Gabriela Tudor
1957 – 2009
In Memoriam Gabriela Tudor
Gabriela Tudor left us far too soon, on 3 January 2009. Her work, especially after 1990, set important landmarks in Romanian contemporary art and bears witness to the passion and dedication she brought to everything she did. Through the initiatives and projects she carried out, and through her direct support for artists and cultural organisations, Gabriela Tudor helped the Romanian art scene to grow.
Gabriela was a cultural manager, impresario, artistic consultant, producer, expert & coach specialised in organisational development and, in the last period of her life, director of the Swiss Cultural Programme in Romania. She began developing cultural projects in 1984, when she joined the Romanian Agency of Arts and Management. Right after the Revolution, in April 1990, Gabriela Tudor joined the new team gathered by Ion Caramitru and started working for the Romanian Association of Theatre Artists (UNITER) as Director for International Relations.
From 1992 to 1995 she worked with Corina Șuteu to open the first Romanian project-based theatre, “Theatrum Mundi”, and later (1995 – 1997) to set up “ECUMEST”, the first Eastern European Master’s programme in cultural management. From 1997 to 1999 she ran the Proiect DCM Foundation, where she set up the Inter/National Centre for Contemporary Dance and organised major projects for the development of Romanian contemporary dance. She then worked with the choreographer Cosmin Manolescu to produce and present, in Romania and abroad, the performances “Private Show” (1999), “Paradis Serial” (2003 – 2007) and “Supersomething” (2008), and to organise international research and touring projects for Romanian contemporary dance: Balkan Dance Platform (2001 – 2005), Migrant Body (2006), Sibiu Dans (2007), Dans.Ro (2007) and Dans.Dialog (2008).
From 1999 to 2008 she headed the Pro Helvetia Antenna in Romania (later the Swiss Cultural Programme in Romania). In this role she supported innovative projects in every artistic field. She started residency and artistic exchange programmes, encouraged the independent contemporary art scene and experimental performance, and supported dance, music, theatre and film festivals. Together with Aurora Kiraly (curator) and Irina Cios (International Center for Contemporary Arts) she founded Galeria Nouă, one of the first independent contemporary art galleries. She promoted and helped to carry out cARTier, a cultural regeneration project in the Tătărași neighbourhood of Iași, organised by the artist Matei Bejenaru and the Vector Association. In Timișoara, together with the Centre for Rural Assistance, she started “Phoenix 05”, a cultural development project in five rural communes of Romania. In 2006 she started the three-year residency programme “ArtistNe(s)t” for artists in theatre, dance, visual arts and literature, together with the European Cultural Centre in Sinaia, the “G. Apostu” Cultural Centre in Bacău, the Arcuș Cultural Centre and the “Rosetti Tescanu – George Enescu” Cultural Centre in Tescani. In 2007, with the project that marked the closing of the Swiss Cultural Programme in Romania, she left the people of Bucharest the “Garden for Sleepless People” in Kiseleff Park.
In 2007 she founded “United Experts”, a quality brand offering coaching and cultural consultancy services, which she directed until her death.
Through everything she achieved and set in motion, she will stay with us. Gabriela Tudor was an exceptional person and one of the few visionary cultural managers in Romania. The Gabriela Tudor Grant in cultural management, launched in 2009 shortly after her death, continues the investment in people that she began in 1990 and is, at the same time, a heartfelt tribute to her life and work. In May 2009, shortly after Gabriela’s death, the Proiect DCM Foundation changed its name to the Gabriela Tudor Foundation as a sign of lasting esteem. Since 2019 the Foundation has offered yearly creative residencies in Romania and Portugal to artists and curators from Romania and abroad. More information about the Foundation’s work: www.dans.ro