Open Call for Artists: Residency at Marie Curie Hospital, Bucharest

The Eastwards Prospectus Cultural Association (ACEP), in partnership with the Marie Curie Hospital in Bucharest and Dăruiește Viață, is launching the open call for the A Network of Care project, which will take place between September and November 2024.

Interested artists who meet the eligibility conditions can register starting August 6, 2024 for the residency organized by ACEP together with its partners. Entries are open until August 27, 2024.

By integrating art and culture into the hospital, the project aims to create a more humane and comforting environment for patients, offering them opportunities for creative expression, social interaction and personal reflection.

During the three-month residency, the selected artist will develop a participatory project that actively involves patients and their families.

A Network of Care offers an honorarium of 10,000 lei gross to the artist participating in the residency to develop the participatory project.

“I am glad that, together with the team of the Eastwards Prospectus Association and our partners, we can develop an innovative project in a hospital in Romania. We started the A Network of Care project from the premise that the cultural offer in hospital environments is limited and insufficient to meet the complex needs of patients. Although there are sporadic cultural interventions in Romanian hospitals, in the long term, the stimulation needs of patients, who spend up to eight months hospitalized, are insufficient. Through the A Network of Care project, we aim to lay the foundations of a support network within Romanian hospitals, where culture and art contribute to improving the health and well-being of patients and medical staff,” said Andrei Breahnă, President of the Eastwards Prospectus Cultural Association.

“The hospital that Dăruiește Viață built, together with over 350,000 individuals and over 8,000 companies, and donated to the Marie Curie Hospital brings multiple firsts in Romania, starting with the humane way in which the spaces were designed, taking into account the needs of who use them – patients, parents, medical professionals and continuing with the materials and equipment used. The fact that art is now brought to the Hospital with a therapeutic role is another first for this place and for Romania. Dăruiiște Viață supports this project because we want to give children and parents the chance to be able to forget even for a few moments that they are in the hospital and the opportunity to take care of their mind and soul while they fight the hardest battle – fight the disease. The same goes for the medical staff, the visitors who arrive at Marie Curie, and all of us“, stated in their turn Carmen Uscatu and Oana Gheorghiu, founders of Daruieste Viata/Give Life NGO.

The program accepts applications from artists who:

● Are over 21 years old, with no requirement for specialized studies;
● Have exhibited in at least one group/personal exhibition organized in an art space;
● Are Romanian citizens;
● Are able to physically attend meetings at Marie Curie Hospital in Bucharest from September to November 2024;
● Are interested in researching how art contributes to improving the quality of life and well-being of hospitalized patients;
● Are available to participate both physically and online in all program activities, depending on the mode of each phase (September – November 2024).

Further information are available at: https://a-network-of-care.ro/.