Romania and Moldova open first virtual reality gallery for emerging artists

Romania and Moldova have opened the countries’ first virtual reality exhibition platform to help young artists gain exposure during the Covid-19 pandemic. Founded by the Moldovan Arbor Institute for Culture and the Romanian Arbor Association of Culture and Arts, theopen-art.com will feature VR exhibitions by emerging artists from across Eastern Europe.

“I wanted to build a VR gallery to host exhibitions while physically galleries are closed [due to the coronavirus pandemic],” project founder Victoria Nagy Vajda told The Calvert Journal. “But I also wanted to feature good Romanian artists who are not represented by galleries, and artists from Moldova, where we don’t have any independent galleries.”

The platform is now hosting its first VR exhibition, Inside, by Diana Tudose. The Bucharest-based neo-expressionist artist uses her work to blend a dark and often minimalist palette with existential themes.

The next show, Woman Unchained, by Moldovan artist Irina Greciuhina, will start on 10 September. Greciuhina explores and challenges stereotypes about women, mixing elements of pop art, design, and photo-realism in acrylic paintings.

Theopen-art.com welcomes new submissions by Eastern European artists.

Check out the current VR exhibition here.