The Culture Minister, Bogdan Gheorghiu, stated on Friday that Art Safari represents one of the emblematic events for Romania and expressed his conviction that there are many lovers of plastic arts that desire an extension of the visitation period.
"This year I was delighted to be able to visit, together with my son, the most ample art exhibition, which has become a tradition in our country. Art Safari represents one of the emblematic events for Romania, with over 163,000 visitors over the seven editions. Unfortunately, we are able to visit Art Safari only until Sunday, September 20. I saw how long the line formed by visitors on Calea Victoriei was and I am convinced that there are many of us who desire an extension of the event," wrote Gheorghiu on Facebook.
The minister remarked the courage of the organizers "to move forward, taking into account all the protection measures imposed by the pandemic" and that "they continued promoting Romanian contemporary art and Bucharest urban culture", but also the role of the National Committee for Museums and Collections, of the Ministry of Culture, who "offered support and a short waiting time to approve exhibition files."
"But an important role was also played by museums, as well as by institutions that participated with important works in the Gheorghe Petrascu, Sabin Balasa retrospectives, but also in the declarative exhibition of the Bucharest School. (...) In the future, I would like to see much courage and proactiveness on the part of the museums that were reticent to participate in the Gheorghe Petrascu grand retrospective, in the pandemic context. We need as many of these exhibitions as possible, to bring the public's attention back to national artists," Bogdan Gheorghiu also wrote.
Works signed by Gheorghe Petrascu, Sabin Balasa, Gilli Avissar, worth 12 million euro, are exhibited, in the September 10-20 period, as part of Art Safari. This year, the event is taking place, as a first, in two spaces: in Victoria Tower, in central Bucharest, where pavilions for artworks were organized, and in the AFI Cotroceni mall, where visitors have free access and can discover unique installations.