Most of the work that makes art possible remains out of sight until almost the very end. We encounter the exhibition once the doors open, the performance as it begins, the book once it has been printed, the event when it starts at the announced time. What we rarely see is everything that had to happen beforehand: the hours of work and rehearsal, the negotiations, the administration, the stretches without money, the many changes of plan, the fatigue accumulating in the background, and all the small things that keep a project, a practice or a space alive.
From October 2026 into early 2027, Work in Progress looks at these conditions across Southeast Europe and follows work through several of its forms: as physical gesture and effort, as time and rhythm invested in a process, as a relationship between people, as a source of exhaustion, and as a possibility for building something together. Three practice and research labs, a group exhibition, a mediation programme and a regional gathering of independent initiatives approach work through different forms, relationships and contexts.
01 / PRACTICE +
RESEARCH LABS
THE SHAPE OF WORK
Before work can be measured in outcomes, it takes shape. But that shape is never fixed in advance. It changes along the way, through the people we work with, the conditions we work under, and the things we give up or choose to hold on to.
Three labs led by Iulia Toma, Ana Labudović and Mihai Mihalcea stay close to this process while it is still unfolding.
OPEN-CALLS
02 / EXHIBITION +
MEDIATION
TIRED MASS
Exhaustion is often presented as an individual problem. Sleep more. Manage your time better. Take a break. Learn to say no. Tired Mass starts somewhere else: with exhaustion as a symptom of the conditions under which people live and work, rather than simply a personal failure to manage them.
03 / REGIONAL GATHERING
PERIFERAL
In independent cultural spaces, a great deal of work begins before there is enough money, enough time or enough people to do it. PERIFERAL brings organisations, artist-run initiatives and cultural practitioners from across Southeast Europe to Timișoara to put these working realities on the table.
Work in Progress is organised by Foc și Pară Association and takes place in Timișoara from October 2026 to January 2027.
Cultural project co-funded by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund (AFCN). The project does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or for how its results may be used. Responsibility for the project and its outcomes rests entirely with the funding beneficiary.
The project is organised in partnership with the Municipality of Timișoara, through Centrul de Proiecte. #SpațiiPentruComunitate
