Danube Delta: The Swamp Gallery
Registrations are now open for the creative residency programme in the Danube Delta !
The Ivan Patzaichin Museum – Community Innovation Center in Mila 23, Danube Delta – will open its doors in 2025 for a creative residency dedicated to artists, architects, and landscape designers. The residency offers participants the opportunity to explore new concepts and translate their visions into artistic interventions where nature and community blend harmoniously. We invite teams of creators from complementary fields to apply by March 17 at contact@muzeu.ivanpatzaichin.ro. Details on registration and participation are provided below.
Call for Applications – Creative Residency in the Danube Delta
The Danube Delta is a unique space within Romania’s and Europe’s natural and cultural landscape, serving as a source of creative inspiration for artists and a place where nature invites dialogue and fosters a new form of coexistence between contemporary society and the environment.
The waterway route “Ivan’s Delta”, officially recognized in 2024 by the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Administration, provides the ideal setting for the development of multidisciplinary projects. It enables the intersection of natural sciences with architecture, landscape design, and contemporary art, becoming a tool for ecological education, cultural marketing, and ecotourism. The route facilitates a dialogue between the artistic world and the natural landscape.
Objective
The project aims to facilitate a multidisciplinary artistic experience in the heart of the Danube Delta through the synergistic collaboration of creators from complementary fields. By integrating contemporary creation into the natural landscape, we seek to contribute to the revitalization of cultural and ecotourism, stimulate the local economy, and promote ecological values and the traditions of the region’s communities.
Vision
The project’s vision is to transform the Danube Delta into a landmark cultural destination, where art becomes a language of reconnection with nature. Through interdisciplinary approaches, the initiative aims to bring fresh energy to the region’s tourism offering while emphasizing the importance of biosphere protection and sustainability through innovative, non-invasive artistic interventions.
Impact
The project will have ecological, cultural, and social impacts. Artistic installations will highlight both the beauty and fragility of the Delta, raising public awareness of environmental issues. By transforming the “Ivan’s Delta” route into an open-air art gallery, the initiative will engage the local community, attract new visitors, and contribute to the sustainable development of the region.
Brief
With the support of participants selected through the call for applications, the creative residency aims to create a landscape art gallery along the “Delta lui Ivan” ecotourism trail through integrated interventions in nature. Three teams, consisting of professionals from complementary fields relevant to the project’s context (visual artists, architects, designers, or landscape architects, ASOP members, OAR members, etc.), will collaborate to develop installations that promote dialogue between humans and the environment, local culture, and the biodiversity of the Delta.
We are looking for teams of two people, made up of specialists with complementary visions: landscape architects, architects, artists, etc. Together, you will explore, imagine, and propose solutions for two locations in the Danube Delta.
Creative guidelines:
- The works will be created through collaboration between professionals with complementary expertise.
- The materials used for the installations will be local, off-site, biodegradable, or removable. The project will have a clear stance on sustainability and maintenance, valuing solutions based on natural, biodegradable materials. Only eco-friendly paints made from natural pigments will be used.
- The installations will be non-invasive, blending harmoniously into the landscape. Each piece will contribute to the ecosystem, coexisting peacefully with nature until, organically, it reintegrates into the deltaic landscape or takes the form of architectural structures.
- The installations should serve as markers, visible from the water, indicating rest stops for visitors.
The application file must include:
- CVs of both team members
- Personal portfolios (max. 2 A4 pages)
- Concept proposal for two locations (max. 4 A4 pages), including:
– Explanatory texts
– Drawings and sketches
– Estimated budget
– Planning and implementation timeline
All materials must be submitted according to the brief requirements & competition rules to be considered at contact@muzeu.ivanpatzaichin.ro.
Calendar
Registration
Winners announcement
Creative residency
Site installation
Exhibition opening
Who can apply?
Participation is open to teams of two people (artist + landscape architect or other relevant partnerships).
Visual artists, landscape architects, ASOP members, architects, OAR members, designers, photographers, and interdisciplinary creators are invited to apply, as well as professionals passionate about the environment, cultural landscapes, and contemporary art.
Sites
The creations developed during the residency will be installed along the “Delta lui Ivan” route at three locations. Applicants must describe two of these sites in their proposal. The jury will select a total of three projects for the following sites:
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S1 – ȘONTEA
The Șontea meadow will serve as the first bivouac point along the slow tourism routes in the Danube Delta. The central plateau is surrounded by a strip of willow trees, forming a protective buffer zone for nearby habitats. The area features wild grapevines (Vitis sp.) and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus sp.), growing naturally on medium and small-sized trees, offering the potential for an artistic installation that can also provide much-needed shade in summer.
S2 – RĂZBOINIȚA
The “Dyke” at Războinița will become a bivouac point along the slow tourism routes. The landscape, shaped by human dredging activities, has resulted in a raised terrain of approximately 1.5 – 2 meters, now colonized by white willow (Salix alba).
To the west, a stunning panorama opens onto an immense reed-covered area, home to various bird species. Nearby, a fire-affected forest zone offers a space for an artistic installation, inviting visitors to pause and reflect. The installation could serve as a landmark for the area.
S3 – MILA 23
Viewed from the Ivan Patzaichin Museum tower, the opposite bank of the Mila 23 channel is a narrow strip of land with medium and small-sized trees (Salix sp., Populus sp.) and functional power poles. These islands are grazed by cattle and goats.
The proposed installation site aligns with one such “island,” particularly opposite an old, partially silted access route to Lake Ligheanca. While still in use, this passage could be highlighted through the artistic installation, emphasizing its presence and suggesting a sustainable crossing point.
Jury
The selection of participants, project evaluations, and residency coordination will be carried out by a jury of experts with extensive experience in art and landscape architecture:
Nicolas Triboi
Teodor Frolu
Gyárfás Oláh
Nicolas Triboi is a professional landscape architect, a 2002 graduate of the National School of Nature and Landscape in Blois, France. In 2006, he founded ATELIER FOAIE VERDE, a landscape architecture firm, after years of working on urban and rural projects in France and Romania. Since 2020, he has been contributing to design projects at La Motrice Paysagistes Européens in France.
He has been a member of the Scientific Council of Piatra Craiului National Park since 2008 and a member of Romania’s National Commission for Historical Monuments, specializing in urban planning, between 2016 and 2018. For over a decade, he has collaborated with the PRO PATRIMONIO foundation on issues related to the conservation and development of cultural and natural heritage.
Teodor Frolu is an architect and cultural entrepreneur specialized in urban regeneration and projects that highlight Romanian heritage and traditions. As co-founder of the Ivan Patzaichin – Mila 23 Association alongside Ivan, Frolu has promoted the Danube Delta through ecotourism and sustainable design initiatives such as PATZAIKIN, Rowmania, and Apele Unite ale României.
His work focuses on integrating art and architecture into natural landscapes, transforming urban spaces into vibrant cultural hubs. Collaborating with contemporary artists, he creates installations that explore the relationship between people and nature, advocating for sustainability and environmental conservation.
Gyárfás Oláh is a visual artist working with organic materials, with a background in textile and fashion design. His practice ranges from sculptures to contemporary art installations, reflecting on the relationship between art and craftsmanship. Drawing on folk traditions and classical art, Gyárfás creates hybrid, archaic sculptures that bridge different worlds, societies, and eras.
Whether using textiles, hay, wood, or stone, he pays close attention to the history and transformation of each material, making this process an essential part of his sculptural practice. Gyárfás is also the designer behind the eco-technology and design brand PATZAIKIN.
Rezidency logistics
Selected participants will benefit from:
- A compensation in the form of a fee for the developed creative concept (6 prizes awarded to members of the 3 teams, worth 7,800 RON gross per winner).
- A concept implementation budget – estimated at 25,000 RON per installation.
- Water transportation within Tulcea County, along the Danube Delta canals, for research and installation placement. (National/international transportation to Tulcea is not covered by the organizers.)
- Bed & breakfast accommodation in Mila 23.
- Access to museum spaces and logistical support during the residency.
- Local materials and assistance for installation production, in line with sustainability principles.
- Visibility through the cultural project’s communication campaign.
Project information
“Danube Delta: The Swamp Gallery” cultural project is initiated by the Ivan Patzaichin – Mila 23 Association and co-financed by the National Cultural Fund Administration. The project is implemented in partnership with: Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Administration, National Institute for Danube Delta Research. Media partners: Modernism, Zeppelin.
Project initiator:
Supported by:
Media partners:
This project does not necessarily represent the official position of AFCN. AFCN is not responsible for its content or how its outcomes may be used. These are solely the responsibility of the funding recipient.
The images used on this page were taken by Mani Gutău for the Ivan Patzaichin – Mila 23 Association.