Romania's first crafts school at the House of Arts in Sibiu gets an investment of over EUR 2.5 million

This year, the ASTRA Museum in Sibiu will inaugurate the House of Arts, the first center that will bring together the learning, promotion, and commercialization of Romanian artisanal craft objects. The total investment will exceed EUR 2.5 million, already realized to 85%, and has included the complete renovation of a heritage house in the Small Square of Sibiu and its transformation into a space for organizing crafts workshops, a Folk Art Gallery where enthusiasts will be able to purchase handicrafts, and a cultural café arranged on the ground floor of the house.

“With the House of Arts, we wanted to bring Romanian traditional art closer to the younger audience, to make it more accessible, and at the same time, to ensure its longevity. We strongly believe that museums and cultural places must make efforts to approach the public, especially children and young people, because they will carry our cultural heritage forward,” said Ciprian Anghel Stefan, the general manager of the ASTRA Museum.

Craft education for children in Sibiu and beyond

Thousands of children from Sibiu county and all over the country will be able to participate starting this year in crafts workshops at the House of Arts and will discover Romanian traditional art, through an initiative of the ASTRA Museum in Sibiu to ensure the perpetuation of Romanian crafts. Children will interact with craftsmen and learn to work with wood, clay, they will learn to paint Romanian folklore motifs, and to sew traditional blouses and rugs.

A future for Romanian craftsmanship

In addition to the organized workshops, the House of Arts will help perpetuate Romanian craftsmanship through the Folk Art Gallery, where Romanian craftsmen will be able to sell their objects. According to the restoration project, the ground floor of the House of Arts will host redeveloped Folk Art Galleries, where handicrafts, crafted by traditional masters from all over the country, will be sold. Also included in the project are spaces for craft workshops, where locals can get involved. Additionally, a cultural café will be arranged on the ground floor of the House of Arts. On the 1st floor of the building, there will be 3 spaces for vocational training courses in ancient crafts, temporary exhibitions, and cultural events. In the attic of the House of Arts, the project includes an innovative exhibition about the crafts that have shaped the Transylvanian cultural landscape. The Restoration and Revitalization Project of the historical monument House of Arts – Center for regional activities and resources (C.A.R.R.), financed through the EEA Grants 2014 – 2021 under the RO-CULTURE Program, is implemented by the ASTRA Museum in partnership with SC Future Capital SRL (Romania) and Mussene I Sor Trondelag from Trondheim (Norway), during the period October 1, 2020 – March 31, 2024. It has a total value of EUR 2,476,991.74, with non-reimbursable financing of EUR 1,939,335.35.

EEA Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, and the Kingdom of Norway to reducing economic and social disparities in the European Economic Area and strengthening bilateral relations with the 15 beneficiary states from Eastern and Southern Europe and the Baltic States. These funding mechanisms are established based on the Agreement on the European Economic Area, which brings together EU member states and Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway as equal partners in the internal market. In total, the three states contributed 3.3 billion between 1994 and 2014 and 1.55 billion for the funding period 2014 – 2021. More details are available at www.eeagrants.org and www.eeagrants.ro.