Debates from The Paintbrush Factory / Fabrica de Pensule in Cluj, Romania.

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The Paintbrush Factory / Fabrica de Pensule in Cluj, Romania presented three debates as part of their 10th Anniversary season livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV at howlround.tv on Saturday 5 October 2019.

The Paintbrush Factory / Fabrica de Pensule is a collective space for contemporary arts in Cluj, Romania. As part of their 10th Anniversary programming several debates have been organized. Here is a framework for these debates:

What do you do when you see yourself trapped in an economical and political flow that turns your art and culture into merchandise? What do you do when you see that this flow is actually a river? Do you give critical art a rest and let yourself go with the flow, accepting this direction as inevitable? Or do you swim against the stream? If so: which direction is the shore moving? Then, when you see the financial and mental resources needed for resistance diminish, and the existing ones have an agenda that contaminates and conforms your processes and contents, what do you do? The more the cultural environment is imbued with entrepreneurial rhetoric, the more the gap between the promise of growth and the reality of precarious subsistence becomes painfully visible. Starting from the Paintbrush Factory experience and continuing with examples from our fellows, we open the dialogue about existing and future possible practices, in order to get to the core issues of cultural workers in Cluj and Romania.

Note: there are audio issues with this recording until 13:45. 

Talk on contemporary visual and performing arts. Mission and reality in the context of The Paintbrush Factory and Cluj
6 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 10:00 UTC +0 / 11 a.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 12:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC +2) / 13:00-15:00 EEST (Cluj, UTC +3)

Guests:
Cristina Bodnărescu
Miki Braniște
Corina Bucea
Cristina Curcan
Kinga Kelemen
Cristian Rusu
Rarița Zbranca
Moderated by Norbert Petrovici

Talk on failure, success and all the ‘independent’ space between them
8:30 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 12:30 UTC +0 / 1:30 p.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 14:30 CEST (Berlin, UTC +2) / 15:30-18:00 EEST (Cluj, UTC +3)

Guests:
Ana Kun (Balamuc, Timișoara)
Csilla Könczei
Lorand Maxim (Casa Tranzit)
Levente Imecs-Magdó (ZUG.zone)
Oana Mardare (Reactor)
Vava Ștefănescu (CNDB, Bucharest)
Răzvan Anton
Mihai Iepure-Gorski (The Paintbrush Factory)
Moderated by Corina Bucea

Note: Some audio issues in the second part of the video.

Do we need public spaces that support and produce independent, critical, and politically engaged art?
11:30 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 15:30 UTC +0 / 4:30 p.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 17:30 CEST (Berlin, UTC +2) / 18:30-20:30 EEST (Cluj, UTC +3).

Guests:
János Klaniczay (KEK-Budapesta)
Dan Perjovschi (artist)
Iulia Popovici (theatre critic)
István Szakats (The Paintbrush Factory)
Ștefan Teișanu (CCC)
Șerban Țigănaș (architect)
Moderated by Lala Panait.

About HowlRound TV

HowlRound TV is a global, commons-based peer produced, open access livestreaming and video archive project stewarded by the nonprofit HowlRound. HowlRound TV is a free and shared resource for live conversations and performances relevant to the world's performing arts and cultural fields. Its mission is to break geographic isolation, promote resource sharing, and to develop our knowledge commons collectively. Participate in a community of peer organizations revolutionizing the flow of information, knowledge, and access in our field by becoming a producer and co-producing with us. Learn more by going to our participate page. For any other queries, email [email protected], or call Vijay Mathew at +1 917.686.3185 Signal/WhatsApp. View the video archive of past events.