Several fairs occasioned by the upcoming spring celebrations of Dragobete and Mărțișor take place in Bucharest, which also hosts this weekend the International Literature Festival Odesa, in addition to recently opened exhibition with works by Jonathan Lasker and Théo Massoulier.

In Bucharest:

International Literature Festival Odesa

February 22 – February 25

The Goethe Institut in Bucharest hosts the ninth edition of the event, which turned itinerant after the start of the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian writers Iia Kiva, Yuri Vynnychuk, and Vasyl Makhno, Philip Sands from the United Kingdom, Olivier Guez from France, Daniel Kehlmann and Norman Ohler from Germany, Karl-Markus Gauss from Austria, Ariane von Graffenried and Jonas Luscher from Switzerland, and Ilaria Gaspari from Italy are among the guests. Entrance is free. More details here.

Dragobete Fair

February 24 – February 25

The fair, which marks the local celebration of Dragobete, a symbol of love, takes place at the Dimitrie Gusti Village Museum. Artisans will bring their creations to the fair as well as various traditional products. The program also includes a recital of old Romanian songs from various regions of the country. More details here.

Târgul Mărțișorului

February 24 – February 29

The Romanian Peasant Museum hosts this event celebrating the custom marking the beginning of spring. Artisans who created various reinterpretations of the symbol with roots in the rural universe will be present at the fair, alongside be schools, foundations, associations and non-profits supporting various social causes. The public can also find here various home-made food items, sweets, fruit preserves, and plant infusions. More details here.

Bazaar de Mărțișor 

February 24 – February 25

Small entrepreneurs bring their products at this fair held at Victoria Hub. Visitors can find here various Mărțișor gifts, hand-made or second-hand, from jewelry, candles, and decorations to accessories, cosmetics, paintings, clothing and more. Further info here.

Warm-up OWR #17 – Focus Ukraine

February 24

The screening of Ivan Ostrochovský and Pavol Pekarčík’s Photophobia, the first warm-up in preparation for One World Romania 17, marks two years since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and takes place at Cinema Elvire Popesco. The event is organized with the support of EUNIC Romania and is part of the 9th International Literature Festival Odesa. More details here.

George Enescu Philharmonic concerts

February 22, 23

Constantine Orbelian conducts the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra in a program of works by Alexander Arutiunian, Aram Haciaturian, and Tchaikovsky. Violinist Mihaela Martin is the soloist. Further details here.

Great painters in the Prado Museum – film screenings

Until February 23

The National Museum of Art of Romania (MNAR) hosts this series of documentary screenings about important Spanish artist or who had a connection with Spain. On February 23, Miguel Ángel Trujillo’s Patinir, the invention of landscape is scheduled. Access is based on the ticket to the exhibition Benito Román: The Prodigious Decade. The Living Constitution. The documentaries are screened with English and Romanian subtitles. More here.

The Universe of Salvador Dalí

Until May 12

ARCUB hosts this exhibition encompassing some 170 works by Salvador Dalí, ranging from sculptures and engravings to drawings, miniatures, and furniture. The exhibited items are part of Beniamino Levi’s collection. More details here.

Victor Brauner. Between the oneiric and the occult

Until April 30

The exhibition at the National Museum of Art of Romania (MNAR) focused on the Surrealist painter brings together works from the collections of local and European museums – paintings, drawings, books, magazines and more. More here.

Benito Román: The Prodigious Decade. The Living Constitution

Until February 25

The National Museum of Art of Romania (MNAR) hosts this photography exhibition curated by Chema Conesa and organized in a partnership with the Cervantes Institute in Bucharest. The photos of Benito Román, described as “an authentic portrait of a decade in which we Spaniards discovered faith in ourselves,” showcase the day to day of apparently insubstantial events that have turned into an account of the sociopolitical change of the country. More details here. 

Jonathan Lasker: Paintings from Five Decades

Until May 11

The solo exhibition of the New-York-based painter is open at the Museum of Recent Art (MARe) in Bucharest. The show, part of MARe’s international program, includes 15 large-size works by the artist, created over the past five decades and selected from various European collections. More details here.

Théo Massoulier: Organism

February 23 – March 30

Théo Massoulier’s first solo show with Gaep presents new sculptures, assemblages and paintings that investigate our relationship with technology and the distinction between alive and non-alive. Further details here and here.

Experimental I

Until February 24

An experimental photography exhibition by artist Marius Adrian is open at the Pop Up Window of Kulterra Gallery (104 - 106 Știrbey Vodă). Further details here.

Love in Amzei: A Manifest for the Many Languages of Tenderness

Until February 28

The exhibition gathers works of a group of emerging and established artists, showcasing works from private collections but also creations show to the public for the first time “in a manifesto for affection, tenderness, care, and empathy.” The artists included in the show are Beatrice Arzoiu, Sasha Bandi, Suzana Dan, Andrei Gamarț, Claudia Larcher, Pandele Pandele, Norica Popescu, Lea Rasovszky, Gino Rubert, Roman Tolici, and Ecaterina Vrana. The exhibition is open 13 Piața Amzei. More here.

Alice in Wonderland @ Botanical Garden

Until March 3

This outdoor multimedia exhibition combining light and music, open at Dimitrie Brandza Botanical Garden, invites children and grownups alike to discover the magical universe of Alice in Wonderland. Further details here.

In the country

Rituals, Keepers and Storms

Until March 9

The exhibition, open at Isho House / Art Encounters Foundation in Timișoara, showcases works by the late artist Ioana Nemeș and is meant as a “gesture of reassessment and documentary research of the body of works Relics for the Afterfuture (Brown).” More here.

Classix Festival

Until February 25

This is the fifth edition of the event taking place in Iași. This year’s theme invites the public “to explore the multidimensional nature of desire in the world of classical music, from the subtle to the passionate.” The program is available here.

(Photo: Cristina Alexe/ Dreamstime)

editor@romania-insider.com