Thursday, June 7, 19.00
Salonul de proiecte, Bucharest
Participants: The team of Salonul de proiecte and Anca Oroveanu
The Photographic Archive: Memory and Research program proposes a multidisciplinary approach to a subject relevant to current debates on the role of images in understanding culture. The starting point for our project was a collection of photographic images and negatives collected by Mihai Oroveanu over the course of many decades. In addition to his work as a photographer, Mihai Oroveanu developed a broader professional interest in the field of photography, in the hope of establishing an institution dedicated to the study of the image and photography as a medium. He was unable to fulfill this plan because of his premature death, but the archive he assembled has remained in the care of Anca Oroveanu, and this allows for initiatives to harness its potential. The impressive collection covers a period of more than 150 years and provides a basis for study of a vast range of cultural phenomena that can be analyzed from multiple angles. Through its power of representation, photography is a witness to social changes and a tool for anthropological analysis of inestimable importance.
Research and the presentation of its results are a priority of the program, in conjunction with the preservation and digitization of Mihai Oroveanu’s archive, which otherwise runs the risk of deteriorating and becoming unusable in time. Through this program we wish to propose a model of both rigorous and creative access to such an archive, with theoretical explorations developing in parallel with the artistic research.
The program The Photographic Archive: Memory and Research is initiated by the Salonul de proiecte Association.
With the support of: New Europe Foundation Bucharest; The National University of Arts Bucharest; CESI – The Center of Excellence in Image Studies Bucharest; The Center of Contemporary Photography Association Iași.
A cultural project co-funded by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund
The project does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. The AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or the manner in which the results of the project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the funding recipient.
Media partners: Radio Romania; ARTA Magazine
Sponsor: Corcova
Salonul de proiecte functions with the long-term support of the Art Encounters Foundation Timișoara.