Foc Ar Group Portfolio

focAR group (Alina Tudor and Razvan Neagoe)Contact: E-mail: Website:

Alina Tudor was born in 1980 in Constanta, Romania. Razvan Neagoe was born in 1974 in Bucharest, Romania. Both live and work in London UK and Bucharest Romania. They graduated from the National University of Arts Bucharest. They founded focAR group in 2006 and they are Members of Professional Artist Union from Romania, as well. Since 2006 they have been active members in the public and community art program called “I Love Bucharest”.

Until now they have developed a rich exhibition activity in performance, photography, video art, installation art, land art, public art as focAR group a good reason for winning an important youth prize offered by Professional Artists Union of Romania (2007).

“The idea of starting a group arisen from our strong will to express and share around an artistic gesture in the Urban and Rural space. Our projects are designed and structured around the identity of the individual chased by the consumerism and society, bringing in the spotlight the principles that keep this society going.”

[email protected]://focargroup.blogspot.com/

focAR groupAlina Tudor and Razvan Neagoe

-Portfolio-

Steps to identity (September 2010, Illumini Biennial)

London is well known for the busy life going underneath it whether it's the underground, tunnels, passages or any other place located under the city itself. The Tube is the transportation option chosen by most of the inhabitants of this city, due to the well-known agglomeration above ground, so we can in fact talk about an entire underground development of the city due to this. Difficult to build from a technical perspective, underground London is actually just as accessible as above ground London. Due to this development, underground London has developed its own identify, due to a whole series of elements that define it, the key word here being “diversity”.The Greenwich passage is a link part of this chain of underground development, an actual tourist spot while also being an access path used very often yet maintaining a spectacular architecture.A large number of pedestrians use this pass daily, from different social categories, age groups and ethnic groups.Thus, the Greenwich passage reveals itself as a corridor animated by the human crowds, a hallway loaded with different silhouettes, some in a hurry, some relaxed, but all and each one of them adding to the identity imprint of this place with every step laid here.The installation has been displaying a projection of lights through cut out silhouettes. A linear movement of the device which projected the light from left to right was seen by the visitors as a movement of the cut-out characters.The installation contained an engine which allowed for the light source to be moved from left to right in a straight line on a track. The panel with the cut out silhouettes was placed in between the light source and the wall. The panel was made out of carton, and as mentioned before the silhouettes were cut out. The light projected therefore these silhouettes on the wall, as a moving series of attitudes and poses, presented sequentially.There was also a sound installation which played pre-recorded sounds and noises of the tunnel itself in full traffic hours, including the echoes and background noise, which amplified the idea of movement.

More details here: http://focar.artforclick.com/2010/03/24/steps-to-identity/

Political Decision project (started in April 2010)

“Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in other group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions. It consists of "social relations involving authority or power" and refers to the regulation of a political unit, and to the methods and tactics used to formulate and apply policy.”(Wikipedia)

The main idea of the project is “Identity” the artist's identity, the individual's identity, the nation's identity! Identity not national, not ethnical, not sexual or religious, not communitary or zonal or any other kind but an urban identity, an identity created by the urban society which defines us, given by the coloured monochrome of every day and every night of the cities where we are born, grow live and work, a borrowed identity, non-personal impersonal. An identity, unidentified, imprinted with every detail of the urban life starting with block district, shop, super-market mall and ending with the politics and culture of the city, its specific means of behavior and communication.

Political Decision is a signal-project, a social one meaning to draw the citizen's attention on his identity. This concept was developed in a form of work-in-progress activities each activity in it making each time the project even more complex and complete. Therefore it is under a continuous change gathering “traces” with each presentation.Using for presentation short movies and printed stickers we tried to ask questions about actual burning issues like global worming, integration, globalization, localization minorities and the way they are perceived by the citizens.

These movies aim to present the destructive image of the real world. Political decisions taken on a large scale affect us, the ordinary people on the economic, cultural and social level as well. We are annihilating ourselves, destroying the laws of nature, the substance, the identity and human relationships.

We are interested in what defines us nowadays in a world of simulacra more real than reality, in which political decision assaults us everywhere, options are ready made for us and identity is the definition of a service provided by politics.

Coming to an end we would like to point out the identity of our century is what we call “work in progress” meaning continuous possibilities of work association, exchanges, and social dynamics.

The right result is represented by diversity as a mixture of the urban and rural development, cultural gestures individual and collective ones.

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These movies aim to present the destructive image of the real world. Political decisions taken on a large scale affect us, the ordinary people on the economic, cultural and social level as well. We are annihilating ourselves, destroying the laws of nature, the substance, the identity and human relationships.

We are interested in what defines us nowadays in a world of simulacra more real than reality, in which political decision assaults us everywhere, options are ready made for us and identity is the definition of a service provided by politics.

Coming to an end we would like to point out the identity of our century is what we call “work in progress” meaning continuous possibilities of work association, exchanges, and social dynamics.

The right result is represented by diversity as a mixture of the urban and rural development, cultural gestures individual and collective ones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-3MsZ_zdz8Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKwPdq1ZnLIHttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpyx2ZcTUTs

MOnuMENTS (installation-June 2010)-UNA gallery Bucharest Romania

MOnuMENTS project starts from the necessity of a reflexion on the deficitary relationship we have with history and recent memory, following a representative piece for the relationship between the political discourse and urban weaving. Developing like a long-term project, MOnuMENTS maps the country following zones: Dobrudja, Banat, Wallachia, Oltenia, Moldavia, Transylvania, Maramures gathering documentary evidence and archiving monuments of all types on all country territory.

MOnuMENTS represent an indication of the way in which we see our own history and ourselves as people. An indication of ideological values belonging to a certain historic period to which we have referred. An indication of art and politics. Avatars they have undergone throughout the time are a good barometer of political and social changes that have occurred in the space they populate.

Documentation started in 2007, the first event occurred in 2009 on Constantza Bucharest route and consisted in flowers laid in each monument and marking their regret by standing silently for a minute. The immediate purpose was to draw attention to those monuments forgotten or being in visible degradation.

The type of the artistic research proposed neither arrogate to itself exhaustition nor objectivity nor the type of scientific analysis but proposes a meditation on relationship among the individual, community and history, a live encounter between “yesterday” and “today”, between mentalities and different values, between us of today and taciturn witnesses of the past. It remarks the differences between the urban development and the rural one, between political/cultural gestures. Tangentially it touches as well themes like art in public space, urbanism, ways of communication, types of communication, totalitarianism, manipulation violence.In the relation MONUMENT MOMENT the time factor is also important: for every monument there are at least three significant moments, which we want to bring them into attention: the moment of construction and the monument inauguration (date, location, author, technique, ordering authority, etc)the moment of evocation (theme, representation, title, history, etc)The moment taking the photograph (actual state, eventual changes, restoration, reconditioning, its actual significance).

We want to oppose objective memory wiping to live memory, following in time the avatars physical dislocations or sense dislocations, reconstructions etc undergone by these national symbols. The selection of images presented in this exhibition is focused on heroes' figures from different historical periods. Most of them evoke the first or Second World War The oldest ones from King Ferdinand time or King Carol time have underwent different remarking-up-communism system did not demolish all the previous monuments, but it made changes-adding names taking out plagues, replacing some or vandalizing other.

Memory of the Golden Age (started in 2009, ongoing) (Lambda print on aluminum 30x55 cm)

It is a project having a documentary, history, artistic, cultural and social structure, touching on theeconomics, as well.

216 project (March – November 2008)

216 is a personal project of a documentary, artistic, cultural and social structure. 216 represent the number of pregnancy days from the moment one finds out the great news until the actual birth; and 2008 is obviously the year these days have been spent in.216 is a photo and video project, which allows us to rediscover ourselves as individuals, through the art of drawing. We have attempted to change the relationship with the everyday, the commonplace, and the usual. The belly has become a social place where we question the urban and rural identity through the lens of a new experience, the experience of preparing for a new life, which in turn triggers a new attitude. We express our thoughts, confusions and feelings encountered during this period regarding the society, the politics, the natural disasters, the global warming, the start of the financial meltdown worldwide, the current situation of art in today's society, the supermarket, the shopping mall, with the tarmac, the concrete, the grass, the tree, the park, the boulevard, the streets and so on. This way we have auto-invited ourselves to getting involved, to make a stand, to have an attitude, to make a social and cultural gesture in the same time.

The project is meant to be a calendar of the inner personal feelings, presented sequentially but also a history of the external events during this period it is an interior versus exterior calendar.The photos were chosen more like a document, without any speculations to the artistic load they might carry.

The project started on 10-03-2008.We're going through a rather bleak period in our lives. We had no home … due to unfortunate circumstances we were left without the house we used to live in. Both of us lived in our workshop of about 25 square meters; both of us thinking how can we make it through this crisis. And that's when this project started. It was a starting point towards normality, towards giving our lives a new meaning and towards enjoying it and fighting for it.

We didn't think at the time that the drawings that Mom would do on her belly which Dad was capturing on the camera would grown into a project. They were simply our thoughts, thoughts that were going through our minds at the time, or simple events during the day. The political situation or social events, which we thought to be important, were all noted on the belly. The project “happened” throughout 4 places during those 218 (places where we lived, literally, at the time).All the feelings from finding out that we're going to be parents, then first scan, finding out it's going to be a girl, then it was a boy and finally at birth to find out that it is girl after all…all of these went through a drawing. In fact all the events in our lives during the 216 days have been transposed on the belly. We have considered that the drawing is the best tool to communication for this project. It is sincere and it is every expressive after all.

Each photo drawing will be accompanied by a short text, explaining what happened that day and Mom's explanation behind choosing that drawing. The 216 aspects highlight all the changes that took place from the depressing beginning to the final point filled with enthusiasm and joy. “START” is the message of photo no. 216 and it is the beginning of a new life for us.

We have conceived a chapter about us and our child a chapter about the history of a new life inside the mother's womb. We used the belly to draw the symbols and the shortcomings of today's society. The days have gone by and these shortcomings have become history … a history of the current society. In a few years time they will be demolished and replaced by others… On this support you can find contrasts, disillusions, joys… Each individual has a life, an identity. The dot in the first picture has become a being who lives with us from now on, who suffers next to us when we are upset and is happy with us when we succeed.

MOnuMENTS project (started in 2007, ongoing)

“MOnuMENTS” is an artistic project, which proposes a cultural and social reflection; aiming at a dialogue between rural and urban spaces, between different mentalities, between past and present. “MOnuMENTS” is a natural, organic response from the artists to all these mutations and reconfiguration of the present time. The immediate result is the documentation of the diversity as a mixture between the urban and rural development, between cultural gestures and collective and individual gestures. The mission of the project is a gwork in progress nature, which means ongoing working possibilities, means associations, changes and social dynamics. We are dealing with cultural gestures as well as individual or collective gestures, in between different representations but using similar techniques. ”MOnuMENTS” presents the reality through the enticement of gesture, cultural and imagistic quotes which get filter and interpreted, and the balance in between metaphorical and abstract. Monuments have always had a dual character: on one hand they commemorated history, and on the other hand they have been contested by many social groups which opposed certain ideological tendencies. The studying of monuments is a necessary study everywhere, as they offer many dates that are carved in stone regarding various ideologies and historical moments. Our research started in 2007, but the project officially opened in 2009, when we made a performance aiming to attract the attention of forgotten monuments or the ones in a state of visible decay. This happened on the route from Constantza to Bucharest when we had the opportunity to notice the differences between urban and rural exhibited monuments.( For more details

),( )Http://focar.artforclick.com/2009/11/03/monuments/Http://www.youtube.com/user/focAR12#p/u/5/jvLbQeT9T-w

Bacau, Romania

London, UK

Red Spot (2007-2008)

RED SPOT is a finger pointing to several problems in the city: buildings, streets, neighborhoods, in a Bucharest that was little Paris sometimes, now is a city buried under cars, dust, resentments (is it a young European city?), a cultural capital in the future or a chaotic commercial, consumerism city?

Project RED SPOT has proposed to point out to those places which are abandoned. The city center is such area, and it is forgotten for too long. There are lots of streets fading away in front our eyes meanwhile with listed buildings even, which are very numerous and enhance scruffy and gray atmosphere of Bucharest.

In 2008, the Red Spot project was part of the Program of public art I love Bucharest, part of theEuropean Year for Intercultural Dialogue, which was supported by ProHelvetia through UnitedExperts. It is an art gesture constructed as a signal project, a project meant to warn the people ofBucharest .inhabitants and authorities, individuals and private companies . and it had as objectives: abuilding, a street or a monument.

stART Dambovita (2007) more detail here: http://dambovita.blogspot.com/

Red Spot (2008) More details here: http://focar.artforclick.com/2009/11/04/red-spot/

Phone Box (2008) - Amzei Square

The call box continues the series of non-conventional spaces of Urban Traces, the phone becoming anexponent of the urban society. It is a part of our life helping us to make connections and keep in touchwith everyone. In every apartment there is a stable phone every individual has one or two mobilephones, in every boulevard or street there is a call box.The phone means movement and expresses the identity of individual who talks on it. The stablephone used to be a communication means more rapid and it means the identity of the oldergeneration.The offers of the mobile phones companies are at competition and for the new generations the phone represents more than a means of communication. For them the mobile phone is a way of living. Its brand, colour the gesture with which one answers the mobile, the call bell shows the identity of the individual who possesses it. On the other hand the call box is assaulted. It has become a social place. It is physically assaulted by the urban society. The windows of the call box are usually broken. And yet there are extreme situations when individuals need this call box and make phone calls. People pass indifferently by it. No one sees it no one asks any questions about it. It is sometimes used as a shelter against rain. We bring into discussion the urban and rural identity through the call box. We will express our thoughts confusion and feelings in relation with the society with the concrete, the grass, the tree, the park, the boulevard, the street. In this way the individual is invited to participate, to look for a position, an attitude so that he may launch a social gesture.

Urban Traces (2007-2008)

UT is a signal-project, a social one, meaning to draw the citizen’s attention on his identity.This concept was developed in a form of work-in-progress activities each activity in it making each time the project even more complex and complete. Therefore it is under a continuous change and modification gathering “traces” with each presentation.The main idea of the project is “Identity” – the artist’s identity, the individual’s identity, thenation’s identity! Identity – not national, not ethnical, not sexual or religious, not communitarian or zonal or any other kind but an urban identity, an identity created by the urban society which defines us, given by the coloured monochrome of every day and every night of the cities where we are born, grow live and work, a borrowed identity, non-personal impersonal. An identity, unidentified, imprinted with every detail of the urban life starting with block district, shop, super-market mall and ending with the politics and culture of the city, its specific means of behavior and communication.Urban Traces is a project mainly in black-and-white decomposing the dirty grey of the cityand painting the traces we do not perceive as they are proper to us for the very simple reason that they penetrate us and mould us.The exhibition spaces for the project were both from conventional and non-conventional field trying to cover as many representative elements of the city as possible. Each exhibition had its subject subordinate to the main idea of the project with a view to gather more and more information about what a city means, art in the city, or perception of the urban space.

( )Http://focar.artforclick.com/2009/11/03/urban-traces/

Mora gallery (Bucharest, Romania) 2008

Mora gallery (Bucharest, Romania) 2008

Galateea gallery (Bucharest, Romania) 2007

Cupola gallery (Iasi, Romania) 2007

High up there, there’s a house (2007)

True Story: “In this project a house, a block, a street, a district and city along with two boysand two girls were involved. We had a chapter, a part about vacuum, a part about the history of a house in a block. In this street demolition came first and then the famous blocks-of-flats were raised.The years have passed and these blocks have become history, a history of today’s society. Over the coming years they will be demolished and replaced by new residences. In this very block of flats contrasts, disillusionment, joy have lived and the concrete walls make part of them. The cold concrete has become a part of the people who live inside.Every individual has its life, its identity. The hosts who put at our disposal their apartment came to the conclusion that the cold concrete may become warm every time they get home, late at night. The concrete is for them like a human being suffering every time they are away for too long and is happy when they smoke inside. We experienced this sensation too: that of a guest welcome by the human concrete and we were impressed by its quality – becoming warm when the inside is populated. The same way we got to meet the human-concrete – the apartment. So we let everyone know that the hosts will be involved in the project called Urban Traces. The human-concrete thrills with joy. It has meant to become a star. So we started the job. Brushes, canvas, a camera and much black and white.“She” wanted to be involved in decoration but the hosts objected to it. “She” is the star and we are going to show it the way it is. Empty like vacuum. Without its masters. As they work all the day to bring her gifts in those six hours of staying together at night. Some days passed and the big day arrived. Guests, discussion and conveniences. But our heroine stayed alone. The access to it was permitted for a single person. With invitation. Stupor! First person to enter said “Only this?”. The human-concrete herd and got angry because it was only it itself as it is every day-empty. A film was on TV for the human-concrete not to forget about its masters… ihappened that the masters were written with some sound words of the urban space. After a few minutes people became accustomed with the human-concrete and the human-concrete with them. She was more welcoming, but as empty as it was before and the discussion in the corridor grew stronger. It suffered with every leaving of a visitor. So at night there remained only the two guests involved in this project and the hosts. It become again that human accustomed with the monotony of every day. The moment to enjoy together came but it was too late. Everybody had to go to bed. “

ASEZareaTRECereaCERCul (2006)

The goal of the project – to transfer scientific research to the level of folk culture so that a rebirth of the Romanian cultural identity may be achieved. Since the first model of the Romanian identity lies under the sign of THE GOOD and the second model makes out of THE TRUTH the essential value, the model of the Romanian peculiarity stands in THE FATE with a double meaning: on the one hand Fate means assumption of our location (Romania), of a settled people “on the edge that separates three different civilizations: the Slave one, the Asian one the Western one (Eminescu)”; of that people capable of preserving its identity through faith and folk culture. One the other hand FATE means assertion of the Roman world through creation and culture.Resorting to “Cucuteni Culture” as a part of the Romanian identity through personal experiment (but identifying some general cultural rules, as well) choosing this ethnological culture, evoking and interpreting the project is meant to become a work of an author, a reflection on an author on the past, a mental construction with a shape and image as any other artistic production.The Cucuteni Culture is one of the most splendid social and cultural development in the Romanian Neolithic. Bearing a great complexity and variety on a huge territory the Cucuteni Culture got to pre-urban shapes but it was not able to cross the threshold of the urban revolution because its development was interrupted by the Indo-European groups migration around 2000 BC. In Romania, a lot of ceramics objects had been discovered having a great fineness. Big number of the objects discovered guided the archaeologists to think of some ritually purposes. Pots and figurines constitute the treasure of this Culture. The anthropomorphous figurines impressed, thinking of the fact that they could give some information about anthropology, and even more: about the social life of that time.Prerequisites of our project are here, too. We shall use the representation of two figurines – man and woman – that will be submitted to our interpretation and to the artistic laws. The more feminine ones are very smooth, some being decorated through incision or being painted and decorated with geometrical elements. The masculine figurines are stylised but without marking its sex. Sometimes the triangular thorax is covered with a diagonal strip. As a symbol, it’s easy to see the man like an exponent of the power and manhood. The woman defines through beauty, voluptuousness, and fertility.

More details here: http://focar.artforclick.com/2009/09/13/asezareatrecereacercul/

-Performance (selected) -

The Travellers Box Project, in addition to MOnuMENTS project (March-April 2010) London UK

In between 14 March – 25 April 2010 focAR group will set off together with “The Travelers Box” Project.

focAR group’s action is part of The Travelers Box Project. The event will take place in the very heart of London.

The project of gathering evidence and researching MOnuMENTS it also continued in London having the curators Lars Vilhelmsen and Karen Ay. During the period March-April 2010 they started up along with The Travellers Box project a series of three performances adding a new dimension to the project. Noticing comparatively the monuments of the two capitals London and Bucharest allowed reaching some interesting conclusions concerning different ways of reporting to own history practiced in the two spaces/respect / lack of concern towards the national insignia of the past showing a sign of the relation appreciation commercialization conflictual/indifference towards the past the differences are found not in the part of the representation but in the one of presentation the London ones similar in subject and creation being comparatively perfectly turned to good account.For more details: http://focar.artforclick.com/2010/03/23/the-travellers-box-project-in-addition-to-withmonuments-project/

1. On 15th of April focAR group set off together with Travellers Box for the second time. The event took place in the very heart of London and consisted in a performance•]journey. The action documented monuments located on the National Gallery . House of Parliament route. These monuments commemorate the heroes from wars or representative personalities for British space. The two members of the group placed a flower bouquet at each monument and held a silent moment in the heroes’ memory. Performance here: http://www.youtube.com/user/focAR12

2. On 10th of April performance in West Ham – “We are the champions” statue (sculptor Philip Jackson - At the junction of Barking Road and Central Park Road Showing Bobby Moore, holding the Cup, with Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters and Ray Wilson. This shows the four celebrating after England won the World Cup in 1966. The artist has depicted these soccer heroes as being larger than life). The action consisted in the placement of a flower bouquet at the monument and in holding a meditation moment about “heroes” condition.

3. We keep a “diary” of The Box using photos. As long as we host the Box, we are going to take a photo of The Box daily, trying to notice the evolution of the project. Every day will add something new inside or around The Box.

The Park (inspired by Jose Millas-Martin’s poem) – February 2010More details here: http://focar.artforclick.com/2010/03/25/video/

Agenda (started in 2009, ongoing)Together with Alexandru Bounegru (Association Vector Iasi)This is a social project that raises awareness on the individual chased by the consumerist society,while questioning its functioning principles. http://focar.artforclick.com/2010/03/25/video/

MOnuMENTS project (Romania 2009) more here:

“MOnuMENTS” is a natural, organic response from the artists to all these mutations and reconfigurations of the present time. The immediate result is the documentation of the diversity as a mixture between the urban and rural development, between cultural gestures and collective and individual gestures.

The mission of the project is a “work in progress” nature, which means ongoing working possibilities, means associations, changes and social dynamics. We are dealing with cultural gestures as well as individual or collective gestures, in between different representations but using similar techniques. “MOnuMENTS” presents the reality through the enticement of gesture, cultural and imagistic quotes which get filter and interpreted, and the balance in between metaphorical and abstract.

http://focar.artforclick.com/2009/11/03/monuments/

Phone Box (2008)

Red Spot (2008)

RED SPOT (NAG#2 event)

Curierul (2007 - Street Delivery event)

Urban traces (2007) The real statements, the shirts, which the artists put on them are neither black nor green but are inscribed with all shortcomings of today's society which they assume and show us.The expression is synthetic, in white and black inviting to trenchant options.

ASEZareaTRECereaCERCul (2006 - Cucuteni village - International Symposium HUMAn)

-Project proposals-

Romanian migration map before and after 1989 (2010)

map before '89 map after '89

Red History (2008)Our proposal is to illuminate targets with built during the communist red spots.We aim to illuminate/highlight some communist buildings and monuments witch are very representative for that period.

Volume Control (2007)

-I Love Bucharest programme -

I love Bucharest programme was initiated in the autumn of 2005 and has developed as an innovative and proactive programme that focuses on the regeneration of public space in Bucharest. It also aims to engage civic responsibility and public participation through art interventions.The statement name is inspired by the public art produced in projects like I love Berlin, I love Paris, I love New York. It’s a declaration of a projected future determined by present actions of artists, different groups of people and institutions, creating art interventions, public art projects and educational projects in an engaging, participative and open approach.The new field that the I love Bucharest programme proposes suits both the needs of young and emerging artists and the aesthetic needs of the city and also puts together the arts and the civic dialogue.Up until now, I love Bucharest has organized a series of public art projects, animations and artistic interventions, either independently or as part of much broader events.The I love Bucharest programme develops and organizes art projects aiming to rehabilitate the aesthetic and cultural aspects of the Romanian public space and to bring several advantages:

1. Laying the opportunities for artists to create and show their work to a large and diverse public.

2. Engaging civic solidarity, involvement in public actions and civic responsibility through an opportunity to experiment artistic techniques and alternative communication methods that are offered to people of all ages, gender, educational or social status.

3. Drawing the attention of the public to the local heritage, cultural values and their renewing possibilities by means of artistic discourse and participatory activities.

The programme has brought together around 30 artists, architects, students, a few communities, a few tourists and lots of the inhabitants of Bucharest, of different ages, education or social positions.Asociatia din Pod (the Association in the Attic), aiming through its activity for the development of public and community art in Romania, and MORA Foundation (More Opportunities for Romanian Artists), focusing on supporting Romanian contemporary arts and artists, are full partners of the I love Bucharest programme.The programme owes its resistance to the permanent support of Avrig 35 as well, a private company in Bucharest that holds a strong policy of helping Romanian artists and promoting art.

Bucharest metroART Piata Victoriei 1 (2008 - Carturesti gallery

The artistic intervention in the Piata Victoriei 1 subwaystation has begun in June 2008 with a number of creative workshops delivered atthe three museums in the area.- rehabilitates the esthetic and cultural aspects of the Bucharest metro space;- establishes a visual link between metro stations and overground historical, cultural and touristic sights;- is a new art creation that can be added to the national and local heritage;- pins down the metro on the cultural and touristic map of Bucharest;Using artistic interventions, the project aims to change the perception of these spaces, from a merely traffic areas to a rich public space enabling complex cultural exchanges. The artists presented 23 ideas of artistic interventions for the intended space (Piata Victoriei 1 subway station), concepts based also on the works developed together with the children. The concepts were presented in a public exhibition in the sub_Carturesti gallery in Bucharest in the October 21st-November 11th 2008 period, where a jury and the audience voted for the most preferred ones.

MetroCarpet - proposed by artist Alina Tudor

This artistic intervention is a replica mosaic of rustic carpets in an oversized version, that will indicate the direction towards the Romanian Peasant Museum nearby Piata Victoriei 1 subway station.

(project proposal)

Bucharest metroART - Gara de Nord (2008 - Bucharest Romania)

I love Bucharest team of artists already changed the atmosphere of Gara de Nord metro station.

Bucharest metroArt is a pilot project and an invitation for public institutions, private an civil initiatives to come up with and develop new artistic and cultural projects in and for the public space in the capital city of Romania.Every night between July 21 and August 2, starting with the departure of the last train until the arrival of the very first one in the morning, 20 artists painted 9 areas in the metro station, covering over 120 sqm.The project aimed for a change in the rather austere atmosphere of the station using an eclectic theme, combining elements of the interwar period of Bucharest and contemporary visual elements. Also, it wanted to create a specific visual identity for the station and to offer the passengers and tourists a particular sight in their daily circuit or during their visit in Bucharest. The theme was chosen by the I love Bucharest team together with SC METROREX SA, based on a public survey carried on in April.The team worked every night for a fortnight, using sprays and paints and depicted the theme previously chosen by the metro passengers and approved by Metrorex: the old and new Bucharest.Gara de Nord 1 is the first subway station where an artistic intervention took place.Bucharest metroArt. Art matters!” project, with its two components - Gara de Nord 1 and Piata Victoriei 1, is a pilot project and intended to constitute a starting point for future individual, collective, private, public or civil artistic initiatives.

Projects.B (2006 - Carturesti gallery, Bucharest Romania)

-Curriculum vitae-

Alina Tudor:

Born in 1980 Constanta (Romania), lives and works in London UKEducation: 2002-2004: Visual Arts Master Degree National University of Bucharest1998 2002: National University of Bucharest, Faculty of Applying Arts and DesignFounding's focAR group Members of Professional Artists Union from RomaniaInvolved in “I love Bucharest” Public Art Program ( )

Artist-in-residence/Award/Other:2007 Artist-in-residence and Symposium, Zlakusa, Serbia2006 Workshop Riga, Latvia2006 Book Ilustration “Razele Initiatice ale Arhanghelilor“ writers Elena Cocis and Nicolae Oprica Editura For You 20062002 Second prize - Art Salon Bucharest tem "Alternative", Section "Concrete Connation"2001 Artist-in-residence and Exposition "University of Bournemouth", London, UK2001 Artist-in-residence Academia di Romania din Roma Italia2000 Fellowship Exposition "Vadastra 2000", Lisbon, Portugal

Exhibitions/ experiment/symposium (selected):2007 "Kolonija Umetnicke Keramike Zlakusa 2006", Art Gallery Pozega, Pozega Serbia2007 Contemporary Art Salon, Palate Parliament, Bucharest, Romania2007 “Street Delivery” Urban Culture with projects “The portrait Gallery” and “The Messenger” Arthur Verona Street, Bucharest Romania2005 “Colony“, Apollo gallery, Bucharest, Romania2004 Biennial “Fire Art”, Apollo gallery, Bucharest, Romania2004 Exposition Visual Arts Master Degree National University of Bucharest - MNAC, Sale Rond, Artexpo, Bucharest, Romania2003 INTERNACIONALNI UMETNIÈKI JEZIK, Gradska galerija Užice Uzice-Serbia2002 "Alternative", ceramics, "Conexion concrete", Sale Dalles, Bucharest, Romania2002 "Recipient", "Orizont" gallery, Bucharest, Romania2002 Exposition National University of Bucharest, Faculty of Applying Arts and Design, MANC Galeria "Etaj 3/4" TNB,

Bucharest, Romania2002 "Vadastra “Revitalize Romanian's Tradition Ceramic", National History Museum, Bucharest, 2000 ceramics exposition, History Museum, Slatina, Romania

Razvan Neagoe:

Born in 1974 Bucharest (Romania), lives and works in London UKEducation:2002-2003 Visual Arts Master Degree _ National University of Bucharest1997-2002 National University of Bucharest painting licenseFounding's focAR group Members of Professional Artists Union from RomaniaInvolved in “I love Bucharest” Public Art Program ( )

Award /Artist in residence:2003 Artist-in-Resident “Art conquers the street” together with Fusion group (Karll Knapp, Pierre-Alain Hubert, Doze Green, etc) project Marseille, France1998 First Prize, “Surdesti” Creation Camp, Romania

Exhibition (selected):2009 Contemporary National Art Magazine, Ota gallery, Bucharest, Romania2008 Colony, Frunzetti gallery, Bacau, Romania2007 MACSB open Comparator Museum of Art SingeorzBai, Bistrita, Romania2005 “On Difference#1” Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart Germany2004 “Iridescent E((O” Marriott Hotel Bucharest2003 “Docufiction” video project Bucharest and Belgrade, curator Alina Serban2003 "Beyond photography, painting “ Galeria Noua, Bucharest, curator Aurora Kiraly2003 Shake well - Okuparte Video festival Spania2003 L'art prend la rue, with the French group “Fusion”, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest, Romania2003 “14 years in the wrong direction” Curator Alina Serban, Atelier 35 Gallery, Bucharest Romania2002 "Graduation exhibition” National Theatre “Floor 3/4, Bucharest Romania2001”Cosmogonflabil “Galla Gallery, Bucharest Romania2000”Unpack yourself” apartment art, Bucharest Romania2000 D@V 33 gallery, curator Simona Tanasescu, Romanian Culture Minister, Bucharest 2000 "Tolerant", Museum of Art and History, Bucharest, Romania

www.ilovebucharest.org

www.ilovebucharest.org

focAR EXHIBITIONS / PROJECTS

Personal projects/exhibitions: 2010 MOnuMENTS project UNAgaleria, Bucharest, Romania2010 The Travellers Box Project, in conjunction with MOnuMENTS project, Curators Lars Vilhelmsen, Karen Ay, London 2009 Personal Project: 218-studio no.5, Bucharest, Romania 2008 RED SPOT- Museum of Romanian Peasant, Bucharest, Romania 2008 RED SPOT urban intervention, seminal projects (with I Love Bucharest), Bucharest, Romania 2008 mObile gallery/TELEPHONE The bank of images - PUBLIC TELEPHONE - a side event to the INTERVENTIONS3* project, Oberliht, Moldavia Republic 2008 “U.T.Global Warming”, MORA gallery, Bucharest, Romania 2007 “U.T.44,26” - Urban Pollution Galateea gallery, Bucharest, Romania 2007 “Red Spot” warming project unconventional space, Dambovita River, Bucharest, Romania 2007 “Urban Traces - Cluj Urban Pollution “OLD Gallery, Cluj-Napoca, Romania 2007 “Urban Traces - Iasi”, “Cupola” gallery, Iasi, Romania 2007 “Urban Traces -There is a HOUSE upstairs in the block”, unconventional space, Bucharest, Romania 2007 “Urban Traces”, MORA Gallery, curator Cristiana Radu, Bucharest, Romania

Performance(selected): Winter 2010 FRAGILE - global performance chain journey, curators 2010 3 Performances during The Travellers Box Project in conjunction with MOnuMENTS project, National Gallery House of Parliament route; “We are the Champions” statue, West Ham; East Ham Central Park, London UK2009 “Agenda” program “Tomorrow is another day”, Corvin forest, Constantza, Romania 2009 “Agenda” program “The blue route…”, Vadu commune, Constantza, Romania 2009”MOnuMENTS”, start project, performance, Constantza Bucharest route, Romania 2009 “Agenda” program - “You can't live a life from memories” project, Bucharest, Romania 2008 Red Spot, Lutherana, Budisteanu, Grivitei, Aman streets, Bucharest, Romania 2008 “EXIST”, Phone Box-EXIST/Urban Traces project, Bucharest, Romania 2008 Red Spot, White night galleries#2 programs, Studio Transition, Bucharest, Romania 2007 “PROTEST” in cadrul “U.T.44, 26”, galeria Galateea, Bucuresti Romania 2007 dambovitAPArty in cadrul “stART Dambovita “, Bucuresti, Romania 2007”The Courier”, in cadrul Street Delivery, Bucharest, Romania 2006 “Tourist II”, Zlakusa Symposium, Zlakusa Serbia 2006 “TRECerea”, “HUMAn”program, Cucuteni, Iasi, Romania 2005 “Tourist”, London, UK 2003”Form Genes”, Performance-Open studio Assemblage gallery, Grand Marriott Hotel, Bucharest, Romania

Group exhibition/screening (selected): 2010 EROSION Biennial LA (O) ST IMAGE curator Lithuanian Photographers Union Klaipeda department, Lituania 2010 23rd Festival Les Instants Vidéo, Friche de la Belle de Mai gallery Marseille France2010 Illumini biennial curator Jane Webb, London UK2010 VideoChannel - [self]~imaging, VideoChannel Cologne, Germany 2010 2nd Annual Terminal Short Video Festival, Austin Peay University, Clarksville, TN, SUA curator Barry Jones2009 “Once upon a time” Kurye International Video Archive, IMC5533 space, curators Kurye Video Organization and Marcus Graf, Istanbul, Turkey 2009 The 5th International Festival for video art and experimental film ATTITUDE, Bitola, Macedonia 2009 F.I.F.E. CÃRBUNARI 2009, the 6th Edition of the International Experimental Film Festival Cãrbunari 2009, Florean Museum, Baia Mare, Romania 2009 Urban-Jealousy - the 1st International Roaming Biennial of Tehran, 1st station Istanbul,Turcia; 2nd station Berlin, Germany,

rd3 station Belgrade,Serbia curators Amirali Ghasemi and Serhat Koksal 2009 “Contemporaneous Attitudinizes” itinerant exposition: art gallery Art Museum -Constanta; Down Danube Museum-Calarasi; Museum Piatra Neamt , Romania 2008 Bucharest metro Art-Art is watching you!” projects for decoration of the Underground station”Victory Square” Carturesti Library, Bucharest, Romania 2008 Phone Box/EXIST, Amzei Square, Bucharest, Romania 2008 White night galleries#2(NAG#2), Bucharest, Romania2008 PROJECTOTHEQUE « LABORATOIRES ARTISTIQUES URBAINS »(Action dans le cadre du projet « Archives urbaines actives/créatives » initié par Banlieues d'Europ'est) coordinator Silvia Cazacu, Faculté des Arts et de Design, Timisoara 2008 “CRUCES”, unconventional space Galata Monastery, Iasi, Romania 2008 ART within: The Artist in the Workspace, screening Geborgen Kamers, Holland 2007 “stART Dambovita” (http://dambovita.blogspot.com) Halelor zone, Bucharest, Romania 2007 Street Delivery Urban Culture, Arthur Verona Street, Bucharest, Romania 2007 U.A.P.R 2006 awards Apollo gallery, Bucharest, Romania 2007 "Kolonija Umetnicke Keramike Zlakusa 2006", Art Gallery Pozega, Pozega Serbia 2007 “Projects B” “I love Bucharest” program Carturesti library, Bucharest, Romania 2006 “Art Delivery” an official debut of the programme “I love Bucharest” Arthur Verona Street Bucharest, Romania2006”HUMAn”, “ASEZareaTRECereaCERCul” project, Cupola Gallery, Iasi, Romania;"Ad-Hoc" Gallery, Chisinau, Moldova Republic 2006 Roll Up ART National Theatre facade, Bucharest Romania 2006 “I love Bucharest” Mora Gallery, Bucharest, Romania

Verena Stenke & Andrea Pagnes

Videography:2010 3 animation movies “Political Decision” /pal dvd2010 “The Park", 4'05"/ pal dvd 2009 “Flag", 3'21”, / pal dvd2009 “MOnuMENTS ", 10'14” / pal dvd2009 “You can't live a life from memories", 10'50” / pal dvd2009 “On the blue paths... ", 11'52” / pal dvd2008 "urban-rural", 9'35", / pal dvd2007 “urban traces II ", 9'48" / pal dvd2007 “urban traces I ", 9'48" / pal dvd 2006 “ASEZareaTRECereaCERCul", 9'30" / avi

Other:

2008 Banlieues d'Europe Urban Traces projects with Emil Burbea architect and Silvia Cazacu Banlieues d'Europ'est workshop, Lyon, France2008 Bucharest metro “Art is watching you!” non conventional space, decorating the underground station Northern Rail Way Station Bucharest, Romania (I Love Bucharest program) 2007 Decorating ST. Macrina Foundation a communitary art project in cooperation with FREEFORM Arts TRUST in LONDON, Bucharest Romania (I Love Bucharest program) 2005 “Ioana House 1” a communitary art project in cooperation with FREEFORM ARTS TRUST from London, a shelter to stay

over the night for the homeless, Brancoveanu zone, Bucharest Romania

focAR group biography (after 2007):

Catalog 23es INSTANTS VIDÉO Numériques et poétiques , pag. 35 2010MARIN Ifrim” 2 romanian artists in London”, Jurnalul de Vrancea newspaper, 26/09/2010Catalog Illumini biennial”Secret subterranean London” pag 2 and page 8 2010ADINA Tofan, “Intre Original si Originar. Ansamblul de Land Art”, Revista de Arta Contemporana “Puncte Punct Puncte”, nr. 16 2009 pag. 3BILJANA Petrovska Isijanin, “STAV” Catalog 5th International Video and Experimental Film Festival, pag.7 ONISEI Ana-Maria, “Personal Project: Ilinca (218)”, Tabu magazine (photo Cosmin Bumbut), may 2009KERSTIN Niemann, “focAR group-MOnuMENTS”, Saatchi Online, march 2009Catalog “I Love Bucharest”, Mora gallery, Bucharest, Romania, November 2008 NADOLEANU Stela, “Red for building” Timeout Bucharest magazine, nr.97/5-11 December 2008, pag.54APOSTOL Mariana, “Instantaneous”, Compact newspaperLAVRIC Tudor, “Red Spot”, Cronica Romana newspaper, nr.4769, 10 december 2008MARINESCU Veronica, "I love Bucharest" and Red Spot", “Curierul National” newspaper, Anul 13, nr. 5315.SOARE Simona, "Red Spot", "Adevarul” newspaper, 28 November 2008ROSCA Carola “Art for urban identity”, Timeout Bucharest magazine, nr.53, 25-31 ianuarie 2008Catalog, International Symposium “HUMAn”, Iasi, Romania 2008 page. 5-6BALOIU Raluca, “Kalokagathia”, financial newspaper Sunday newspaper, 11-01-2008PULPA Oana, “Art in street”, Money Express nr68 (35), 8-09-2008CRISTIANA Radu, “Art Telephone and Communication”, Timeout Bucharest magazine nr.84, 5-11 sept.2008Catalog “Dambovita where to? The city and its river” organized at Romanian Cultural Institute, Bucharest Romania LUCACI Cristina “Stars of HUMAn's”, Iasi newspaper 22-08-2008CRISTIANA Radu, “U.T.” Financial newspaper Sunday newspaper, 8-02-2008CRISTIANA Radu, “Identities, trance and urban traces”, Altitudini newspaper, nr.17 (iulie 2007) and financial newspaper Sunday newspaper, NR.2069 09.02.2007 Catalog “I Love Bucharest” - Red Spot project Mora gallery, Bucharest, RomaniaCRISTIANA Radu, “Intervention in public space”, Timeout Bucharest, nr.38, 21 September. - 4 October. 2007 BAZAVAN Cristina “Our Exposition versus family”, “TABU” magazine photo Cosmin Bumbut - nr.58 may 2007BALAN Robert, “stART Dambovita”, Gandul newspaper, 20-07-2007LASCU Dana, "stART Dambovita", project for our river”, Compact newspaper 20-07-2007Catalog International Symposium HUMAn, Iasi, RomaniaIANCU Stefan, ”Dambovita river, water for life”, Romania Libera newspaper, Joi, 19 Iulie 2007SCARLAT Anca, “Virus Urban”, Jurnalul National newspaper, 11.04.2007LASCU Dana, “Urban Traces” Mora gallery, Compact newspaper, nr.187, 1-02-2007,pag.14