Most of the work that makes art possible is already over by the time we see it. The exhibition opens, the performance begins, the book is printed, the event starts at the announced time. What stays mostly out of sight are the hours of work, rehearsal, administration and care, the periods without money, the changing plans, the exhaustion, 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, moving between the scale of the body and that of the cultural organisation through practice and research labs, an exhibition and mediation programme, and a regional gathering of independent initiatives.
01 / PRACTICE +
RESEARCH LABS
THE SHAPE OF WORK
Before work can be measured through its outcomes, it takes shape. That shape is never entirely decided in advance. Over several weeks, three labs led by Iulia Toma, Ana Labudović and Mihai Mihalcea stay with that process while it is still changing.
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
