Why should Baia Mare be the European Capital of Culture | Interview with Vlad Tausance

Newsroom 01/07/2016 | 11:37

In Baia Mare, northern Romania, appearances can be deceiving – starting from a landslide victory in the recent local elections although the mayor is behind bars, continuing with the never-ending debate about the wall which separates the Roma people from the rest of the town and moving to the finals for European Capital of Culture 2021, a title that one of four Romanian cities, Bucharest, Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca and Baia Mare, will be awarded this September. Prominent independent consultant Vlad Tausance, currently the artistic director of Baia Mare Cultural Capital 2021, told Business Review about these contrasts.

Oana Vasiliu

Your proposal for the European Capital of Culture is entitled “Culture of Hosting”. Can you explain the concept?

We started from the idea that every city has to choose something that defines it and which can be summed up in a few words. Being in Baia Mare and actually living there, I believe that the hospitality of the people there, the Maramures area included, is the town’s biggest asset. At the same time, this hospitality can mislead you: yes, you expect to be well-treated, but sometimes it can be overwhelming, in a good way. This is why we chose “Culture of Hosting” – it’s something that every tourist can relate to. At the same time the idea dates back in time, to 120 years ago and Baia Mare’s Artist Colony, which encapsulates a recognizable style of painting from this Eastern European region and was a place where rebels came to make art, as well as a spot where women were allowed to join in and create – something quite unusual back then. All in all, the concept means gathering together the idea of hosting – ideas, artists, culture.

When is Baia Mare’s tipping point?

I believe we are currently living it. In the past year, our presence there, the dialogue created between all entities, this produces change every day. Sometimes, this change may seem discouraging or too slow, but when you actually feel it, it catches on on both levels, personal and professional. It’s pure joy when, for example, a photo studio hires our volunteers after they got in contact during a project of ours. Or that the independent theater has moved to the city center and its audience is blossoming. Also, new horeca businesses are opening, we are hosting nationwide cultural projects, something that didn’t happen before, and now we have started to be on the same cultural page as Iasi, Cluj and Timisoara.

If someone is going to Baia Mare for one day only, what would you recommend they do?

First and foremost, a tourist needs at least three hours to see something outside Baia Mare, to understand better what’s happening in the town. Baia Mare itself offers you a good experience of the standard of living here, in northern Romania: low prices, many green spaces, human behavior, the proximity of the city. What you should see is the History Museum and the Ethnography Museum – just to have an official tour of Maramures, and also because these buildings have their own stories and can be discovered along with their informative part. Also, a must-see is the Art Museum, just to have a brief understanding of Baia Mare’s Artist Colony.

What I also recommend is seeing one of the 60 wooden churches in Maramures County, some of them are on the UNESCO list. Moreover, I suggest a visit to the city center’s antiques store, a magical place with stories and details of the city owned by some “living library” people. Last but not least, a coffee stop at Origo and a meal at any traditional restaurant in the town should complete a one-day Baia Mare experience.

Recently, the Romanian president went on an official visit to Luxembourg and declared that Luxembourg would support the winner of the European Cultural Capital title. Who is currently supporting you?

 We have a lot of moral support from an impressive number of entities, stakeholders and partners, and we also have a very good relationship with Ukraine and Hungary, which are literally our neighbors and with whom we have almost an organic relationship. Also, we have support from other European cities that are similar to us in terms of heritage and population – both post-industrial cities that are currently reinventing themselves, something that is currently happening with Baia Mare, and cities with whom we share ethnographic heritage.

One major contrast when you talk about Baia Mare is the wall which separates the Roma population from the rest of the town, and the constant conflicts that this situation generates. How did you integrate this minority community into the European Cultural Capital 2021?

I won’t call it a constant conflict; I prefer to say that what happens there is a communication problem, which is also exaggerated by the media. Yes, we have a problem with integrating Roma people, particularly those living in the mentioned location, but it’s a nationwide problem. And it’s not really about the Roma; it’s more about poverty. There are other cities in Romania facing the same problems.

What we should point out is that Maramures County is having a period of economic expansion and businesses have started to grow. (…) When it comes to the European Capital of Culture program, we have several projects to integrate them – some are ongoing, namely a closer look from the local authorities and social services; some will be implemented with NGOs that have already dealt with this kind of situation and through a social economy cluster which we want to further develop in Baia Mare, as we already have and it’s functional. Also, we plan to have cultural interventions there through social theater. There is a constant effort to try to help these people, but we still haven’t found the perfect recipe to do so. In this regard, for this year, Baia Mare 2021 Foundation took on the coordination and communication for International Roma Day.

Currently, almost 18 percent of the active population from Baia Mare work in the creative sector, meaning 10,000 people. Out of this number, 80 percent work in the wood industry, which is considered part of the creative sector. Do you plan to create more jobs in this creative sector?

One of the initiatives in this area is educational: we plan to host some workshops, master-classes, a summer school, technical schools and study programs to keep the specifics of this region alive – traditions and preservation of crafts and handicrafts. Also, the focus will be on textiles, fashion and woodwork. I particularly support entrepreneurship and as the city’s economy blooms, through this project we try to encourage them to open their businesses here, in Baia Mare.

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