broader, and where truth and justice can, etymologically speaking, find themselves on opposite poles.[…]*

*The complete interview can be read in the first printed issue of Empower Artists Magazine available for purchase online here or physically in Cărturești and La Două Bufnițe bookstores.

Translated by Rareș Grozea.

Cover photo: Mirela Stoeac- Vlăduți. Credit image: Amalia Gaiță.

Share on facebook
Share on whatsapp
Share on email
Share on pinterest

Do you love our content and value the work we do? Support it! Donate!

empower-long-logo-final2

Discover the contemporary art scene in Romania!

Sign up to receive Empower Art& Artists’ monthly art news update!