The most recent exhibition by Bogdan Gîrbovan, curated by Diana Marincu, can be seen until July 10 at CdRF Galeria/ Popa Tatu 68. On June 9 and 13, starting at 6 PM, there will also be two guided tours with the artist. Bogdan Gîrbovan (b. 1981) is an artist who constantly seeks “images that don’t exist” in his photographs—those visual presences we overlook, we pass by without noticing, not because we don’t see them, but because we don’t know how to look at them. Often, we lack the tools to access perspectives that are sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes monotonous, requiring patience and time—sometimes inquisitive to the point of irritation, other times full of irony and flavor—through which the artist approaches his subjects. If in past photography series, Bogdan Gîrbovan explored social hierarchies and power relations or differences in social status within communities, this time we see a search placed in the increasingly well-defined trajectory of marginal roads and forgotten zones, a direction he had begun in the project Two Months Nowhere . There, the impulse of self-isolation from the visual noise of a large metropolis manifested fully, aiming to reset the artistic language of photography by disconnecting it from everyday aesthetic oversaturation. Time slowed down, the eye cleared, and identity lines clarified. In continuity with that approach, we can also "read" the current project, perhaps his boldest yet, Place / Living / Home , a series of new photographs—of which we see a representative selection here—acting as a synthesis of these three essential concepts. The photographs result from an almost performative act by the artist, who wanted to observe with his own eyes—and the eye of the camera—what “man’s best friend” sees from inside its kennel. What is the image seen through the opening of this shelter, and what does it mean to substitute the dog’s body with the artist’s? The three photographs monumentalize the original shelter, into which the artist squeezed himself, almost restoring the dignity and scale it deserves. Each “window” cutout of the dog’s shelter symbolizes a stage in human architectural development: from the circle as a solar rosette symbol, suggesting a necessary spiritual development, to the arch supporting the edges of a cross vault, and finally the “little house” symbol, drawn by every child asked to represent “home.” Perspective, horizon, expectation—all are notions we can either heighten or cancel through the image. It’s up to us. You have to think of an image that doesn’t exist. Interview with Bogdan Gîrbovan by Diana Marincu, on the occasion of the Place / Living / Home exhibition. --- Diana Marincu : Dear Bogdan, let’s take a look together at what you’re doing lately: this theme of “dwelling” runs through your entire body of work, but recently it has taken on a new dimension and a shift in perspective. Why did you crawl into a dog kennel, Bogdan? Bogdan Gîrbovan : As you already know, I didn’t just crawl into the dog kennel. I went into the pigsty, the duck coop, I climbed into the hen’s nest, I even rented a crane to look into a stork’s nest (though those are already man-made structures, built to help the birds not get lost in space and time). Then I stuck my hand into birds’ nests to see if I could somehow make another hole through which to look at what the bird sees from the riverbank. All this led to me finding a dog kennel with a hole in the back, a missing plank, and I thought, “Let’s look through that little gap.” So it was something born out of coincidence, a kind of research as an exercise in seeking through a mistake. When I bent down to see what the dog sees and looked through that ship porthole-like hole, the first photo came out—the one with the bones. I was fascinated by how the interior tells you something about the dog’s size or strength. And from all these multiple searches—which took me even to the cemetery, where I photographed pigeon nests that had found refuge there—this project was born. After taking that first photo from the kennel, I thought it was so powerful to get that close to man’s best friend in this way. And then I kept searching for kennels, though it was really difficult. I managed to photograph 12 kennels over 2 years. D.M.: You can definitely tell they’re carefully chosen and each one is different. Even though you were already interested in dwelling, this time there’s an added layer. It’s also about shelter, with a slightly different nuance—when we think about the refuge, the place you hide. B.G.: Yes, exactly. You’re hidden, sheltered, in a place to recharge, you’re protected. There’s also the connotation of a “fortress”; it’s a safe space, it’s also about belonging. And of course, that’s your place and no one else’s—except for a stray photographer, occasionally. (laughs) Every being has its own place, whether it’s a fish entering an old shell or a dog curling up in a kennel. From my point of view, I managed to synthesize this area: place / living / home . “Place” leads you to the physical construction side, “living” suggests shelter, and “home” seems to already be something aesthetic, comfortable. D.M.: Compared to your other series where you looked at living or housing, here you’re no longer just an observer. You’re an actor. You place a double lens: what the dog sees on one hand, and what the camera lens sees on the other. It feels to me like at that moment, you practically replace the dog’s body—you identify with its perspective. B.G.: Yes, because I’ve always felt like a loyal dog. I realized that everyone around me is playing a role, and mine is to be faithful to the very end, just like a dog that never snaps. D.M.: This identification of yours with the subject intrigues me, because you’re no longer that observer-photographer—you’re almost a performer. I imagine the working process, where you get inside the dog kennel, and it already becomes a much broader project than what we strictly see in the photo. It’s something you activated physically, with your body—something latent. B.G.: Yes, with the owners’ permission, I basically rented the dog’s house for a second. Just for a second, I lived there and enjoyed the dog’s home. I didn’t criticize it because, being a dog, I liked them all. (smiles) But I don’t have any making-of photos, because doing this whole searching route alone—with drills and gear on my back—I focused entirely on that one photo, and I couldn’t film myself. It was really hard to explain to the owners what I was doing—that I needed to remove the back of the kennel—and to convince them of my approach. I remember with the 10/1 project, too—there’s always this intense emotion when you enter a new home, when you take your shoes off and feel a little humble. Then you start to notice the smells. Then you observe the light, then the landscape visible through the window—or the dog’s porthole—and you’re so overwhelmed that every other concern disappears. And that’s when I feel best. D.M.: Well, it's better that there's no making-of, we imagine the whole process ourselves. You don't always need to see everything. I know there's this incredible thirst to see it all, but not everything has to be translated into images—that’s where the artistic act comes in. Each of your projects has something emblematic, iconic. That’s a unique quality of the image, one that’s been increasingly lost due to its democratization. Very few people still seek this symbolic quality of the image. And its potential to become somehow universal. B.G.: I know, I kept telling everyone: “Guys, you need to think of an image that doesn’t exist.” I know that sounds impossible. When I was explaining an unrealized project to a curator, she said: “I don’t believe it, that image doesn’t exist!” Exactly, it doesn’t—**I** create it; from today on, it exists. D.M.: That’s exactly what I think is truly a conquest of photographic art—not the capture of existing views, but the capture of images that don’t exist. B.G.: Exactly, yes, yes. A friend told me: “Bogdan, I swear, it’s really simple—you got into a doghouse, you took a picture, but a new line appeared in my brain. I never thought about anything like that in my life.” It’s like telling someone: “Look, you have a nose. You don’t see it because it’s so close to your eyes, but it’s there, and it’s beautiful, and it smells, and it does a lot of work.” That’s kind of how this guy felt when he saw the doghouses. So yes, I want images that don’t exist. D.M.: But what did you learn beyond the image you created? What did you find out about the relationship with space, with architecture, about the size of a person in relation to all these things—about what it’s like to think small, not just big? Because this obsession with scale haunts us all—we all want to think big. What’s it like to think and place yourself in a space that actually makes you small? B.G.: The feeling is overwhelming. Every time I entered a doghouse, I’d sit with the owner next to me—the person who built it—and it was very strange because everyone around us, neighbors, friends, would gather and laugh, while I was focusing on constructing the “smallness” I needed to get inside. And they’d laugh about how stupid the artists from Bucharest are. I came across a doghouse in Transylvania that was big and spacious—the owner told me he respects animals a lot, and even if the dog isn’t that big, the house is. Then I went somewhere in the Predeal–Brașov area where the owner had made a kind of enclosure, large and imposing. Of course, the architectures differ—people in the south don’t really care, they just nail together some old windows, with the mindset that “this’ll do,” while the others buy materials and use screws. The ones from the first category are very hard to repair after we take them apart. Everything from farther north was of higher quality—OSB boards, you could tell people had bought decent materials to build the doghouse. You know how I felt inside? Like in high school when I did speleology. I felt a bit scared because the first sensation is claustrophobia, and the strongest impression is the smell; then you start thinking about what you see—you’re happy if it’s something nice, and you get sad if it’s just a fence. When you enter the doghouse, it’s like trying on a medieval bracelet very carefully so you don’t break it. Now I’m making the prints in such a way that there’s space, so you’re not stressed, you can look calmly and know that you can be there anytime. D.M.: It’s a redimensioning that allows you to breathe more freely, right? B.G.: Yes, I overemphasized them. D.M.: But speaking of what you see—you were saying that in some cases you enjoyed what you saw through the kennel opening, taking the dog’s perspective, while at other times you were disappointed. Tell me, how much does what we see out the window every day matter? B.G.: It definitely matters. I don’t know to what extent it matters for dogs; the dog is a free animal, it’s outside all day and retreats at night. But even so, it seems grotesque to place the kennel against a wall or facing a fence—it feels a bit inhuman to me. Some are lucky, some are not. D.M.: And for us, humans, how much does this matter? It’s said that everything we see from an early age builds our entire visual universe. B.G.: I think it’s a complex cognitive issue, but since the brain is still insufficiently studied, everything is open to interpretation. Here, buildings and houses are constructed according to roads, and never has it been a priority what a person sees out the window. Only now are we starting to ask: but what do you see out your window? Do you enjoy what’s happening beyond your window? We feel lucky even if we see an industrial landscape—I mean, you tell your friends, look, a Berlin-style view—we enjoy the smokestacks still standing like mammoths that you can see from your window on the 10th floor in Dristor (editor’s note: a neighborhood in Bucharest). D.M.: The outside represents the world. B.G.: I asked dog owners why they placed the kennels like that: “Well, damn, I just put it like that.” I’m interested in majorities, not in the minority that sleeps with their dog in bed in the city—that’s why I traveled to small towns and villages. D.M.: Let’s go back to the photos on display. Why did you turn the photograph into an object for exhibition? These oversized, monumental objects that also emit light—you turned them into lightboxes. Why? B.G.: Because the first impression, when you enter such a small and claustrophobic space like a dog’s kennel, is the overwhelming sensation of light coming at you from the front—almost irritating, because it’s also very hard to photograph that setting. I had to shoot contre-jour, use technical tricks to balance the interior and exterior, and that’s why I want the light to come toward the viewer, to overwhelm them just like I felt inside that tiny kennel. I turned them into large and luxurious objects because, if I’ve been a faithful dog, I deserve a good bone to chew on. (laughs) D.M.: So it’s basically a translation of the working experience. B.G.: I gathered and accumulated all the energies and feelings I had and tried to create an object that’s close to the state I was in. I made them luminous because the light constantly blinded me and it was very hard to photograph them—and the result was such a pleasing image. D.M.: There’s a nice contrast between the povera-style aesthetic of the kennel and the elegance of the object. B.G.: Some people told me I should have made them out of broken wood, to match the image, but I wanted contrast. If I were photographing a gold jewel and wanted to highlight it, I’d put it in an old wooden box and make a poor lightbox. But when I see a poor dog kennel, I want to keep it like an icon, in a precious frame. D.M.: The kennel becomes a cathedral. B.G.: Exactly—it has to overwhelm you. D.M.: I told you—it’s like a synthesis of humanity’s architectural achievements over time, especially with the symbolic shapes cut into the little house. B.G.: Yes, you opened my mind with the circle, the oval, and the little house—they’re gorgeous like that. D.M.: There you can also see this conquest of space by humans, who have always wanted to build and innovate. But we’re returning to simple formulas that have been around for centuries—to the symbols of dwelling and something timeless. We’re returning to basic forms. B.G.: Yes, survival is minimal. You know, I look a lot at Japanese culture, and I read bits here and there, and everything boils down to very simple things: gardening, food, and fresh air. I transformed myself based on each dog’s little house. D.M.: How does the project continue? B.G.: Now I’m going to look more at birds, but I want to take a short break from Place / Dwelling / Home. Next, I want to focus on what is truly invisible—on underground waters. This is a new project about desertification in the south, about water scarcity. I’ll go in July, when nothing moves. Photography loves things that don’t move. D.M.: I also like an image that teaches you how to breathe. It doesn’t hound you. B.G.: I’m still looking for something I noticed last summer: that in July, shadows are under the objects—you don’t see any shadow. I’m going into wells searching for the shadow beneath the earth—that’s what I’ll do this summer. --- Bogdan Gîrbovan  (b. 1981, Drobeta-Turnu Severin) graduated from the Bucharest University of Arts with the photo series 10/1 , which became his most well-known work—ten interior landscapes capturing the distinct characteristics of the same built space, at different floors—a series that still has viral resonance online. His photography explores imagery that escapes the aesthetic oversaturation of contemporary visuals, analyzes categories through personal narratives, and investigates the transitional relationship between nature and humans. His projects, including Uniforms and Garments , RAPI , 5\@14 , and Two Months Nowhere , have been exhibited in Bucharest, Lodz, Timișoara, Krakow, Paris, Madrid, Zurich, Prague, Venice, Istanbul, and Chicago. His photographs have been published in Punctum , NYArts Magazine , Fotografija , IDEA , Post Photography , and National Geographic . He is the author of two artist books: RAPI (2017), in collaboration with Michele Bressan, and Categories (published in collaboration with Galeria Posibilă in 2019). Diana Marincu  is a curator and art critic, currently artistic director of the Art Encounters Foundation in Timișoara, and a board member of IKT since 2025. Between 2012–2018, she collaborated with Plan B Foundation in Cluj and with Fabrica de Pensule. Between 2015 and 2017, she co-curated, alongside Anca Verona Mihuleț, the six-part curatorial project The White Dot and the Black Cube , held at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Bucharest. In 2017, together with Ami Barak, she curated the second edition of the Art Encounters Biennial, titled Life – A User’s Manual . For the Romania–France Season in 2018–2019, she curated two exhibitions in France, accompanied by catalogues, at MUCEM in Marseille and FRAC des Pays de la Loire. Through her work with the Art Encounters Foundation, Diana Marincu aims to explore links between neighboring artistic scenes in the region, build artistic connections based on cooperation/co-production, and support young generations of artists. Photo * Sorin Florea Strategic partners:  Mobius Gallery & Art Encounters Foundation.

The Soviet circus was not just a form of entertainment, but a profound cultural phenomenon – one that transcended social and economic divisions, uniting communities through a shared spectacle. Through the project КИО / KIO, Andreea Ilie examines the architectural, artistic and socio-political significance of Soviet circus buildings, investigating their role as instruments of collective identity and ideological cohesion. In the Soviet cultural landscape, the circus functioned as an essential public space, encouraging inclusion and community engagement. Performances were meticulously designed to appeal to diverse audiences while reinforcing state narratives and cultivating a sense of collective pride. Through an interdisciplinary approach, which includes sculpture and photography, КИО / KIO recontextualizes these structures, reflecting on their enduring legacy as spaces of artistic expression and social unification. The installation is an exploration of the power of shared spaces, reconsidering the circus not just as a relic of the past, but as a resonant symbol of collective experience and cultural memory. Andreea Ilie (b. 2001) is a visual artist, currently studying Photography and Videography at the National University of Arts in Bucharest. His artistic practice explores the relationship between architecture and the psyche, with a particular focus on socialist architecture. Using photography, ceramics and metal as his main means of expression, his works address themes related to collective experience and community. Her evocative images and sculptural interventions offer insight into the complexity of social structures, supporting spaces that promote unity. Through her works, the artist addresses themes such as fragmentation and isolation, inviting reflection on the power of collective action and the potential for social transformation.

In 2025, we are taking the CdRF educational program to a new stage, with very varied proposals that complement the Photography School, which has reached its 4th generation. By the way, stay tuned because we will soon launch the 5th edition of the School, a certified course for beginners that aims to guide you through the basics of photography and bring you to the point where you know what you want to photograph, why you want to photograph that thing/moment/person and why.   In April 2025 we are launching 2 workshops on developing black and white film and printing. The first is an introduction to the developing process and the second is 1-on-1 and teaches you the processes of enlargement, dodge and burn, printing, etc. It is a workshop suitable for anyone who takes photos on film and is interested in controlling the process all the way to the print or if you are simply curious about how things were done before Photoshop. In May 2025 we have a masterclass with Bogdan Gârbovan in which you will learn about what you can do with your photos – how to transform them into artistic works, how to present them further to gallery owners, curators, collectors, etc. During the course, Bogdan will also give an explanatory tour of the exhibition he will have at the same time at ours. It is a masterclass you need if you want to better understand how to sell art photography. In June we start an in-depth course in photographic project with Andrei Păcuraru. His students at the School of Photography know his concern for the photographic project; in short, he is the most suitable person to guide you and help you shed light on the tens of thousands of photos you have and that you don't know how to order and group. It is a suitable course if you want to take your photography from the level of snapshots and stand-alone images to the level of concept and photographic project. In September we invite you to the in-depth studio photography course . It will be intense and full of insights from Ionuț Staicu, a fashion photographer for the last 30 years and a product photographer for the last 5 years. It is a suitable course if you want to do commercial studio photography. In addition to these, we will soon launch others on the topic of fashion, conscious photography, writing, the art market circuit, etc. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to subscribe to the newsletter or follow us on Insta or Facebook.

We invite you to discover "Lingua Matrimonia Study No. 17" - the exhibition signed by visual artist and conceptual photographer Eliza Lupu, which will take place on March 20, at 6:00 PM, at Popa Tatu 68. "Lingua Matrimonia Study No. 17" represents a unique piece in an ongoing artistic process, in which each work is a fragment of a universal and spiritual search. Eliza Lupu explores the human body through the lens of the camera, capturing the purity, impurity and strangeness of reality. Her art approaches the body both as a symbol and as an archive of memory, beyond conscious thought. The underlying themes of his works include sexuality, intimacy, and love, and natural landscapes become extensions of the body, where the physical and the spiritual intersect. "Each of us is, at this moment, part of history" is a central thought that shines through in every photograph. Come explore a personal and sensitive perspective on the human body in contemporary art. We open our doors on March 20, at 6:00 PM, Popa Tatu Street 68.

From the curator: The artist is searching absolute freedom from the exterior in the etymological sense of absolvere: releasing, letting go, and is more inclined to search herself and her memories. And so her development of art, no longer needs the explicit rendition of the world as its principal means of expression. RUUCA shifts the accent to a poetic image as a more direct representation of her inner self. She releases herself from burden of expressing subjectivity and thus her work, gains autonomy and stands on it’s own. An art no longer subordinated to the task of representing reality. From the artist: I have started the project last year when I moved to London. It encompasses images of all the places I have been to in this time frame, reflecting my search of my place in this world.  My artistic process doubles as my own therapeutic process as I am on a venture of not only to discover where I belong in terms of spatiality but also in terms of self understanding. Throughout this venture I feel compelled to photograph everything in order to exist, belong and lately understand more about me. The images are associated with memories sometimes they are vivid, other times they are unclear. You will see textures, silhouettes and a play of light and shadow; I see family figures, old routines and various emotions.

CdRF becomes the meeting place for ten renowned curators who will get in touch with Romanian photography and meet some of the most representative photographers in a unique event. It promises to be a busy weekend. Friday from 18.00 - the opening of the exhibitions signed by Ioana Moldovan and PAC, Saturday from 12.00 - presentation of portfolios, Sunday - mingle. It really happens and we managed to align some planets, not a few and we thank Rezo Agency for the support. The ten curators are: Barbara Čeferin, Natan Dvir, Sára Jeleňová, Weronika Kobylińska, Jenny Lindhe, Wiktoria Michalkiewicz, Arianna Rinaldo, Marta Szymanska, István Virágvölgyi, Jessica Williams. Barbara Čeferin Barbara Čeferin is the owner of Galerija Fotografija, which she runs, and a member of the organizing and curatorial committee of Kranj Foto Fest. Over the past 18 years, Barbara has organized more than 150 exhibitions of Slovenian and foreign artists in Galerija Fotografija, as well as in other locations in Slovenia and abroad. In 2018, under her guidance, at the Slovenian Book Fair she opened a special section for photography books called Fotocona. In 2022, Galerija Fotografija was one of the founders of ETC. The magazine, dedicated to the presentation of current artistic production from the Baltic Sea to the Balkans. Natan Dvir Natan Dvir is an educator and conceptual documentary photographer who focuses on the human aspects of cultural, social and political issues. He received an MBA from Tel Aviv University and an MA in photography from the School of Visual Arts (NY), after which he became an adjunct faculty member at the International Center of Photography (ICP). Sára Jeleňová Sára Jeleňová currently works in the curatorial team of the festival of contemporary photography and new media OFF Bratislava. He is also curator and exhibition coordinator in the FOG Gallery. Her work is deeply rooted in a passion for contemporary photography, with a focus on supporting new talent and innovative visual approaches. Her approach to curating emphasizes cultural dialogue and the exploration of diverse artistic expressions, reflecting Sara's commitment to enriching the photography community both locally and internationally. Weronika Kobylińska Dr. Weronika Kobylińska, president of the Photo Archeology Foundation in Warsaw, is an art historian, curator and professor at the National Film, Television and Theater School in Łódź. She coordinates the Polish branch of the international research network Ars Graphica. Her second book, focused on Polish photography ("The Avant-Garde Film"), was nominated for the J. Długosz Award (2022). Jenny Lindhe Jenny Lindhe works as an artist and curator, graduate of the School of Photography, Gothenburg University. Heads the exhibition department of Landskrona Art Hall & Museum / Landskrona Photo. She is also the founder and organizer of the Landskrona Foto & Breadfield Dummy Award and publisher of Breadfield Press. Wiktoria Michalkiewicz Dr Wiktoria Michałkiewicz is an interdisciplinary specialist with a deep passion for stories, talent management, journalism and photography. Operating from multiple global hubs in Warsaw (Poland), Stockholm (Sweden) and Lisbon (Portugal), Dr. Michałkiewicz bridges cultures and perspectives, connecting artists with opportunities around the world. Dr. Michałkiewicz was instrumental in the expansion of Fotografiska Stockholm to Tallinn and New York as part of Fotografiska International. Arianna Rinaldo Arianna Rinaldo is a freelance professional who works with photography in a wide range. From 2012 to 2021 he was artistic director of Cortona On The Move, international festival of visual narrative. Since 2016 she has been curator of photography at PhEST, a photography and contemporary arts festival in Puglia. He is on the selection committee of various institutions, including the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, the British Photography Journal "Ones to Watch" and the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Award. Marta Szymanska Marta Szymanska is a photography curator from Poland. She co-founded Fotofestiwal - the International Photography Festival in Lodz in 2005 and is a member of the curatorial team responsible for the festival program. He was deputy director of the Foundation for the Archeology of Photography, which deals with the preservation, development and promotion of archives of Polish photographers. Her curatorial experience also includes cooperation with the Lodz Art Museum, Poland; Photography Month in Minsk, Belarus; CinEast Central and Eastern Film Festival in Luxembourg and others. István Virágvölgyi Since 2014 he has been working as a curator of the Robert Capa Center for Contemporary Photography, and since 2023 he is also the artistic director; is secretary of the Capa Ungaria Grand Prize and editor of the Weekly Fortepan blog. Since 2016 he has been a cultural adviser of the Archiabe of Pannonhalma, since 2018 volunteer editor of the digital photo archive Fortepan, since 2021 member of the board of directors of the József Pécsi Photography Scholarship for young artists. Jessica Williams Jessica Williams is a conceptual artist, curator, editor and educator whose vast practice is based on the act of seeing. Her works, often collective and collaborative, address uncomfortable and complex themes that affect us all, including belonging and the climate crisis. Publishing, photography, text and new media are often combined to produce intimate, layered and visceral works of art. — The project does not necessarily represent the position of the National Cultural Fund Administration. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or how the results of the project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the beneficiary of the funding. Cultural project co-financed by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund.

When: August 28 - September 3 Where: Photography Resource Center / Popa Tatu 68 It happens. How do we celebrate the opening of the Photography Resource Center (CdRF) other than with pomp (or, rather, with fest)? IS THIS A FEST? it's an artistic, educational and photography promotion event for any photography enthusiast, from amateurs to professionals with fancy lenses. With and about photography, IS THIS A FEST? comes to the aid of aspiring photographers. We know what it's like to get lost in all the tips & tricks content on YouTube. We offer four workshops on introduction to composition (August 28, with Andrei Păcuraru), product photography with the phone (August 29, with Sorin Florea), portraiture (August 30, with Cornel Lazia) and aesthetics (August 31, with Adi Bulboacă) . Between September 1 - 3 we organize openings (we fill the walls with photos and marvel at them), artist talks (because it's not enough to take a photo, you have to talk about it), parties (how artists feel good ), masterclass (for master photographers), portfolio reviews (for photographers looking for a job or who want to sell themselves better) and partnerships with other galleries (networking at its best). To make the experience complete, the photography festival IS THIS A FEST? brings together some of the best Romanian and Norwegian photographers. We want international recognition of Romanian photography. There is nothing like it in the cultural landscape of Bucharest, a "home" for photography lovers. CdRF provides an ideal space to spend the day, the Is This Art? gallery, a haven for amateurs, beginners or experts in photography, but we welcome you even if you just want to drink a good coffee. We connect photos with each other, but also with professionals from other fields and with the general public.

* The artistic residency on the theme "Sexualization of women and femininity" is ongoing. The two artists selected following the call are Virginia Lupu and Ilina Schileru. Soon we announce artist talks with them, masterclasses and the exhibition. * The CdRF team is in full process of mentoring on cultural entrepreneurship in photography. Among our mentors are Dr. Wiktoria Michałkiewicz (Fotografiska, REZO), Amelie Schüle (FOAM), Ellen K Willas (Willas Gallery) or Natan Dvir (ICP). We learn and improve CdRF with their help. * We launched the CdRF school. We have the most consistent and serious photography course, the equivalent of an academic program. We also have an early bird promotion until May 10th. Places are very limited, the course is state of the art. It starts in June and ends in August. At the end you will know not only what to do with the camera but also what to do in photography. * The next workshops are "Rooftops" with Cornel Lazia, "Performance Photography" with Adi Bulboacă and "Editorial Photography" with Ionuț Staicu. * We are preparing the official opening of the space. In June we will be waiting for you to visit – at the gallery, at the library or simply for a coffee. * We are preparing new pop-up events at OTOTO Victoriei. We will announce details soon. * We have started working on the CdRF archive and curating materials from the body of work of our photographers that tell stories of our recent cultural history. * We are preparing the photography festival. In September 2023. Details coming soon. What we can say at the moment is that we will have masterclasses held by international lecturers. See you soon!

We have launched a call to offer a residency. For visual artists, of course. That's what we do at the Photography Resource Center. We also have a theme, namely: Sexualization of women and femininity within a minority in Romania. What the resident should do: follow the exploration of the sexualization of women and femininity within a minority, how the phenomenon propagates, if there are customs and visible repercussions within the community. Attention, we are talking about an international experience. Because the residency involves the collaboration between two visual artists who work mainly with photography to create one or more works. The team will consist of one artist from Norway and one from Romania. The two artists will be selected by the CdRF team from those who will respond to this call. The artists who will be selected will receive promotion and exposure, more precisely there will be two joint events to present the artistic approach and discuss with the public in Bucharest, at the Center's headquarters, on Strada Popa Tatu, 68. We will have a final exhibition with the completed work(s) (we do not aim to reach a certain number of works!), also at our place, at CdRF. Nonetheless, there will be a workshop/masterclass held by each of the two artists on a topic relevant to their artistic approach, also in Bucharest, also at CdRF. How long is the residency? One month. From February 23 to March 23. The allocated budget: 20,000 lei for each artist (around 4000 EUR). The money covers: the artist's fee and the logistical costs of accommodation, transport, etc. An important note, you know how it is in such cases: CdRF as organizer retains partial right to the final work or works. The call is open until February 13, 2023, 11:59 p.m. Those who will apply must send an email to hello@cdrf.ro with the following: - a brief description (maximum one A4 page) of the artistic project proposal for the residence; - portfolio in pdf format. We will announce the results of the selection on the website www.cdrf.ro on February 17, 2023, not earlier, but not later. For any questions about this project, we invite you to contact us in writing at hello@cdrf.ro. We will answer you. #supportlocalphotographers #supportlocalphotography #sprijinăfotografiilocali #sprijinăfotografialocala #CdRF #resursefoto #rocultura #eeagrants The Photography Resource Center project is financed by the EEA Grants 2014 - 2021 within the RO-CULTURE Program. The EEA Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway towards a green, competitive and inclusive Europe. There are two overall objectives: reduction of economic and social disparities in Europe, and to strengthen bilateral relations between the donor countries and 15 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltics. The three donor countries cooperate closely with the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). The donors have provided €3.3 billion through consecuti ve grant schemes between 1994 and 2014. For the period 2014-2021, the EEA Grants amount to €1.55 billion. More details are available on: www.eeagrants.org and www.eeagrants.ro. RO-CULTURE is implemented in Romania by the Ministry of Culture through the Project Management Unit. The Programme aims at strengthening social and economic development through cultural cooperation, cultural entrepreneurship and cultural heritage management. The total budget amounts to almost 34 million EUR. For more details access: www.ro-cultura.ro

Photo credit: Alex Iacob/ www.reptilianul.ro Last weekend was the #rooftops photography workshop coordinated by Cornel Lazia. In the words of Cornel "On the roofs all the sounds merge into a certain tonality, which I like to think gives the city an auditory signature that becomes relatively emblematic of the city itself." We started at Nor Sky Casual Restaurant, 136 meters above the city, where Cornel gave a presentation on how he approaches photography. The sky was clear and, being cold outside, visibility was very good (hint: the colder it gets the visibility is the better). At one point, a hawk passed by and posed for photos like a professional. Then, we moved from the north of Bucharest to Pantelimon, to the water tower managed by the Make a Point Association. With a bit of height sickness, we climbed the metal staircase that surrounds the tower and photographed blocks, shapes and lights characteristic of the neighborhood. From Pantelimon we moved to Prelungirea Ghencea where we climbed a high building and where we detached ourselves from the noise of the city and photographed it as a conglomeration of blocks of flats pressed by clouds. The last two rooftops brought us back to the center, being an interesting counterpoint to the bedroom neighborhoods photographed until then. First we went to the Sheraton Hotel, with a unique view of the Romană - Grădina Icoanei areas, where we caught a little rain and a rainbow; then to Magheru One, where we arrived just in time for the blue hour. The second day was the feedback, with Cornel commenting and offering suggestions on the participants' photos. We leave you with some photos of the rooftops atmosphere and get back to work as we have a busy week ahead - on November 26 and 27 we are waiting for you at the CdRF Foto Market. The whole team is coming (including Cornel and his wonderful photos). We promise to show you carefully printed photos, offer advice on the best visual gifts to give friends and family this December, play nice music carefully chosen by our team, talk about photography, and on Saturday evening, from 6:30 p.m., we are waiting for you with a glass of wine at Mezanin to socialize and present who we are and what we want from life. See you Saturday! CdRF team

The mission of the Photography Resource Center (CdRF) is taking Romanian photography to more international dimensions; we want Romanian photographers and their photos to have a greater presence, higher value and better visibility on international markets on the long term. In our view, an integrated system is needed to combine the synergies of education, work opportunities, exposure, production and sale of photography. CdRF's core pillars are educational, artistic and entrepreneurial consulting. We put the photographer in the center and try to offer solutions for his/her needs, from workflow and technical organisation to exposure, promotion and support in artistic endeavours. CdRF was conceived and planned by a homogeneous group with experience in various fields of photography. The coordination is ensured by Andreea Leu, Olga Abramescu and Alex Molovata and Ioana Moldovan, Andrei Păcuraru, Adrian Bulboacă, Cornel Lazia, Cristina Irian, Ionuț Staicu and Silviu Gheție are the center's core team. Each of them becomes a teacher, facilitator and mentor in relation to the CdRF community; each helps create the frame needed to bring the photograph into focus. In 2022 we are launching a program of courses, workshops and events. At the beginning of 2023, we are launching the 180-hour CdRF flagship course, given by 6 professors and accredited by ANC (The National Qualifications Authority), which starts with the history of photography and ends with a personal portfolio. Also in 2023, thanks to the partnership we have with Morten Bruun, we are bringing specialists and photographers from Norway for masterclasses and events in Bucharest. Last but not least, we have thought about and will launch artistic residencies, curate exhibitions and in the second half of the year we will organize a photography festival. For professional photographers we propose specialization courses, CdRF meetings for networking and discussions about photography, customization services according to their needs and a sustained approach to selling prints (not as a stock image but as an artistic product). For amateurs we propose longer or shorter courses, more theoretical or more practical (e.g. Introduction to photographic technique, Photo editing or the 180-hour course), photo workshops, one Tuesday per month of experiment (an event dedicated to the CdRF community in which we create, we play, we break rules under the guidance of a professional) and CdRF events. For non-photographers who appreciate photography, we offer photography history courses, exhibitions, print sales events and CdRF meetings. And for those who work with photography but do not take photos, we offer courses such as Product photography for entrepreneurs or B2B services. The CdRF space will be open from January 2023 and will include a library with over 100 titles, workspace (for post-processing), a small studio for experiments and learning, and a dedicated exhibition area. From January 2023 we will meet every Tuesday evening at the experiment session, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at classes (theoretical sessions), Fridays at openings and CdRF meetings, Saturdays and Sundays at practice sessions and workshops. Until then, we are waiting for you at the courses and workshops announced for this end of 2022 on www.cdrf.ro, at the CdRF meetings at Studio Opera (Sfinții Apostoli 44) and we invite you to the Mezzanine (Palatul Universul) on November 26 and 27 at the first print sale event.