More than 20 artists will transform the 6th floor of the Fundeni Clinical Institute into an art gallery for seriously ill children
More than 20 of the important artists of the moment will transform the 6th floor of the Fundeni Clinical Institute, into an art gallery for children suffering from leukemia, cancer and other serious diseases, hospitalized here or in the newly established Hospitalization Center in the yard of the medical unit.
The “Art gives hope” project was initiated by the businessman Eduard Uzunov, the Rotenberg-Uzunov Gallery, the “Association for the Support of Fine Arts” (ASAF) and the “Wings for Life” Association and will consist of the donation of paintings to the hospital with the greater addressability in Romania, where even 5,000 children are admitted annually. The paintings will be made in the artists' own workshops, who will donate one or more works, depending on their personal vision, on the theme that gave the title of the project: “Art gives hope. Afterwards, the completed works will be evaluated by ASAF specialists and donated to the Fundeni Clinical Institute, based on detailed donation documents, signed by each individual artist, and will become part of the institution’s heritage. Before arriving, however, in the salons and reserves of the 6th floor of the Fundeni Clinical Institute and in the newly established Hospitalization Center in the yard of the medical unit, the works will be brought together in a vernissage, which will take place, at the beginning of December, at the Rotenberg Gallery - Uzunov.
Among the artists from the country and abroad, who have embraced this idea for the soul are: Marilena Murariu, Costin Neamțu, Lisandru Neamțu, Stela Vesa, Carmen Marin, Lucia Pușcașu, Lucian Liciu, Ion Drăghici, Gabriela Drăghici, Eugen Macinic, Vasile Dobre , Arina Bican, Ileana Dragomirescu, Vali Irina Ciobanu, Carmen Poenaru, Emanoela Szabo, Irina Florescu, Ion Văcăreanu, Mugurel Bărbulescu, Sanda Butiu, Oana Barsan, Damir Petru, Alexandra Johansen, Mugurel Barbulescu, Eugen Macinic, and the list remains open until the date of the opening.
“As several people and/or companies have already offered to support the investment for the construction part, we thought of a donation that would bring joy to the children’s souls, consisting of paintings made by some of the best plastic artists of the moment, both for the salons, reserves and corridors of this floor of the hospital, as well as for the newly established Hospitalization Center, located in the courtyard of the medical unit.
It is a project of the soul, through which we try to bring a ray of light into the lives of these suffering children, their parents, who are always by their side in the hospital and, last but not least, the medical staff who take care of them. Because, they say, art heals and soothes, art is perfection, it’s a dream, it’s a story, it’s a panacea for the mind and soul, and when it’s directed at people in great suffering, it can become a ray of hope”, he declared Eduard Uzunov, the initiator of the project. The “Wings for Life” association has already renovated the 6th floor of the Fundeni Clinical Institute through the project “Big hearts for small smiles”, supported by hundreds of people, and is currently building the first Day Hospitalization Center, for the benefit of children affected by cancer, who undergo long-term treatments and who belong to a high-risk group, being immunosuppressed both because of the disease and the cytostatic treatment.
“By establishing this center, the risk of infections for these extremely sensitive little ones is significantly reduced and, at the same time, psychological comfort is offered to the children who, after spending months in the hospital, will no longer have to stay in the salons that they will always associate with hard-to-endure treatments. Supporting these children has become part of our lives in the 10 years we have been volunteering for pediatric hospitals. A soul connection was created between us and the medical staff and we tried every time it was needed, to be present and do everything we could to save a life or ease the suffering and worries of some families, so that the parents could focus as much as possible on caring for their children”, explained Nicoleta Stoenescu, president of the “Wings for Life” Association.
For her part, the president of ASAF, Adina RenÈ›ea, opened her soul for this project: “We started this endeavor, being convinced that “art gives wings, not crutches”, as the great Victor Hugo said, and we will succeed by gathering works of art donated by renowned artists, to bring relief, comfort and hope, for mind, body and soul” Art in the form of painting, writing or music is known as the greatest gift that can be offered to humanity due to its healing properties on emotions and suffering. The artists know this and immediately resonated with the project initiated by businessman Eduard Uzunov, a lover of art and beauty!”.