Asociația SUPER TINERI (ASIRYS)

When I picture Easter eggs, I think of the shiny tinfoil hiding a sweet treat underneath. I can see them piled high in supermarkets on special offer, signalling that it's almost the one time of year it's acceptable to have chocolate for breakfast. In Romania, Easter eggs are something totally different. At the seventh annual Folcloristica I had the pleasure of meeting some traditional egg painters. Despite the long and labor intensive process, children queued up to paint an egg of their own or simply get a better look at these miniature works of art. The patterns and motifs were a mixture of the natural and the religious, and as with most other Romanian crafts vary from region to region. The process of painting the egg is similar to batik, using wax to protect certain areas from the dye to create patterns. Everything has to be done with the lightest touch, so that you don’t shatter your egg. A slow and gentle affair, the whole procedure is nothing short of meditative. by Fiona

In October 2021, we organized the second edition of the art exhibition: Beautiful Fair Town - Orașul Târgu Frumos. The event reunited 5 artists from Basque Country, Ireland, Latvia and Turkey, under Arts Lab 3.0, a project funded by European Solidarity Corps of European Union. The art works represent the beauty of Târgu Frumos, in the eyes of the 5 artists involved in a local 8-month volunteering program. How does an international group of artists perceive Târgu Frumos? What and where is the beauty of this small town? Here is the artwork of Fiona O'Neill from Dublin, Ireland. Fiona is a textiles artist and activist from Dublin, Ireland. After finishing her studies at NCAD in Fine Art Textiles, she spent three years in Greece working with displaced communities in refugee camps. A large part of her work is informed by the interconnected history of textile techniques and the fight for women’s rights; before women had a voice in the political sphere they used ‘domestic art’ as a

In July we had the pleasure of meeting Elena, a retired school teacher who transformed her family home into a museum of traditional Romanian culture. At first she was quite shy to speak with us, feeling the burden of a language barrier and doubting if people from abroad would see the value in such a place. Fast forward a few hours and we were sitting on Elena’s childhood bed, sharing lemonades and laughing about the story of her first cross-stitch. History can often feel detached and distant, but the story of Elena’s family through the decades gave us such a particular insight into the recent past and made everything feel so much more personal. After all, what is history if not the stories of regular people? Once again, Romanian hospitality continues to impress and we have yet to visit somebody that hasn’t welcomed us with open arms. This month we hosted a youth exchange to discuss the topic of single use plastics. The IPCC’s sixth report painted a bleak picture of the climate crisis,

Dress tells us so much about a country’s history - what values they held, what techniques they mastered, how they structured society. On a rainy afternoon, we found ourselves in the Ruginoasa Cultural Centre; an ethnographic museum dedicated to traditional Moldavian life. The centre is warm and inviting, as if you’ve been welcomed into somebody’s home. Artefacts are scattered across the room; a baby's cradle full to the brim with intricately decorated blankets, a loom with an unfinished weaving, waiting for the right person to finish it, and handmade costumes standing proud.  The majority of pieces on display had been donated by local residents, giving a personalised touch to each artefact. In an age of industrialisation and fast fashion, the handmade almost assumes legendary status. At the front door of the centre, there is a traditional Moldavian blouse, embroidered with apple blossom motifs. As I was running my finger along the sleeve, admiring the delicate needlework I was told