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The story and the history of our space
A transformation from the past to the contemporaryARSMONITOR is located in a building with a special history. The current House of the Free Press is emblematic of the history of Soviet occupation of Romania and the radical changes following World War II in the Eastern Block. Constructed in the 1950s on a land parcel belonging to the Royal Hippodrome, the building was initially called the I.V. Stalin Scânteia House Printing Combine and renamed the House of the Free Press after 1989. The structure has never been renovated, and the façade and décor have degraded over the last 6 decades. Various public and private ventures have occupied the building since 1989. In 2023, ARSMONITOR Gallery rented one of the wings of the building, Wing A2 on the third floor, belonging to the Coresi National Printing Company, and began renovation.
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The ARSMONITOR Gallery includes an exhibition space, an office, a deposit of works, and covers over 2,150 square feet. The renovation process took nearly 7 months and went through three stages. The first stage involved taking the space back to square one after ten years in disuse, cleaning, emptying, removing false ceilings, air vents, time-worn carpets and glass walls. The second stage included reinstalling electrical wiring and positioning the exhibition walls to be as versatile and flexible as possible for the needs of future shows. The final interior design saw a labyrinthine entrance, an open central space and a dark alcove at the end of the space, intended for video projection. The space was completed when the walls were raised, professional lights were installed, and the best quality finishings were applied. We aimed to achieve a durable renovation with the feeling of a well-lit, open space for our guests, as well as a generous space for hanging works, the ceiling being over 16 feet high, and the walls being between 20 and 30 feet long. What’s more, we insisted on maintaining some architectural elements from the original building, including the emblematic beams of the Press House ceilings, which were left exposed and untouched, as witnesses of history.
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