Rusu Stefan / Roumanie

Stefan Rusu – visual artist/freelance curator
(Born in 1964, Kâietu, Moldova) based in Chisinau and Bucharest.

Stefan’s artist and curatorial agenda is closely connected to undergoing processes and changes occurred in the post-socialist societies after 1989. Among his preoccupations are the aspects of mass-manipulation techniques, political engineering strategies (political engineering), forms of colonization and culturalization that culminated in some cases with the construction of artificial states and new nations, as it is the case of Autonomous Republic of Birobidjan, Republic of Karelia or Republic of Moldova. Rusu was trained as visual artist and later extended his practice to curating, managing and fundraising projects, editing TV programs, producing experimental films, TV reports and documentaries.

In 2005/2006 he attended the Curatorial Training Program at Stichting De Appel from Amsterdam where he co-curated Mercury in Retrograde (www.mercuryinretrograde.org).

"RO-MD/Moldova in Two Scenarios" is the largest interdisciplinary project he realized until now that deals with the investigation by juxtaposing of the current cultural, social and political situation in two Moldova regions (Moldova region from Romania and Republic of Moldova) this temporary research platform was an attempt to create a rapprochement and to understand the nature of the relationship between Romanian and Moldovan societies at the present stage, to analyze the causes and effects of a shared historical and identitary trajectory in the context of divided regions and societies.

Changing Climate is the title of his recent curatorial project realized in 2009, which was presented at Kunsthalle Exnergasse from Vienna.

Currently he is preparing a research based project Drifting Identity Station documenting multiple aspects of identity syndrome that took place in former political construction- RSSM (Soviet Socialist Moldavian Republic) and some decades after the dissolution of Soviet Union in the new era of neo-liberal political winter. The presentation of the project is planed for the end of March 2010.