“During the last decades, Moldova has undergone significant changes in various realms of life, including politics, economy and the social and cultural domain. The country has gone through a global transformation: the transition from Soviet socialism to neoliberal capitalism, from a centralized economy to a market economy, from a socialist organized society to a consumer society. The process of this transition period, along with the democratization of public life, was interspersed with economic crises, political tensions and social problems. In such an unstable and rapidly changing environment, artistic life also experienced changes and transformations. The liberalization and decentralization of the arts sector in the late 1980s and early 1990s encouraged the development of cultural centers, alternative platforms for exhibitions, both commercial and non-commercial, and a number of other initiatives. It has expanded the ability of artists to express their ideas, creative approaches and the diversity of artistic practices. After the collapse of the USSR, in Moldova, as in the entire post-Soviet space, the Western influence began to strengthen, which gave birth to new trends and directions in art. New cultural actors have appeared: curators, managers, gallery owners, those who have transformed and are actively transforming the artistic environment in the last three decades, thanks to whom we observe the diversity of artistic expressions and the freedom to create outside of traditional institutional frameworks. (…)

The current dossier of ARTA Magazine contains documents and testimonies that reflect the process of forming a democratic society in the Republic of Moldova through the active influence of artists, cultural workers and activists as agents of change and transformation.”

Tatiana Fiodorova-Lefter