The first art installation of the Gallery in the Pond project, initiated by the Ivan Patzaichin-Mila 23 Association, was completed on Wednesday, the artistic residency program that brought artists from the United States, Bulgaria and Romania to the Danube Delta, thus becoming a way to internationally promote the reserve.

At the same time, the inhabitants of the village of Mila 23, who are doing their last-minute shopping for the Easter holidays, are wondering whether they will have a priest on Easter night in the local church, and say that there is a shortage of priests who know the Slavic language, as there are large groups of Lipovans in the communities of the Delta.

The first art installation completed under the Gallery in the Pond project is located on the Razboinita canal, was realized by Eliza Yokina and Miki Velciov, with the support of restorers from Astra Museum in Sibiu, the work in natural materials is inspired by nature and includes a pontoon on the other side of the canal, where a place for overnight stops would be set up.

'The pontoon is actually a vantage point for the project. Most of my works are based on a vantage point from which you observe the construction of the installation. We use a type of anamorphic project in which we play with eight dimensions which, at the vantage point, cancel each other out and become equal,' the artist Miki Velciov told AGERPRES.

The message of the temporary installation is to raise awareness of the need to protect nature, but the work can also be interpreted philosophically.

'For me, the message is simply a moment. The work can be seen as a snapshot, a moment in which you have this vision of what a plaur [reed plants and floating reed islands, editor's note] means, what nature means. But the work can also be seen as a moment of the flight of birds or of a dinghy, because of the shape,' said Eliza Yokina.

Another art installation is on the Sontea Noua canal, created by Charly Fei, born in the United States but based in Germany, and Andreea Dorobat, Romania. Their work was vandalized.

'Someone came last night [Tuesday night to Wednesday, editor's note], cut the work and took away all the bamboo components. We can try to do it another way, but I'm shocked that someone was able to do that. The bamboo components were supporting the installation and it took some effort to destroy it,' said Charly Fei.

Practically working with nature, the artists, through the two installations, are marking the overnight stay sites that will be realized through a project initiated by the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Administration (ARBDD), while the third installation is located in the vicinity of the village of Mila 23.

'The project is, in fact, an event that in a way promotes the Delta in a different way from the tourist one, on the networks dedicated to art and nature lovers, an audience that we aim to bring here in the largest possible number. It is a responsible public, attentive to nature, non-intrusive and always willing to spend more time in the Danube Delta,' said Teodor Frolu, curator of the Gallery in the Pond project and co-founder of the Ivan Patzaichin-Mila 23 Association.

While the artists are 'dressing up' the Delta, the housewives of the village of Mila 23 are making the final preparations for the Easter holidays.

'For now, we are getting ready for the holidays. We haven't made the food yet. We'll have on the table, cakes, eggs, Easter cake, lamb, like everywhere. Rich food. After fasting for 40 days, we deserve to eat something good,' said Lucica Buhaev, born in the village of Mila 23, administrator of the Ivan Patzaichin Community Center.

As in other years, the locals are wondering whether on the night of the Resurrection, in the village church, they will have a priest to conduct the service in Slavonic.

'There is a shortage priests of our own, to put it that way, because they have to know the Slavonic language quite well, there are stricter rules than elsewhere and the youth had other priorities than learning the church book in Slavonic. If there's a priest and the service is held, we go to church. If not, we will welcome Easter by singing 'Christ is Risen' at home,' Lucica Buhaev said.

Ivan Patzaichin's sister-in-law says that the tourist year 2025 is expected to be a busy one, and access to the museum dedicated to the great Olympic canoe champion will be on a scheduled basis only. In addition, this year, the center will also offer performances of traditional Lipovan music.

'I am collaborating with the group of the Lipovan Russian community from Mile 23, 'Sinicika', and together we will bring to light the singing that has been forgotten. There will be old music, which is not played everywhere and we will try to alternate happy and sad music,' added Lucica Buhaev.

The Ivan Patzaichin Museum - Community Innovation Center in Mila 23 announced, in March, the opening of registration for a creative residency dedicated to landscape designers, artists and architects from Romania and abroad within the project Gallery in the Pond. The program offered the participants the opportunity to explore new artistic concepts, in collaborative research and creation sessions, and to realize interventions harmoniously integrated in the natural delta landscape and in harmony with the local cultural specificity.

The project brought together the artists Elena Machidon and Ionut Mezinu, Eliza Yokina and Miki Velciov, Charly Fei and Andreea Dorobat, under the guidance of curators Nicolas Triboi, Teodor Frolu and Olah Gyarfas, was co-funded by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund and was carried out in partnership with ARBDD and the Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development.

ARBDD announced this month the start of the project 'Reconfiguration of the public access and visitation infrastructure of the Danube Delta to reduce tourism pressure on habitats and species', funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan 2020-2026, Pillar I 'Green Transition', Component C2. The overall objective of the project is to modernize the public infrastructure for access and visitation of the Danube Delta in order to reduce tourism pressure on habitats and species. Through the project, ARBDD is set on developing a network of ten visitor centers, with 40 observation points, including overnight stops for tourists who choose to explore the area by non-motorized boats. The total value of the project which will be completed at the end of the first semester of next year amounts to 88,893,000 RON.

For several years, economic operators in the Delta have been asking the ARBDD to set up trails dedicated to non-motorized boats, so that tourists who want to visit the lakes and canals of the reserve by kayak can be protected from the effects of waves made by motorized boats traveling at high speeds.

Last year, the Ivan Patzaichin-Mila 23 Association and ARBDD announced the opening of the first nature-friendly trail, Ivan's Delta, which is over 40 kilometers long, starting in Tulcea and reaching Mila 23, but so far, no overnight accommodation has been set up on the trail.

The Danube Delta, declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1990, has a total area of 4,455 square kilometers, 84% of which is on Romanian territory and the rest on the territory of Ukraine. A wetland of international importance, the Danube Delta is included in UNESCO's World Cultural and Natural Heritage List, and in Romania there are around 10,000 people living in communities isolated by the waters. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Luisiana Bigea; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)