Mia Munteanu (Arsmonitor Art Gallery): We aim to nurture stable and sustainable relations and partnerships with entrepreneurs and cultural personalities

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. Located in the building of the House of the Free Press, 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. BR sat down with Mia Munteanu, co-founder, and found out more about the idea behind it, the execution, the exhibitions that will take place there and many more.

How did you decide to launch a business in this field of activity?

Art can also be understood as a business, especially if you refer to art from the perspective of the art market. The decision to open a gallery has sprung from the desire to support artists and encourage art communities. This desire has two drivers: one is my personal evolution as a creative entrepreneur and the other comes from my fascination with the artists I have met along the way. In fact, I think that in order to be able to dream about opening a business within the art world, first of all, you have to enjoy supporting and promoting artists by offering them the contexts and opportunities they need to grow. The experience I have gained as a communication professional is something artists and collectors can hugely benefit from.

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I don’t see the gallery opening as a business, like I would see the opening of a bakery or café which I would close if they didn’t work out and my mission would simply end there. The choice to open an art gallery isn’t influenced by whether it will work or not, sell or not, be successful or not. It is a shift in my perspective as an entrepreneur. The decision to invest in something that doesn’t have classic objectives or metrics is the perspective shift I propose.

Of course, the art market is a world in itself, I still have a lot to learn, but I also know I have a lot to offer, like I would in any other field.

How does ARSMONITOR position differently on the art market?

The main contemporary art market in Romania is quite fixed and rigid, manifesting around a small number of private galleries and an even smaller number or active collectors. It is a young, emerging field of activity that began developing in 2000 with a few private galleries. Eventually their numbers grew, while some disappeared completely. In the last 5 years, the art environment has become a lot more dynamic with an increasing number of private initiatives showing promise. At the same time, new collectors have become more involved and open, both when it comes to acquisitions and to their impact within the community.

We are activating in an environment that gathers around 10 established private galleries and also a private contemporary art museum. The landscape is completely different compared to the period between 2000 and 2010. It is worth mentioning that the main contemporary art market is also limited by a rather small number of active artists that can produce significant works. Even though the total number of artists is larger, a lot of them are stimulated and supported mainly by the institutional sphere, through funding and public projects. We are referring to emerging and established artists with a consistent artistic endeavour that can be engaged in the local private sphere and can be displayed in international art fairs. And their number is not very high. That is why the number of private galleries is also reduced and it is hard for new ones to emerge since they cannot offer much.

In this context, our launch within the main contemporary art scene required a more substantial financial effort and more careful planning than would have been needed 10-20 years ago. We are a small, emerging gallery, but we needed to invest and act like a leading, big league gallery. Unlike other emerging galleries, we propose a well-planned and predictable curatorial programme, derived from the collaboration with our artists and a strategic planning of our projects that can offer them valuable and coherent exposure and promotion.

How did you choose the name and what does it represent to you?

The name “Ars Monitor” holds a profound significance but also an irony. It encapsulates the essence of our vision that tries to avoid the stereotypes of the art business.

“Ars” is the Latin word for “arts”, making a statement from a cultural perspective. It represents the core of freedom of expression, the very soul of art. It also serves as a reminder of the timeless legacy of artistic endeavours.

“Monitor,” on the other hand, has a dual meaning. Firstly, it refers to a display, a canvas, or a wall— a medium upon which an image is presented, projected, exhibited and shared. In this sense, we see ourselves as the monitor, the platform for art. We provide the canvas upon which artistic visions come to life.

Secondly, in Romanian “Arsmonitor” literally means “burnt monitor”, although the word order is reversed. So it brings up the image of a burning or burnt monitor or screen that symbolises the ceaseless inner workings and conflicts of the human mind.

This interplay highlights the relationship between creation and reflection. “Arsmonitor” holds multiple layers of meaning, much like the multifaceted nature of contemporary art itself, but with a twist of irony and fun. We invite our audience to explore and interpret these layers in their own unique ways, as the name serves as a mirror to the depth and diversity of expression.

Tell us more about the road from taking the decision, choosing the location, arranging it and the launch?

For three years, we searched the local scene for the perfect space, a place that would become the canvas for our vision. And then, almost unexpectedly, we stumbled upon a promising space available for rent. The space was far from perfect – it was a mess. But it was precisely what we had been hoping for. I was confident that this was a “now or never” opportunity. Gradual improvements were not a solution; we had to transform everything from the very beginning.

For me, the building holds a personal connection to my background in journalism, The House of Free Press. Furthermore, both of us found it important to acknowledge the historical significance and memory of the location. The ground on which our gallery stands used to be once a center of social life – the Hippodrome, built in 1905 by Charles I of Romania, destroyed afterwords to make space for this huge socialist building of communist propaganda.

And in the last 30 years its name symbolizes the idea of freedom. We believe its history can be reshaped and rebuilt through private initiatives. All these strata of history adds depth and a sense of responsibility to our gallery, making it not just a space for art but a cultural place where the past is recovered and the present is rebuild.

What is your business goal for the first year?

While our ultimate goal is to leave behind a legacy in the form of a museum, we recognise the importance of setting achievable annual business goals to support this broader mission. In the first year, we aim to nurture stable and sustainable relations and partnerships with entrepreneurs and cultural personalities, in order to take our vision further.

Making an art gallery is not like any other business in which you try to break even in the first year. Time is one of the most important aspects in this field. If you have enough time, the investment will be worth it. Another aspect is that what you win in the end is much more valuable. For example, in the second year we plan to be present in the art fairs world and hopefully in the third year to establish a local and international network of collectors and partnerships. So, from this perspective, in the art gallery world, the first year takes at least three years. We are a start-up and our main goal for this year is to establish a good curatorial programme for our exhibitions and good relations with our artists.

Establishing durable partnerships requires a shared vision and understanding that each acquisition contributes to shaping the future of the artists and the future of the artistic landscape. Private collectors and members of our network will play a vital role and their decisions to invest in art will have a profound impact on both sides.

All the funds generated will surely and continuously be reinvested, with a primary focus on supporting the artists. This not only enables us to achieve our immediate financial objectives but is also aligned with our long-term mission to foster creativity and collaboration in the artistic community. By doing so, we work toward ensuring that art remains a thriving and dynamic force for generations to come.

What will the first exhibitions offer and how are you choosing the artists?

The first exhibition – Abziehbild. Unapplied Arts – presents 10 renowned and established artists with which Silviu Pădurariu — co-fondator and curator – has developed collaborations a long time ago, during his studies. It is not us who really choose the artists, but more them that choose us. They are artists that Silviu has promoted, interviewed or whose works he has studied across a number of years and with whom he established close curatorial collaborations. The exhibition hasn’t come out of nowhere and the artists haven’t been selected just because they are accomplished, they are part of a convergence of endeavours started with at least 5 years ago. Beyond the conceptual connotations the exhibition highlights, related to the presence of a common visual thread that can be found among artists that belong to three different generations (1990-2010) and different cultural spaces or art school (București, Timișoara, Cluj), the project has a demonstrative character.

The inaugural exhibition reveals our mindset and curatorial perspective which implies developing close and in-depth relations with those that we collaborate with or represents. We plan on having a predictable programme and we already know what we will display in the next 12 months.

Of course, a part of the artists on display are represented by renowned and established Romanian galleries, which is important for our credibility at this time as an emerging gallery. For instance, Victoria and Marian Zidaru and Gili Mocanu are artists represented by Hart Gallery (Bucharest). Radu Comșa is represented by Sabot (Cluj). While Dumitru Gorzo is represented by Slag, a New York gallery. Apart from having a good relationship with these galleries, having a good relationship with the artists is vital.

Also, with a part of the artists that have been part of the inaugural exhibition, like Sorin Neamțu, Carmen and Gheorghe Rasovszky, Radu Pandele and Maxim Liulca, but also with other artists like Răzvan Neagoe, we plan on having representation collaborations.

How competitive is the Romanian contemporary art gallery scene?

Even though the artistic scene has seen a constant evolution in the last 30 years and public events have become more frequent in the last 5 years, the main contemporary art market in which private galleries operate is still in an emerging phase. There are about 10-15 collectors and just as many galleries. Each gallery represents and collaborates closely with one or a handful of artists. In these circumstances, you could say that the competitiveness is quite high, since the game is already set and it is hard to make it through.

For instance, if you plan on opening a gallery in this landscape, are there still available artists to collaborate with and are there any collectors willing to offer you credibility? That is why our situation is unique. We decided to open a gallery only after years of working closely with established artists and by being open to partnering with important galleries, as previously mentioned. We believe that by working together as galleries and setting up ground rules and clear areas of interest from the very beginning, these partnerships can contribute to the growth of artists’ careers and to an in-depth promotion of their works and visions, that both the galleries and the collectors can benefit from. By being excessively competitive in a small, emerging market you risk isolation.

The contemporary art market is only just beginning to develop, by welcoming new actors and accepting private organisations and emerging collectors. This comes after a long period of trial and error that has set up a value scale, an institutional architecture and a few reference points that new participants can adhere to.

What are you most looking forward to in the new entrepreneurial adventure?

First and foremost, as an investor, I am excited about the prospect of discovering and nurturing new talents. I am looking forward to investing in their potential.

Furthermore, as an entrepreneur, my goal is to reshape and grow the industry from within. I see this as an opportunity to challenge the status quo and create an environment where creativity and innovation thrive.

On a personal level, I am eager to embrace the transformation that comes from interacting with a diverse array of creative and business driven minds. I believe that allowing others to shape who I am today and who I can become tomorrow is a significant part of this journey.