Romanian Festival,

21st January – 4th February 2025,

at the Romanian Cultural Institute in London,

1 Belgrave Square London sw1x 8ph

Celebrating 20 years of ADEPT

&

25 years of Pro Patrimonio

Programme of Events

Tuesday 21st January

6pm: Introductory talk by Dr John Akeroyd: Transylvania’s Flowers  & Countryside

6.30pm – 8.30pm: ADEPT reception: wine and canapés

Private view: British Painters in Transylvania

Wednesday 22nd January

6pm: Doors open & exhibition viewing

6.30pm: Talk by Jeremy Musson – The Role of Beauty in Cultural Heritage & Conservation

7pm – 8.30pm: Alexandru Tomescu & Dragos Ilie – Live in concert

8.30pm – 9pm: Drinks reception

Supporters

The Romanian Embassy and the Romanian Cultural Institute for hosting the exhibition & concert at No 1 Belgrave Square

LGT Wealth Management for generously sponsoring the Exhibition

Prince Stirbey Wines for generously donating wine from their vineyards

Aqua Carpatica for kindly supplying their bottled water

Humphrey Stone for designing the catalogue

Liisa Steele for helping to put it all together

and all the artists, who are giving 30% of their sales in support of ADEPT

Exhibiting Artists

Katharine Alecse, Richard Foster, Joana Galego, Felicity House, Clare Inskip, Jeremy Musson, Richard Pikesley, Tobit  Roche, Tim Scott Bolton, Gail Sturgis, Gideon Summerfield

For the past two years, British artists have been travelling to Transylvania to paint and these works are the result. One third of all sales from the exhibition will be generously donated to ADEPT.

Transylvania, a Special Place

Transylvania is a special place. Visitors have long been drawn to its mountains, glens and rolling hills, its wealth of nature and traditional rural life and culture. In recent years, this beautiful region has captured the imagination of many people in Romania, Britain, Western Europe and further afield, not least King Charles III, who is a regular visitor. The King has frequently drawn attention to what he has termed Romania’s ‘remarkable rural civilization’, her agrarian heritage and precious resources of plant and animal life, both in wilderness areas and on farmland. Visitors increasingly seek out the flower-rich hay meadows, at their peak of colour in early to mid- summer but attractive from early spring to autumn.

This extensive meadowland is not some vestige of lost richness but a significant landscape element and one threatened by modern agriculture. These wildflower meadows comprise an iconic image of a countryside that, managed wisely, well combines natural beauty and a productive ecosystem.

Nature lies at the heart of so much Transylvanian and Romanian traditional village life, art and culture. However, the survival of these farmed landscapes and their biodiversity is as precarious as any ecosystem on Earth, even though they appear substantially intact. Future economic development has to incorporate thelegacy of the historical farming communities and combine best traditional farming practices with innovative technology. Not only must we not lose an intangible sense of place, but also there is no reason why the ruraleconomy cannot again provide a livelihood linked directly to landscape, incorporating sustainable food production and biodiversity conservation.

Dr. John Akeroyd, Fundatia ADEPT Transylvania

ADEPT

An Unconventional Conservation Organisation

Reflecting on the last 20 years of Fundatia ADEPT, I see our success as a blend of good fortune and an alertness to seize opportunities. We began our work as Romania prepared to join the EU and were, therefore, in a position to influence early policy-making. Our collaboration with the Romanian Ministry has supported over  200,000 farmers and 1.2 million hectares in nature-friendly farming for two decades.

This early success has been followed up by an unrelenting innovative and flexible approach to conservation, covering a range of activities: grassland management research; developing economic support for small-scale farmers; promoting the appreciation of the national and European importance of farmland biodiversity; and diversifying income through nature tourism  and  traditional  crafts. In recognition of its work, ADEPT has won top prizes at EU level three years in a row for its innovative approaches.

In 2016, ADEPT acquired a 200 hectare farm in the Angofa Valley. ADEPT has developed a unique demonstration farm combined with a grassland research facility at its field study centre (the former village school) which also doubles as a nature study centre for local schools and overseas students. New initiatives include working with award-winning innovators, Mosaic Earth and KANOP, to analyse changes in land use, and with RePLANET, to develop Europe’s first grassland carbon and biodiversity credit schemes, which will revolutionize support for nature-friendly farming and Transylvania’s small-scale farming communities.

ADEPT has become one of Romania’s leading agri-environment advisory services, with a high impact at national level and a strong European reputation. Our success is due to our energetic Romanian staff (most early members are still with us after 20 years), support from Romanian universities and the active co-operation of Romanian farmers. We would like to express our profound gratitude for the powerful and visionary partnerships we have enjoyed over the years with a range of corporate and philanthropic funders, on whom our activities and results absolutely depend, an important source of ideas and stimulus as well as of essential funding.

You can learn more about our projects and how to support them by visiting www.fundatia-ADEPT.org

Nathaniel Page, Director, Fundatia ADEPT, 2024

The Pro Patrimonio Foundation

The Pro Patrimonio Foundation is an international non-profit NGO, with branches in Romania (Bucharest), Great Britain and France. The Foundation is Romania’s National Trust and its establishment in 2000 aimed to alert Romanians to their architectural cultural heritage, neglected by 43 years of communist rule. The Foundationboth restores and finds a purpose for these buildings and community participation plays an important role. Thefollow- ing are some of the Foundation’s current and future restoration projects.

The 18th century wooden church in Ursi is part of the 60 Wooden Churches Project. Its restoration began in 2010 with an emergency intervention, initiated by the Romanian Order of Architects, and was financed by the Pro Patrimonio Foundation. The project won the Conservation category at the 2021 European Heritage Awards and also received the Public Choice Award at the same event.

The wooden church in Sirineasa is a distinct case study under the umbrella of the research programme run bythe Foundation.

One of Pro Patrimonio’s fundamental objectives is to educate owners and communities of the importance of their heritage buildings and historical sites. Their restoration work involves a diverse programme of hands-on activities, employing and teaching skills which involve the local community as much as possible.

With the completion and restoration of the George Enescu House, birthplace of Romania’s most celebrated composer, the Academy of Music and Sound Studies has set up a music study programme for local children. The restored house hosts music workshops, concerts and artists’ residencies. The Enescu House is a flagship for supporting cultural architecture, traditional building techniques and the visual arts.

Neamtu Manor in the village of Olari, Pârscoveni, Olt county, is one of the few examples of civil architecture preserved in southern Romania. Due to a long period of neglect, the Manor requires extensive and urgent conservation and consolidation works and needs significant funding to complete the project, much of which is being carried out by volunteers working alongside professional restorers. Pro Patrimonio’s Golescu Villa and the dendrological park in Câmpulung Muscel is an exceptional example of architectural and landscape integrity. In the Foundation’s strategy to conserve this special heritage landscape, the space hosts annual creative residencies,landscape and craft workshops, open days and activities for children.

Since 2006, Pro Patrimonio has organised cultural programmes at the Petre P. Carp mansion in Tibanesti. It runs a series of workshops on traditional crafts and experimental techniques, with and professionals sharing insights, experiences and ideas on the best ways to restore buildings on a limited budget without jeopardising the character and integrity of the original fabric.

Donations, large or small, are vital to the Foundation’s work: propatrimonio.org/donate/. Support the core activities of the Foundation by paying the annual minimum fee of 300 lei / 60 EUR which will cover the period 1 January – 31 December 2025. Please send us an email to propatrimonio.romania@gmail.com so that we can thank you and keep you informed of our activities.

There is a unique opportunity to enjoy access across the International National Trusts Organisation Places network, taking advantage of our Pro Patrimonio membership rate discount. Eg: if you are a member of the UK National Trust, you can use your membership to explore our places in Romania and vice versa. https://www.into.org, www.propatrimonio.org.

More about our supporters

LGT Wealth Management

It is one of the leading wealth managers in the UK. When we launched in 2008, it was with a simple plan: to put our clients first and provide a personalised, transparent investment service tailored around their goals and needs. Investing is both a science and an art: financial analysis and portfolio construction are rational processes, but financial decisions are also driven by hopes, fears and a deep sense of responsibility. With our private ownership by the Princely Family of Liechtenstein providing stability and financial strength, our clients become part of a distinguished legacy at LGT that helps them to build their wealth for generations. A long-term outlook and an entrepreneurial ethos are at the heart of our firm. LGT Wealth Management has offices in London, Jersey, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester and has over £30 billion in assets under management. We are delighted to support Fundatia ADEPT on their 20th Anniversary.

Prince Stirbey Wines

For over 300 years, the Stirbey family has crafted wines, guided by well-established principles passed down through time. We are committed to pre- serving these traditions and passing them on to future generations. We believe in honouring traditional grape varieties that have evolved over centuries, perfectly adapting to the unique conditions of their wine regions. To highlight the distinct character of each variety, we produce only single-grape wines, vinifying them separately. The soil, climate, flora, fauna, even the customs of the people working in our vineyards, all contribute to the unique character of our grapes and wines. This essence, known as terroir or the deeper concept of genius loci (the spirit of the place), is what we strive to capture in every bottle. We  believe nature knows best. Our grapevines are cared for  manually, with minimal chemical treatments, to let the natural processes guide us. In winemaking, we respect the natural rhythm of fermentation and ageing, avoiding unnecessary technical interventions. For generations, the Stirbey family has been synonymous with excellence and has played a significant role in Romania’s development. We guarantee that all Stirbey wines live up to this legacy of quality, proudly carrying the Stirbey name as a seal of distinction.

RSVP:

Link to register for ADEPT reception (21.01.25) – donations invited

Link to tickets for Pro Patrimonio reception (22.01.25) – £25

DOWNLOAD THE EVENT CATALOGUE