The new ARSMONITOR art gallery — a private initiative that places Casa Presei on art lovers’ map

Bucharest’s cultural landscape has been renewed with a start-up dedicated to art, creativity and transformation, with the opening of the private art gallery ARSMONITOR. The opening was attended by over 300 guests, including art enthusiasts, collectors and members of the local artistic and creative community, from filmmakers and architects to content creators.

Located in the building of the House of the Free Press — originally called Combinatul Poligrafic Casa Scânteii “Iosif Visarionovici Stalin” and, after de-Stalinization, Combinatul Poligrafic Casa Scânteii „Vladimir Ilici Lenin”, a Soviet propaganda edifice built between 1952 – 1957 on the grounds of the former royal hippodrome — ARSMONITOR art gallery is proof that art has the power to revive historically charged spaces.

The historical significance of the building, combined with its challenging Soviet heritage, demands for a renewal. Under these circumstances, the ARSMONITOR team meticulously renovated and reimagined a space of over 200 square meters, preserving its historical charm while infusing it with the aesthetics and all the technical conditions of a modern-day art gallery. A process that started in May and lasted almost six months.

“As an entrepreneur in the creative industry, the opening of the ARSMONITOR gallery marks an evolution of my position as an investor in initiatives that transform the city. Through all the projects in which I was involved, I set out to contribute to the way in which the city allows itself to be redesigned and reinvented with the help of brave visionaries. At ARSMONITOR we want to show that people like us, with creative drive and energy can develop independent projects that inspire communities, open conversations, create value and change perceptions,” said Mia Munteanu, entrepreneur & co- founder of ARSMONITOR.

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“Sticker. Unapplied Arts” is the gallery’s inaugural exhibition, which presents 10 established artists whose works exemplify the ingenuity and creative diversity of the last three decades in Romanian contemporary art: Radu Comșa, Dumitru Gorzo, Maxim Liulca, Gili Mocanu, Sorin Neamțu, Radu Pandele, Carmen Rasovszky, Gheorghe Rasovszky, Victoria Zidaru and Marian Zidaru.

“Our journey with ARSMONITOR is one of rediscovery, reinvention and celebration. We believe that art has the power to heal the wounds of the past, to bring people together and transform spaces. Renovating this historical space with our own resources and with our personal energy not only revitalizes the architecture and the concrete, but I think we have also brought a part of Bucharest’s soul back to life. ARSMONITOR is not just a private art gallery, it is living proof of resilience and the power of art to redefine our understanding of history and identity”, said Silviu Pădurariu, co-founder of ARSMONITOR.

This exhibition serves as proof of the gallery’s commitment to promote curatorial and artistic collaborations, to stimulate dialogue between generations and artistic languages, and at the same time to support Romania’s young contemporary art market.

Key highlights of the ARSMONITOR gallery:

Historical transformation: ARSMONITOR is a symbol of Bucharest’s resilience and adaptability, transforming a space loaded with a historically challenging memory into a small center of artistic expression and creativity.

Curatorial program: the inaugural opening exhibition of the gallery brings together 10 artists, unique in their approach and emblematic for the last 30 years of Romanian contemporary art, which present a diversity of languages, mediums and artistic themes, whose work is to be explored in depth in the next exhibitions of the gallery.

Community involvement: The opening of ARSMONITOR was attended by over 300 guests, including art enthusiasts, collectors and members of the local artistic and creative community, from filmmakers and architects to content creators. This overwhelming response highlights the gallery’s potential to become a landmark for new art collectors and for the capital’s cultural discourse. In just two weeks after its inauguration, the exhibition was seen by more than 700 visitors, during private visits and general public opening hours.

Cultural heritage conservation: by reusing and renovating a space in a building with a problematic Soviet memory, ARSMONITOR emphasizes the importance of cultural heritage conservation, while redefining its narrative through art and private initiatives.