The CULTFORT – Urban Cultural Fortress project concluded on October 31st with an interactive cultural fair. Four local artists joined us to teach 20 children and youth from Sighișoara the skills necessary to develop their budding artistic talents.
This interactive cultural fair took place in the Butchers’ Tower, who’s recently restored first and second floors hosted small creative workshops. Witnessing creativity bringing the historical Tower to life was special in and of itself. Gorgeous sunny weather accompanied two other workshops taking place outside in the Bastion. The Tower and Bastion were truly the perfect locations for the workshops, offering picturesque settings in which the children could experiment and find joy in their creations: a pumpkin sown together from recycled materials, paintings on canvas and wood, and T-shirts with their own designs. The children’s siblings, parents, and grandparents all joined in to encourage and admire their artistic endeavors. Fair participants excitedly took home the fruits of their focused creativity at the end of the day.
After the four art workshops, we opened an exhibition of 30 photographs taken during August’s workshops by Cluj-Napoca-based photographer Ștefan Buga. The children were thrilled to see their efforts put on display.
This photography exposition was followed by “Starting Point and Beyond,” an event during which we thanked the friends and collaborators who made the CULTFORT project a success. Guests included the artists who worked with over 100 children throughout the summer, as well as participants from the cultural entrepreneurship training sessions.
Sighișoara’s youth went on to enjoy a themed movie night on October 31st, in an event organized with the Interact Club Sighișoara.
We at the Mihai Eminescu Trust see the success of CULTFORT as proof of the breadth of Sighișoara’s cultural potential. By giving local youth the opportunity to try their hands at multiple crafts, we hope to offer these children more options as they mature and consider various career paths. CULTFORT encapsulates several key elements of our mission: offering access and encouraging youth to participate in culture, revitalizing the Butchers’ Tower and Bastion, fostering appreciation of traditional and modern crafts alike, and promoting local artists.
As we reflect on all that we have accomplished together as part of the CULTFORT project, we want to offer our sincere thanks to all our participants and partners! Although the Bastion’s 2023 programming concludes here, the CULTFORT project has opened the door to new funding opportunities which are currently underway. We hope the Bastion will continue to bring together the people of Sighișoara and guests from across the world for a variety of authentic events.
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