One of Bucharest’s main book fairs is open this weekend, with Portugal as guest country, adding to options that also include film and music festivals and a flower fest. Meanwhile, Timişoara focuses on contemporary art with the opening of the Art Encounters Biennial, and Sibiu on recent European film.
In Bucharest:
Bookfest
May 28 – June 1
Portugal is the guest country at this year’s edition of the event taking place at Romexpo. Among the Portuguese authors attending the fair will be José Luís Peixoto and Gonçalo M. Tavares. More on the program here.
DokStation Music Documentary Film Festival
May 28 – June 1
The event focuses on showcasing national and international music documentaries to tell the true stories behind the music and examines music in all its complexity and history. More details here.
Bucharest Organ Fest
June 1 – June 15
The festival explores the organ in its various roles, presenting the instrument as a soloist, chamber partner or accompanist. The event takes place at the Roman Catholic Cathedral St. Joseph, the National University of Music Bucharest, the Evangelical Church of the Holy Trinity, the Sacré-Coeur Church and the Labyrinth Church. Further details here.
West Side Flower Fest
May 30 – June 1
Bucharest’s Drumul Taberei Park turns into a fairytale setting as 15 themed gardens aim to take visitors into the universe of various books. More info here.
Femei pe Mătăsari/ Women on Mătăsari
May 30 – June 1
Art, music, and good cheer await the public on Bucharest’s Mătăsari Street. More here.
World Press Photo exhibition
Until June 1
University Square hosts the Bucharest stop of the world-wide tour showcasing the stories that matter with photography from the 68th annual World Press Photo Contest. More here.
Open Streets
Until October 12
The program that turns the city’s main arteries into pedestrian areas returns with a program of live concerts, street performances, dance evenings, parades, children’s workshops and creative activities, guided tours, and areas for exercise and sports. More here.
Art Safari
Until July 27
The current edition of the art event features exhibitions on Ioan Andreescu, Ion Țuculescu, forgotten Romanian painters, but also the new generation of artists. More details here. The event is closed for the Easter Sunday but open the Saturday before.
Concerts @ George Enescu Philharmonic
May 22, 23
George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Ana María Patiño-Osorio, performs a program of works by Haydn, Dmitri Shostakovich and Beethoven. Trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth and pianist Federico Colli are the soloists. More here.
Ignacio Uriarte: Symbolism
Until June 21
The solo exhibition, open at Gaep, presents drawings and sculptural pieces, including a large group of nine drawings that signal a new direction in Ignacio Uriarte’s practice. Without relinquishing his adherence to the tools, gestures, and routines of office environments, he embraces a more colorful aesthetic and a more playful approach to corporate life. Further details here.
Cats Are Taking Over
Until July 30
This is the inaugural exhibition of Vila Catena’s contemporary art pavilion, a Sandwich and the Fildas Art Foundation joint initiative, via the Catena for Art program. The exhibition “explores the universe of the most charismatic domestic felines, often considered too trivial for “serious” art, reclaiming their place in contemporary creation.” More on the show and the artists included here.
MoBU 2025
May 28 – June 1
The contemporary art fair is held at Romexpo, gathering local and international galleries. More here.
Open Doors @Cotroceni Palace
Weekends
The program that sees the garden of the Cotroceni Palace, the seat of the Presidential Administration, continues this weekend as well. Admission to the garden and the Cotroceni Church is free. Visitors can also check the Cotroceni Museum and parts of the Palace of the Presidential Administration for a fee. More details here.
Film Garden reopening
May 28 – September 28
The Film Garden (Grădina cu Filme), the venue in Bucharest’s Alexandru Lahovari Square that hosts outdoor film screenings, will host a variety of screenings and talks with directors. More here.
In the country:
Art Encounters Biennial
May 30 – July 13
The Timişoara event explores at this edition the theme of Bounding Histories. Whispering Tales as it showcases more than 100 works by 60 artists, including five specially commissioned creations that examine the city’s historic layers. Curators Ana Janevski (MoMA New York) and Tevž Logar (independent curator) invite the public to reflect on the city’s complex past and discover the hidden stories of emblematic places: the Garrison Headquarters – a former military building, FABER – a former factory, and the headquarters of the Art Encounters Foundation, a space with an industrial and educational history. More details here.
Este Film Festival
May 28 – June 1
The event held in Sibiu brings a selection of films awarded at well-known festivals, among them Karlovy Vary, Locarno and San Sebastián, offering the public the opportunity to explore the most innovative productions of recent European cinema. More here.
Origins – A Story of Rhythm
Until June 5
This tour of 11 cities brings together musicians Matei Ioachimescu, Irina Rădulescu, Răzvan Florescu, Arthur Balogh and Philip Goron in a show that explores rhythms and sounds from around the world: from flamenco and salsa, to oriental, Balkan and African influences. The cities included in the tour are Arad, Timișoara, Sfântu Gheorghe, Ploiești, Bucharest, Buzău, Câmpulung Moldovenesc, Baia Mare, Satu Mare, Bistrița, and Cluj-Napoca.
(Photo:
Cristi Croitoru | Dreamstime.com)
editor@romania-insider.com
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