Romanian village to host museum of local, global traditional whistles

A new cultural project is set to come to life in the Romanian village of Săliștea, in the commune of Mălaia, Vâlcea county. ISVOR, a cultural association known for its work in rural arts education, has announced the launch of Muzeul Fluierelor Lumii/The Museum of the World's Whistles, a unique initiative focused on preserving and showcasing traditional whistles from both Romania and across the globe.

The museum will be housed in the former village school of Săliștea, currently being renovated for this purpose.

The idea behind the project grew from a long-standing passion for traditional instruments and the need to protect local craftsmanship in the region of Țara Loviștei, an area with deep cultural roots, according to the initiators. While the project starts locally, it aims to bring Romanian whistles into dialogue with similar instruments from other cultures, treating them not as museum relics but as “living tools of expression.”

Preparations are already underway. Beyond the physical museum, the initiative will include multimedia content, research, and educational activities. Visitors will eventually be able to interact with the exhibits through video screens, 360° images, sound archives, and QR codes that unlock recordings of traditional whistle sounds and explanations of their origins and uses.

The ISVOR team is also collecting oral histories and video portraits of whistle makers and local craftsmen. These stories will be part of a wider multimedia exhibition showcasing the cultural landscape of the region.

A digital archive, online platform, podcast, and blog will accompany the museum to provide broader access and to keep the project evolving beyond the physical space.

“We are pleased that this initiative has attracted several important partners, including the ASTRA Museum in Sibiu and the National University of Music in Bucharest, as well as cultural institutes in Romania such as the Austrian Cultural Forum, British Council, Goethe-Institut, Czech Center, Chinese Cultural Center, Armenian Cultural Center, Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Center, Polish Institute, and Cervantes Institute,” said Oana Ivașcu, president and founding member of the ISVOR Cultural Association.

“Special thanks go to Mayor Gheorghe Dinculescu for his openness to collaboration and for the support he provided in establishing the Museum of the World’s Whistles in the Old School of Săliștea, Mălaia,” she added.

A key part of the initiative involves public participation. ISVOR has launched an open call asking people traveling in Romania or abroad to purchase traditional whistles and donate them to the museum, which will curate the contributions and feature them in an interactive map and video series. These community-sourced whistles will join a collection of over 30 instruments gathered over 24 years by Oana Ivașcu, musician and founder of the project.