Contemporary art, in the attention of the Minister of Culture: András István Demeter discovered the Romanian Creative Week exhibitions
The Minister of Culture, Demeter András István, was in Iasi on Monday, where he visited some of the main exhibitions and projects of Romanian Creative Weekthe largest event dedicated to creative industries in the European Union, held for the first time under the High Patronage of the President of Romania.
Romanian Creative Week takes place in Iași between 13-24 May 2026 and brings together hundreds of events, exhibitions, installations, conferences, fashion shows, shows and urban interventions dedicated to contemporary creative industries. In 2025, it was declared a strategic cultural event by the Ministry of Culture, being the only one in the region of Moldova and the seventh in Romania.
The official visit began at the Palace of Culture, where the minister took part in a tour of the central exhibition “Metafora”, part of the Arts section, powered by UniCredit Bank and carried out together with the partners Ploom*, Jidvei, Noir and Printco. Curated by the visual artist Marian Pălie and created with an exhibition design signed by the architect Robert Marin, the exhibition brings together almost 20 artists and proposes a route built around perception, transparency and the relationship between the viewer and space.
“I think one of the most important forms of recognition for an artist is for their work to be looked at with attention, time and genuine curiosity. The visit of the Minister of Culture to the Romanian Creative Week means, above all, a gesture of openness to the contemporary art scene and to the people who build it today in Romania. I am grateful to all the artists, curators and creative teams who made this edition possible, and I am glad that their projects could be discovered in a context that values not only the city's heritage, but also the energy of a new cultural generation“, he declared Irina Schrotter, president of the Federation of Creative Industries Patronages and initiator of Romanian Creative Week.
“Everything I've seen here is kind of overwhelming, and I mean that in the best sense of the word. There is an extraordinary wealth of ideas, a real diversity of approach and an ingenuity that seems to define this new creative generation. I believe that it is precisely this variety of languages, solutions and perspectives that makes the Romanian Creative Week experience have a strong impact on any visitor, regardless of age or background. It is a very dense creative energy that constantly challenges you and proves that the contemporary artistic and cultural scene in Romania has strength, courage and the ability to surprise“, he declared the Minister of Culture, András István Demeter.
“It is an honor for a contemporary art exhibition to be visited at such a level and I think this sends an important signal to the whole art scene. Contemporary art needs this kind of attention, dialogue and institutional openness, not just punctually, but constantly, and we hope that such encounters become more and more natural in the Romanian cultural space“, declared the curator of the “Metafora” exhibition, Marian Palie.
Together with the curators and artists involved in RCW, Demeter András István later also visited the exhibitions hosted by the International Center for Contemporary Art – Baia Turceasca, one of the flagship spaces of this year's edition. Among the projects presented here is “Hidrophoria”, curated by Caterina Pruteanu, an exhibition that transforms the architectural memory of the former public bath into an artistic trail dedicated to water, the body and sensory experience.
“Hydrophoria it starts from a simple fascination: the way water changes everything without seeming to make an effort. It is not its depth that interests us here, but its surface. The exhibition brings together a selection of Romanian and international artists, bringing together both established practices and emerging voices, in a dialogue that crosses generations and different sensibilities. This encounter does not seek uniformity, but precisely that diversity of approaches that can keep open the relationship between material, body and perception. What is important to remember is that the exhibition is not about water literally, but about the states it makes possible: unhurried approach, observation, laziness, a certain clarity that comes when you stop trying to control everything. It is perhaps also an invitation to stay a little longer on the surface, that is, where things are not resolved, but continue to exist.
The project is carried out with the support of the Ministry of Culture, to which we are grateful for the trust and for supporting initiatives that create real contexts for meeting between art and the public. The involvement of public institutions of this scope remains essential for the development of large-scale projects and for the support of a cultural framework that actively contributes to the education and training of a diverse audience“, he declared Caterina Pruteanu, curator of the exhibition.
The Minister's visit included direct meetings with artists, curators and creative teams involved in the realization of RCW projects, in a dialogue about the role of contemporary art, heritage and creative industries in the cultural development of cities and communities.
About Romanian Creative Week
Romanian Creative Weekdesignated in 2023, by the EUIPO, as the largest creative industries event in the European Union, is organized by the Creative Industries Employers' Federation, the only nationally representative employers' federation active in the creative industries sector. It was established in Iași, in August 2011. It has so far organized, directly or through member patronages, more than 100 projects for national and international promotion of creative industries.
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