Villagers in Caineni, Valcea County, opened their homes last weekend for culture-lovers attending the 'Homeward Bound - Artistic Journey in the Open Houses of Greblesti' rural-heritage event, now in its fourth edition.

For two days, Romanian visual artists, writers and musicians turned the small mountain village in Lovistei County into a living museum, staging exhibitions, literary evenings and concerts in old homesteads and key community buildings, blending traditional architecture with contemporary art.

The initiative belongs to Carmen and Liviu Hopartean, a couple of Romanians based in Brussels, who launched the project to bring renewed attention to the Romanian village.

'We started this project during the pandemic. Back then I began writing stories, mostly from this area, from Greblesti. I would read them to my mother every evening, because she was in Romania, I was in Brussels, and this kept our permanent connection while we were stuck indoors, and these memories brought her joy. Because I posted one story on Facebook, at one point, TVR International offered to feature them every evening and make short videos based on them. They were broadcast for a month on the TVR International Facebook page and, after all the excitement surrounding the stories I had written, I told myself that we had to go back there. And here we are, in a wonderful house that we have restored,' Carmen Hopartean recalls.

The house is her maternal grandparents' home, where she spent many childhood holidays and which became one of the first exhibition spaces in Greblesti after careful restoration.

She adds: 'We said we should be an example for others, because the idea was to preserve this rural built heritage. We started in the cellar gallery, with an exhibition by painter Nicolae Groza, who is very well known and celebrated in Belgium and in Romania. And afterwards we expanded these exhibitions together with a group of friends, relatives, and art enthusiasts who are in love with their native village.'

From one edition to the next, more locals joined the project; this year, 12 households opened their gates to host activities showcasing rural architectural heritage.

Liviu Hopartean says the project grew from the idea that people admire wonders abroad while overlooking those created by their own ancestors: 'People think that if they wipe everything out, demolish the old houses and build a new villa, it is much simpler and far more beautiful. Maybe ... I don't judge, but when we see visitors whose faces light up and who say this is paradise, I think you can build the most beautiful constructions in Dubai, Miami, Honolulu or anywhere else and they still don't compare with what we see here. These are things made by human hands, and all we did was add some color, clean, and restore to these old constructions the shine they had more than 150 years ago.'

A highlight of this year's edition was the tribute to painter Cecilia Cutescu-Storck, born in the area and a major figure of interwar Romanian culture, as well as Europe's first female art professor. A bust by sculptor Sergiu Saliste was unveiled in her honor.

Vice-president of the Romanian Union of Visual Artists (UAP), Gheorghe Dican, said the community intends to continue honoring local cultural figures: 'We thought from the beginning of Cecilia Cutescu-Storck, because she was born in Caineni and is one of the most important personalities in modern Romanian art. We will continue with other important people. Next year we will honor Doru Motoc, who was also born in this commune. I believe that by digging deeper into the past of these places, we will discover many important people born here who deserve to return home. Maybe in this way we will motivate those who left for good to come back and not forget these houses in which we exhibit, which are abandoned, forgotten and unloved. What we are doing is not a folk celebration, but a signal that we hope will amplify and spread to all rural communities in Romania, because we need such signals to return to our traditional values.'

This year's exhibiting artists included Carmen Poenaru, Lucian Binder, Ciprian Muntiu, Gheorghe Dican, Angela Tomaselli, Sorin Dumitrescu Mihaesti, Mihaela Tatulescu, Radu Tarnovean, Alida Velea, Carmen Chitan, Teo Tarnovean, Malina Turmacu, Laura Stoian, and icon painters from the Eikona group, Costel Tanea and the Filigean family.

Literary evenings featured writers Florentin Sorescu, Artema Burneci, Ana Andreescu, Ion Predescu, Elena Dican, Andreea Ionescu and Carmen Draghici Hopartean.

The event 'Homeward Bound - Artistic Journey in the Open Houses of Greblesti' is organized by Arthis - The Belgian-Romanian Cultural House in Brussels, in partnership with Caineni local authorities and UAP. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Ramona Dinca; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)