The Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) launched on Monday the public call for selecting the project that will represent Romania at the 16th edition of the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space (PQ 2027). ICR president Liviu Jicman underlined the importance of Romania's presence at this major international event.

'We are starting preparations for Romania's participation in the Prague Quadrennial 2027 by assuming a mechanism built on continuity, transparency and predictability. We consider it essential for the consolidation of a coherent national presence that the author of Romania's project at an edition of the Quadrennial becomes the curator of the next edition, capitalizing on the acquired experience and contributing to a necessary institutional and professional memory. At the same time, the Romanian Cultural Institute and the National Union of Romania's Stage Performers - UNITER are launching a public call for the first time for the selection of the project that will represent Romania, reaffirming the joint commitment to openness and transparency. I would like to thank the scenographers Dragos Buhagiar - president of UNITER, and Adrian Damian - president of OISTAT Romania (the Center of the International Organization of International Organisation of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians), for their involvement in this new stage,' Jicman said at the launch.

The curator of Romania's PQ 2027 exhibition, set designer Adrian Damian - author of the project 'Podul/The Bridge', which represented Romania at PQ 2023 - presented the competition calendar and urged a critical look at working conditions in Romanian scenography.

'I believe a lot in these ideas, that there is this structural paradox of Romanian scenography, that it has this very complex side, it has a history, it has traditions, it has obvious values, but on the other hand, it operates in a fragile institutional system that presents the result, but conceals the process. All the work, all the decisions, all the compromises, all the improvised solutions, the entire process that generates or influences what we see on stage is most often omitted. And, precisely for this reason, it seems very important to me that you can engage in a critical relationship with this context within which each of us works when we are constantly forced to find solutions, especially in recent years marked by interims, blocked budgets, administrative paralysis and this total lack of predictability. It seems very important to me that you find solutions that can be translated into an installation and which also speaks about the real problems, the real absences, the silences, the things that are never said between us, the ones that somehow remain just behind-the-scenes discussions, but they never end up being expressed publicly. Obviously, I would really like the proposals to not only express the problems or state all the difficulties we face, but which have the ability to come up with a critical attitude and to propose, possibly, solutions to overcome these problems,' Damian emphasized.

UNITER president Dragos Buhagiar urged colleagues in the field to take an active role in the newly launched selection process, recalling that only three projects were submitted in the previous edition.

'For now, UNITER can help, we can offer the jury space for meetings, if necessary. So we can do anything to stimulate our colleagues to submit projects. I believe that the more projects there are, the more real the contest is. It's not a fight. In fact, it's a challenge, right? (...) Theater is not a competition, but a space where we work, but together we raise the bar, so to speak. And the more good professionals we have, who are truly concerned about theater, the better things can go. Because space is for everyone. We need as many people as possible to throw arrows into the ether. That is, to know where we are going, because, for now, from my point of view, we are kind of reheating the ideas of our colleagues from the '70s,' Buhagiar said.

The event was also attended by Ioana Dragan, head of ICR's Directorate for Foreign Representations and Romanian Communities, who expressed her confidence that the winning proposal for PQ 2027 'will be convincing, brilliant, and that Romania will once again benefit from an extraordinary presence at the 16th edition of the Scenography Quadrennial'.

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Romania's participation at PQ 2027 will follow the theme 'What we cannot see. What we cannot hear', inviting reflection on the invisible mechanisms and structural silences shaping contemporary scenographic practice.

The ICR call targets set designers, costume designers, lighting, sound and video designers, visual artists and interdisciplinary collectives working in the performing arts. Applicants must propose an installation adapted to a space of approximately 5 × 5 × 5 meters. Both individual and collective submissions are encouraged, with the exhibition conceived as an experiential installation, not a national showcase.

Projects must be submitted by July 11. The jury - whose composition will be announced after results are published on July 20 - will evaluate all proposals.

ICR also coordinates Romania's participation in the Student Exhibition, a competitive PQ section dedicated to scenography schools. Romania will exhibit in a 25-sqm space inside Prague's Industrial Palace.

The Romanian Cultural Institute has invited the three universities with scenography programs - the 'I.L. Caragiale' National University of Theatre and Cinematography, Bucharest; the National University of Arts, Bucharest; the University of Arts, Targu-Mures - to jointly develop a representative exhibition project.

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The 16th Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space (PQ 2027) will take place June 8 - 17, 2027 at the Exhibition of Countries and Regions, Industrial Palace, Prague Exhibition Complex (Vystavište Praha). Its central theme is 'Absences and Silences as spaces of potential for new scenographic futures'.

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The Romanian Cultural Institute Romania has maintained a consistent presence at the Prague Quadrennial since 1967:

2015 - National project 'Old Trees' by photographer Florin Ghenade, exhibited at the Church of St. Anne in Prague.

2019 (14th edition) - The exhibition theme was 'The Ruins of the Theater, the Ruins of the City', featuring work by Dragos Buhagiar and projects from three scenography departments.

2023 (15th edition) - ICR presented the installation 'Podul/The Bridge' by Adrian Damian, alongside the UNATC student exhibition exploring scenography and performative space.AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Popescu; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)