Organized by

︎GALATECA
︎NEO ART ROMÂNIA

Supported by

︎BRD Groupe Société Générale

The second edition of the Neo Art Connect (NAC) Art and Science Annual, organized by the Neo Art Connect Cultural Association and Galateca gallery, initiated and curated by Andreea Sandu and Anca Boeriu, takes place from May 10th to July 30th, 2024, in 11 cities with the theme "Changing Environments."

"Changing Environments" is the chosen theme for NAC 2024, the second edition, creating a space for debate from the artistic perspective of creators who integrate, utilize, or collaborate with various other fields, sciences, and new technologies, about the impact felt individually and socio-economically-cultural due to major changes in contemporary society, caused on one hand by the development of technology, the new artificial intelligences present in most aspects of life, but also by climate and environmental changes, alongside those created by armed conflicts in areas near our country," state Andreea Sandu and Anca Boeriu.

NEO ART CONNECT (NAC) is the first national art and science network, an innovative concept with three dimensions: an annual art and science event, the first permanent gallery in the Dark Room at Galateca gallery, and a national platform.

We begin on May 10th at Galateca with the exhibition of the 5 winning projects of the NAC Grants, 2nd edition, featuring: Sebastian Comănescu (Bucharest), project Thigmonastic Specimen 001, Dragoș Dogioiu (Bucharest), project HUSK, Sânziana Gheorghe (Timișoara) project Silicon Souls: Mars Odyssey, Marina Oprea (Bucharest) project Ourcelium, and Elena Waldorf (Cluj-Napoca) project The Morbid Myth of Digital Dementia.

The synthesis exhibition, the focal point of the second edition of the NAC 2024 Art and Science Annual, proposes the largest event of its kind to date, from May 30th to June 2nd, 2024, at the LAMINOR Hall.The annual continues exhibitions and events until July 30th in 11 cities, from Bucharest, with the NAC network connecting the localities of Arad, Brașov, Bacău, Cluj-Napoca, Constanța, Iași, Oradea, Râmnicu-Vâlcea, Sibiu, Timișoara, and including new areas and partners.

During May 30th to June 2nd, 15,000 square meters are dedicated to art and science at LAMINOR Hall in Bucharest. The second edition of Neo Art Connect (NAC) presents the most generous exhibition concept with new sections on architecture, ecology (sustainability), focusing on Ars Electronica, and NAC Kids.

Innovatively curated, this year's event will unfold across multiple sections: invited artists, both Romanian and foreign, a section dedicated to students and emerging artists, including NAC Scholars, a Scenography section, an area dedicated to shows, conferences, and performances, film screenings, including a zone with installations dedicated to the city of Bucharest, pop-up exhibitions, the Changing Mentalities space for debate offered to young community organizations, university and cultural institute partners, with over 100 involved artists. Entry to all events is free.

IN REVIEW ︎︎︎

NAC 2023

FESTIVAL REVIEW
18^th of May
31^th of July

3 months
25 partners
10 cities
100 artists
10.000 visitors
5 countries

The first edition of the Art and Science Annual Neo Art Connect (NAC) organized by the Galateca gallery and the Neo Art Romania Cultural Association, curated by Anca Boeriu and Andreea Sandu, ends by surpassing an important milestone of over 10,000 visitors from all over the country.

Neo Art Connect held from May 18 to July 31, 2023 generated a series of remarkable cultural products, located at the intersection of art and science, in a marathon with more than 25 exhibitions, connecting 10 Romanian cities, more than 40 spaces and partner organizations, over 100 artists, interdisciplinary creators and curators, from different generations and with varied artistic practices.

NAC started with the exhibition of the 5 artists and artistic art and science groups who beneficiated by the grants offered by NAC & BRD Societe Generale, named RECONECTARE, followed by the nodal point of the manifestation, the SYNTHESIS exhibition, with 27 installations and works relevant to transdisciplinary fields and to the recent history of contemporary art, at the intersection with various fields of scientific research or new technologies , the immersive installation that stimulates the senses, surrounded by a natural source of oxygen - CODRU Oxygen Booth - A place to breath. The immersive module was created for the NAC, which captures in an allegorical way the subjective history of the last hundred years of the capital. Named Bucharest, time capsule, urban poem and the first national itinerant project Reconnecting the city, which was exhibited in four cities, an installation derived from the performance-application "The Walks" by Rimini Protokoll (a co-production creart/TEATRELLI & Goethe - Bucharest Institute). It was also for NAC to create the first theater performance in the hotel room, HÔTEL DES POÈMES.

A record number of visitors attended conferences and artist presentations, performances and shows created or curated especially for this first manifestation of the national NAC network.

︎︎︎ The premieres of this edition were ︎︎︎

︎︎︎ Reconnecting the city, itinerant project, the first exhibition inspired by a show-application "The Walks" by Rimini Protokoll (a co-production creart/Teatrelli & Goethe Institut Bucharest),

︎︎︎ Bucharest, time capsule, an urban poem in the form of an immersive dome,

︎︎︎ A theater show in hotel rooms, HÔTEL DES POÈMES,

︎︎︎ A remixed music session and a unique presentation of projects by the Antroploops association, led by spanish artist Rubén Alonso,

︎︎︎ The first presentation of astronaut Adler's landing training suit, as part of an interdisciplinary exhibition at the National Technical Museum "prof. Eng. Dimitrie Leonida",

︎︎︎ The largest gathering of artists with a practice focused on art and science, in a record number of simultaneous exhibitions.

︎︎︎ international presence - 5 countries France, Germany, Spain, Turkey and Ukraine represented by the artists: Sarah Einick , Franz Galo, Sema Özevin ,Vitaly Yankovy and Hauazkena Taldea collectiv

︎︎︎ Special guest, journalist Jan Scalter from Artmag UK

Among the artists, board and curators who contributed to the first Romanian Art and Science Annual are Anca Boeriu and Andreea Sandu, Roxana Lăpădat, Ana Negoiță, Raluca Oancea Nestor, Suzana Dan, Mihai Zgondoiu, but also Andrei Bodnar, Andrei Cozlac, Mihai Milea , Laurian Popa, Elena Adorian, Andrei Tudor, Cristian Samfira, Elena Basso and Lucian Broscățean, Horea Avram, Petru Lucaci, ALexandru Berceanu, Lucian Broscățean, Ushi Klein.

With each project, NAC succeeded in reconnecting the world of contemporary Romanian art to the young generation, and generated new collaborations within the new network.

Encouraged by the response of the local public, the NAC 2023 team developed together with the Goethe Institute and the Cervantes Institute an international component of the Annual, which brought international exposure to local artists. In addition, visitors discovered international artists and creators such as Ruben Alonso.

︎︎︎ Artists in focus ︎︎︎

The NAC scholars RIH Working Collective (Nițu-Săraru Andrei, Șerban Camelia, Stanciu Crina Alexandra) , Entity ( Miruna Croitoru, Nicoleta Ivan, Cosmin Stancu) , Mihai Toth, Andrei Lazăr, Daria Langa and the authors of selected projects Vanesa Andor, Andrei Bucovanu, Teodor Buruiană, Andreea Diaconu, Andreea Ioniţă, Alexandru Vlad Munteanu, Ioana Aron, Larisa Petcuţ, Andrei Şendrea

&

Elena Aronoaie Adorian /Andrei Bălan / Alexandru Berceanu / Alexandra Berdan /Anca Boeriu / Cornel Brad / Ana Brânzilă /Zoița Delia Călinescu / Claudia Chiriță / Raluca Chiriță/ Andra Ciobanu/ Mara Cojocaru/ Georgiana Covaliu/ Andrei Cozlac / Georgiana Cozma/ Ștefan Radu Crețu / Raluca Ilaria Demetrescu / Sarah Einick / Franz Galo / Ioana Halunga / Dan Adrian Ionescu/ Cristina Iliescu / Mirela Ivanciu &Terry Cuddy/ Andrei Lazăr /Petru Lucaci / Laura Magritte/ Cristian Matei/ Răzvan Mihalachi /Răzvan Neagoe/ Teodora Nedelcu / Vero Nica & Andu Dumitrescu/ Diana Oană / George Olaru / Marina Oprea / Bianca Orbocea și Lucian Zdrob / Sema Özevin/ Cosmin Paulescu /Raluca Paraschiv /Alina Rizescu/ Anca Spînu /Sabina Suru / Andrei Tudor/ Marius Tudose / Mihai Zgondoiu / Tammy/Vitaly Yankovy/, Instalațiile Kinema Ikon.

The cultural projects on the NAC 2023 map from Bucharest:

︎︎︎ GALATECA - RECONNECTION May 18 - June 23
︎︎︎ GOETHE INSTITUT - CODRU OXYGEN BOOTH 30 May - 20 June/
︎︎︎ RESIDENCE 9 - FUTURE IS NOW June 8 - 18/
︎︎︎ GHICA HOUSE - SYNTHESIS 10 - 18 June/
︎︎︎ GHICA HOUSE - Bucharest - time capsule. Urban poem in an immersive experience June 14 – 18 /
︎︎︎ ARCUB, Library Hall - CLUJ RESHAPE DESIGN June 8-26 /
︎︎︎ National Technical Museum "prof. Eng. Dimitrie Leonida - FLY ME TO THE MOON June 8 - 26/
︎︎︎ WORKSHOP 030202 - ABSGRAFISH June 9 - July 30 /
︎︎︎ CERVANTES Institute - Antropoloops: Rubén Alonso - Remix as a meeting place of arts and technologies / June 15
︎︎︎ HOTEL CARO - Wonderland. ART & SCIENCELAND June 16 – July 16/
︎︎︎ HOTEL CARO - HÔTEL DES POÈMES – Theater show in hotel rooms 15 – 16 – 17 June /
︎︎︎ COMBINATUL FONSULUI PLASTIC – BEHIND THE MASKS June 16 – July 16/
︎︎︎ GALATECA - Bucharest - time capsule Urban poem in an immersive experience June 23 - July 8/
︎︎︎ CREART – RECONNECTING THE CITY 31 July – 27 August 2023

NAC map in the Romanian cities: Arad, Brașov, București, Cluj- Napoca, Constanța, Iași, Oradea, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Sibiu and Timișoara

︎︎︎ Timișoara / Reconnecting the city / May 19-26, 2023
︎︎︎ Sibiu / NO' HAI Gallery - Creative Embassy / Reconnecting the city / June 23- July 2, 2023
︎︎︎ Constanta /Constanța Art Museum / Infinite Symmetry/ Vlad Țenu / July 2-30, 2023
︎︎︎ Oradea/ Library of the University of Oradea/ Pop – up Synthesis 5 - 16 July 2023
︎︎︎ Arad / Alfa Gallery and UAPR Workshops, Arad / July 7-20, 2023
︎︎︎ Iasi / Braustein Palace / July 7-20, 2023
︎︎︎ Cluj- Napoca / Casa Matei Gallery / RECONNECTING THE CITY/ July 17-27, 2023
︎︎︎ Râmnicu Vâlcea/ Cozia Pasaj2 Gallery / Unboxing / July 21 - 27, 2023
︎︎︎ Brașov / Centru Apollonia / Bucharest, time capsule/ July 29 - August 20, 2023

The partner spaces from the 10 cities were in Bucharest: Arcub, ATELIER 030202, Combinatul Fondului Plastic, creart, Galateca, Ghica House, Goethe Institut, Caro Hotel, Cervantes Institute, National Technical Museum "prof. ing. Dimitrie Leonida", Residence9, and in the country, Arad, Alfa Gallery and UAPR Ateliers, Brașov, Apollonia Cultural Center, Cluj - Napoca, Casa Matei Gallery, Constanța, Constanța Art Museum, Iasi, BRAUNSTEIN PALACE, Sibiu No!Hai, Embassy Creativa, Oradea, University Library, Râmnicu Vâlcea, GALLERY PASAJ 2 Cozia, Timișoara, PARK Gallery.

THE OPEN CALL

NAC 2023

#Scholarships 1st edition

The first national art and science network, an innovative concept, begining with a pilot project in 2022, which included:

call for projects, mentoring program and scholarships
series of exhibition and events
national conferences
creating a cultural-digital platform

Why art and science,
and why national?

Innovation and creativity need a cultural space as complex and diverse as possible.
The boundaries between domains are increasingly fine or non-existent.
New links between fields and people, at national and international level.
A good example of cultural entrepreneurship in 2022 is always welcome.

+++

The platform proposes supporting the young generation from a multitude of fields and exchanging best practices. That's why five young persons from fields such as design, architecture, art, performance or multimedia, at the interference with fields such as medicine, ecology, new technologies in ICT or other innovative fields, were selected for scholarships, and 10 more projects that will be included online in the network and in Annual 2023.

AFTER A SERIES OF EXHIBITIONS & EVENTS, THE WINNERS FOR THE 1ST EDITION ARE:

Join the education program:

First Annual of its kind, national project hundreds of participants and tens of thousands of visitors, 10 cities and over 100 partners in 2023.

Cultural and educational program for young people, conferences, mentoring and Scholarships worth over 6000 euros.

Impact in heterogeneous communities and involvement in the broadest national display of art and science.

Our partnerships can go a long way:

︎︎︎ Art is a generator of conversation and opportunities for collaboration between fields, when there are shared common values, value-added and education.

︎︎︎ We are forming a recurring nucleus for potential partners and participants, thus Annual 2023, edition 1, is the main objective.

︎︎︎ We are starting a sustainable education program and the first national cultural multidisciplinary program, with over 100 partners in the first edition

︎︎︎ We implement the concept in 10 cities in the first year, the national approach is essential, flexibility and exchange of ideas are important in development.

︎︎︎ We encourage INNOVATION, SUSTAINABILITY and LOCAL INITIATIVES.

︎︎︎ We present international examples and works by recognized artists

︎︎︎ We encourage artistic production and generate the first traveling exhibition module-of NEO ART CENTER

︎︎︎ We generate opportunities for at least 40 young people from various fields and 100 creators from interdisciplinary fields, and also for established artists and interdisciplinary creators.