National art museum in Bucharest launches awareness campaign about the homeless

The National Art Museum of Romania (MNAR) is launching a campaign aimed at making the public aware of the problems the homeless encounter during the cold season.

The campaign, set to run from February 12 to February 29, is rolled out in a partnership with the NGO Samusocial, which works with the homeless.

The concept of the campaign draws on a comparison between the sculptures found in the museum’s courtyard and people without a home. Unlike the latter, the sculptures have someone who takes care of them everyday and they are made to withstand the harshest weather conditions. “Nonetheless, we stop in front of the sculptures to admire them but we often pass by homeless people quickly, indifferently or even bothered,” the museum explained on the campaign in a post on its website.

The statues will be dressed up with various clothing accessories, and informative panels on how those willing can help the homeless will be set up next to them.

As part of the campaign, MNAR will organize on February 12 an area where clothing can be donated. After this date, clothing can be donated at the Samusocial day center (82 Bis Grozăvești Road).

“Art also has the role of raising questions, of generating discussions, of drawing our attention to the problems of society. The National Museum of Art of Romania owns the most important art collection in the country and we wish to make use of it, in the sense that, with its help, we can lend a voice to the quiet, the marginalized or the oppressed. The campaign was born out of this wish,” Liviu Constantinescu, the interim manager of MNAR, explained.

(Photo: Muzeul Național de Artă al României Facebook Page)