Interview. Romanian actress Cristina Florea talks about Point cultural hub

Right in the heart of Bucharest, on Eremia Grigorescu Street, a new place has emerged: Point, a cultural hub where we are invited to pay for our time in a place where art, food and drinks come together. BR went there to argue the Point with actress Cristina Florea, the manager of the place.

Oana Vasiliu

What is Point? And the name?

Point represents firstly a theater, then a meeting place for all those who want to showcase a cultural product, from exhibitions to film projections. Besides the latter, this is also a space for those working in the creative industries, for those who are searching for a cultural hub. The name came after meetings with a group of people. We formed a focus group mentioning what this place means and this is how we reached the Point. It’s more about here – here things are happening, so this is why we named it Point.

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How long did it take to transform your dream into reality?

We first thought that it would be a public space, free for everyone who wants to join us. But the neighborhood isn’t too friendly for receiving gatherings. So we redesigned everything, taking into consideration that our “client” comes here for the cultural events that we offer him – a theater play, a performance, a concert, an exhibition. Secondarily, members also come here for food and drinks, but this is not the main point of Point.

How does Point work?

It’s a private cultural hub where people can come as members – they receive a key to access the building. Our members pay for the time spent here – hourly, daily, weekly or monthly and can benefit entirely from our food, drinks and events. For non-members, they will have the possibility to pay a ticket for the cultural events taking place here, thus including the beverages. If they are “regular” attendees, they can become members. Prices start from RON 50 per hour up to RON 100 per one working day. We offer a daily menu for food, but we encourage people to ask if something is not on the menu, while the bar is open and you can take whatever you want.

How big is this place?

Basically, it is a building built from scratch on three levels. The basement is the place for exhibitions and parties, due to its format. The ground floor is like a living-room designed for chit-chat, where members come to eat, socialize, work and drink and the upper floor was made for the theater, where the space offers us the possibility to transform the place into a conference room, meeting room, projection room, and so on. We created this theater settlement thinking of other possibilities how to use the space, so the 90 seats available can easily be transformed from seats to tables.

Where do the theater performances that are held here come from?

Currently, all the productions are independent and are made for us, and the public can see them only here. Of course, we want to present them in theater festivals and so on, but we first have to settle things on our stage. We do receive a lot of scripts, so we invite the directors to come and see the space, and if it fits, then we discuss further.