June 2018 Heritage of Timișoara: Iosefin

In 2018, Heritage of Timisoara continues in the Iosefin district. The project, co-funded by the National Cultural Fund Administration, the Romanian Architects Order and Timisoara City Hall, continues the mapping and inventory of the built heritage of the historic Iosefin neighbourhood, applying the same methodology used in the #HoT: Fabric pilot edition, thus amplifying the database of the online platform. A collection of illustrations representing Iosefin historic buildings (reinterpretation possible thanks to a group of Timisoara artists) is again made. The collection hosted the main event of this edition, called Hot: spot Iosefin!, which took place between 20-21 September 2018. The same event featured a number of other activities, such as creative workshops focusing on built heritage, pinhole camera workshops, jazz concert in an unconventional space, guided city tours in Romanian and English, opening of certain places in the neighbourhood which are usually closed to public, etc. All these activities were aimed at promoting and raising awareness of the Iosefin built heritage current preservation state.

 

May 2018 The European Year of Cultural Heritage

The 2018 Heritage of Timisoara edition takes place under the aegis of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018.
Anul European al Patrimoniului Cultural 2018

 

December 2017 The project is nominated at NCFA Awards

At the end of 2017, Heritage of Timisoara: Fabric (pilot) project is nominated at the NCFA Awards, "Innovative Solutions in Heritage Promotion" category.

 

October 2017 We launch the #HoT online platform

In October 2017, we finally achieve what we have been dreaming since 2015: the launch of the www.heritageoftimisoara.ro online platform where Timisoara heritage buildings are going to be listed from now on, each building featuring, among other, historic information, current condition, contemporary and vintage photos. Behind this platform, an online cultural heritage mapping tool is developed, according to European ISO standards.

 

June 2017 Heritage of Timișoara: Fabric (pilot)

The first Heritage of Timisoara edition was dedicated to the Timişoara historical neighbourhood of Fabric. For 5 months, the project team, together with partners and collaborators, implemented various activities in the neighborhood: documenting, mapping and building-up an up-to-date database on Fabric's built heritage; conducting social circus and forum-theatre workshops - in order to attract young people of the neighborhood to get involved in a theatre-forum show; debates on neighbourhood’s cultural revitalization solutions; a collection of illustrations created by a team of local artists, inspired by the history and the current state of preservation of the historic buildings in the neighborhood. The unfolding of the main event called "Heritage of Timişoara: Fabric" (September 2017) included activities such as: the public exhibition of the illustrations produced by the local artists; interactive art installations; postcards with the illustrations produced by the local artists, which were available to be sent free of charge anywhere in the country; social circus presentation; the premiere of a theatre-forum show, produced in the project; Fabric-guided tours, etc. The project was co-funded by the National Cultural Fund Administration (the first funding ever obtained by the Banat Association), with the support of Timisoara City Hall.

 

March 2017 The final concept

In 2017, two years after the idea came up, after discussions and consultations with various people, we succeed in finalizing the concept, purpose and objectives of the Heritage of Timisoara project. In order to obtain the most relevant results, we decide to gradually intervene in the five historic neighborhoods of Timisoara, to map and document the built heritage. At the same time, we decide not to start with the Cetate neighborhood, considered anyway the "heart of the city", and the place where the majority of cultural projects and events take place, but with the other historic districts that, although they have the same potential and bear an equally rich cultural and architectural heritage, have not been able to compete in the last decades with the Cetate neighborhood.

Therefore, the Heritage of Timişoara project aims to promote the Timişoara cultural heritage, to raise awareness of the importance of protecting and preserving it, and to encourage cultural tourism in Timişoara's historical neighborhoods. We decide to communicate the project both in Romanian and English, because we want it to become a relevant tool for foreign tourists on a medium and long term.

 

August 2016 The headless peacock

By 2016, we began to look different at the buildings around us. If the edifices in the city center appeared to be somewhat well preserved, in the other neighbourhoods they were in a deplorable condition. We think of the acronym of the project, HoT, which seems to reflect very well the current state of preservation of the buildings in the city. Timisoara's heritage is hot: it is beautiful, attractive, but is also "burning," and urgently needs an intervention. Some particular decorations on the facade of a Secession-style building, located in the Plevna Square in the Elisabetin neighborhood, draws our attention. Above a window lays the tree of life (the symbol of immortality), surrounded by two peacocks (the symbol of infinity and craftsmanship). The facade of this building, which is part of a historical ensemble, is in a deplorable condition. Lacking restoration works for several decades, a peacock lost his head and a leg. Extrapolating the symbolism of this decoration, we come to the conclusion that it is the most sincere representation of the present state of preservation of the Timişoara built heritage. We choose it to become our project logo, with the promise that when that facade is restored and the peacock gets its head and foot back, we will update the project logo. The work is carried out by Lucian Popovici, who will join our team in the next years.

 

July 2015 The project idea

On a hot summer day, the idea of ​​the Heritage of Timisoara project pops up. Everything starts from the number of histori buildings that Timisoara has, a number that is constantly circulated in the press and pretentious speeches. Are there 14,000 historic buildings? Or 11,500? But in Timis County we have only 340 historic monuments. So, what's the right number? And what does a historic building mean, what is a historic monument, what is an urban ensemble? We dream and we imagine how useful would be, both for Timisoara people, to know their history better, as well as for the tourists who come to Timisoara and want to find out more about the city -- an online platform where all the buildings are to be listed with relevant historical information, contemporary photographs and vintage pictures. Naive, we plan to map and document the entire built heritage of Timișoara in just a few months. In the coming days, we realize the scale of such a project and our lack of capacity to implement it. Enthusiasm does not go away altogether. We buy the online domains of heritageoftimisoara.ro and patrimoniultimisoarei.ro, and we start thinking about feasible solutions to implement this project.