#Video mapping

Location: The Arch of Triumph

Artist: Les Atelier Nomad/ MONUMENT for

On the last evening of the festival, the Arch of Triumph joins this year’s Spotlight edition; the centenary of the monument is celebrated by means of an event specially organized by MONUMENT FOR, in its capacity of institutional partner. The event dedicated to the Centenary of the Arch of Triumph will turn the exterior of the monument into a video-mapping show completed inside by a thematic exhibition on the history of the time and a performance meant to create an exciting historical itinerary.  

On the last evening of the festival, the Arch of Triumph joins this year’s Spotlight edition with a video mapping show which transforms the exterior of the monument, reminding us of events that shaped our identity. 

It is time for us to enjoy again the grandeur of the Arch of Triumph, this time by celebrating an important moment in the history of Romania – 100 years since the coronation of King Ferdinand I and of Queen Maria as sovereigns of Grand Romania and 100 years since the first inauguration of the monument. 

The Arch of Triumph is a symbol of the great things our nation is capable of, in our best moments, things made with effort, concentration, sacrifice, and talent. It testifies to the Romanians’ ability to do great things. 

The special event will be completed by a thematic exhibition on the history of the time and a performance held inside; they are both meant to create a exciting historical itinerary, based on the direct interactions of the spectators with the performers – the actors who will tell the story of the historical events seen through the eyes of the simple people who participated in them and who left testimonies of what happened in postal cards, photos, letters etc. Thus, the spectator turns from a simple visitor into a co-creator of the show. 

Short history 

At the end of the First World War, in December 1918, Romania came to the end of the process of the formation of the national-unitary state, through the unification of Bessarabia, Bucovina, and Transylvania with the Old Kingdom.  

Subsequently, on the 15^th of October 1922, at Alba Iulia, Ferdinand I and Maria were crowned as King and Queen of Great Romania, and on the 16^th of October 1922 they made their triumphal entry in Bucharest. 

On this occasion a show was organized, a show meant to evoke the fight of the Romanian people for state unity. There were representatives from more than 20 European states, from the United States of America and Japan, which meant that the new Romanian state reality was broadly acknowledged. 

In this context, in 1922, the Commission for the organisation of the coronation festivities asked architect Petre Antonescu to devise an imposing Arch of Triumph in the north of the capital, on Kiseleff Avenue. Thus, on the 16^th of October, King Ferdinand I and Queen Maria walked under the Arch of Triumph, erected on the place where it stands today. 

However, due to the fact that it had to be built in very short time, the latter, although imposing and richly decorated, had only the foundation, the reinforced concrete skeleton, and the outer superstructure covered in cloth on which plaster statues and bas-reliefs were attached. It was only in 1932 that the monument was made entirely from durable, definitive materials, reaching the shape we can see today.