MOVING EAST

In the past decades, hundreds of thousands of Romanians have emigrated to Western countries for economic reasons – and this is a rising trend. While artists have always travelled for studies, inspiration and cultural exchange, the same economic migration phenomenon can be observed among many young Romanian artists who choose to move to Western European capitals. In the meantime, the larger part of the older generation, raised during communism, stayed and continued. Despite the trend of young migrating artists, there is a vivid young art scene in Romania!s cities as well. So, how come the young generation’s artistic approach seems to be, at first glance, so different from the previous generation’s, their teachers? MOVING EAST is a series of two exhibitions creating a dialogue between a young emerging artist generation raised after the fall of communism and the one who lived under totalitarian rule and restrictions, an era in which even artistic processes have been under constant surveillance. Each exhibition presents emerging artists living in Romania or abroad and artists from the Asociația Centrul Cultural H.D.U. in Bucharest, as well as one young German artist. The term Gymnastics in Production has its origin in communist times, when factory workers had to engage in collective physical exercises during their lunch breaks to keep their bodies healthy and productive. A similar idea can be found nowadays in the self-care trend as a way to manage the pressure of daily life tasks. However, this time it's not a State order, but a guideline for an internalized capitalist lifestyle. Transferring Gymnastics in Production to the art field, it can describe the balancing act of making a living between labour and creative work as well as the idea of exercise in the sense of trial and error. These issues are very present and unifying in the lives of both generations, while questions about artistic approaches, aesthetics, and concepts stay in the tension created by the generation gap. Physically, gymnastics describe a body in tension but also its release. So, how can we release the tension between two generations? The only way to find out is by creating a dialogue. The courtyard of Intr. Iulia Hașdeu Nr.3, where CURTEA Art Space is located, has a long history dedicated to art. What had once been part of the headquarters of the Art University in Bucharest was later converted to artist studios offered through the Union of Visual Artists (U.A.P.). Over time, the artists split from the union’s management to form a cultural center. MOVING EAST is a project curated by Lisa Marie Schmitt (DE) and Alexandru Mihai Budeș (RO) who have been invited by the Asociația Centrul Cultural H.D.U. under the coordination of Ernest Budeș. This project is funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe.