Culture comes alive where people gather to see, listen, discuss, and pass stories on. Since 2015, the Caleido program has brought this energy to the forefront. Initially started as a performing arts project, it gradually transformed into a multidisciplinary cultural space connected to intercultural dialogue, education, and artistic voices from all backgrounds.
For us, diversity, empathy, and a non-conformist spirit are the ideas that shape every meeting between artists, audiences, and communities. Through Caleido, we aimed to build a network that brings together independent practices, local voices, visual art, and international cooperation.
Our work takes place on several connected levels:
In the field of performing arts, we bring theater, contemporary dance, and touring productions to the stage that spark conversations on important social topics.
Through visual arts and photography, we build exhibitions and mentoring programs that develop visual culture and preserve community memory.
We get involved directly at the local level through workshops and non-formal education, bringing people together and highlighting the resources of each place.
Additionally, we offer space, productions, and counseling to independent artists to support their freedom of expression, while through international partnerships we connect the local creative scene to European ideas and opportunities.
From a festival to a performing arts platform
The journey of Caleido began in 2014, under the project name “Amalgam”, and culminated with the Caleido International Theater Festival. In the early years, attention turned toward independent theater, ethnic and cultural diversity, as well as the inclusion of sexual minorities.
In 2020, when the pandemic blocked the industry, the project supported new theater and dance productions adapted to the times, including through full video recordings. By 2021, Caleido had already become a platform for different artistic voices, featuring shows, dance, performance, conversations, and support for the independent artistic community.
This shift reintegrates the relationship between the artist, the audience, and the organizers. Caleido creates contexts where art is debated and connected to reality. For example, the Caleido Talks series brings together artists, experts, and the general public, transforming the stage into an open space for reflection and new ideas.
The image: from documentation to participation
The expansion of Caleido toward the visual sphere came as a natural step. In our vision, culture is an experience that demands to be viewed, documented, and shared. In recent years, photography has moved to the center of our concerns, becoming a true instrument of attention that brings to light the spaces, gestures, and stories that the daily rhythm often leaves in the shadows.
This direction took shape through a bilateral program developed by the Amfiteatru Foundation alongside the Nitja Center for Contemporary Art in Lillestrøm, Norway. The initiative brought two major exhibitions to Bucharest and Lillestrøm, mentoring for emerging artists from both countries, and the strengthening of the Photography Resource Center (Centrul de Resurse în Fotografie – CdRF) as an active cultural nucleus.
The center grew organically from the Walk & Shoot workshops, where photography was used as a tool for urban exploration, neighborhood observation, and understanding the city’s memory. From the photographic walk to the library, gallery, school, and darkroom, the CdRF model shows how the practice of imagery can generate community and cultural infrastructure. In relation to Caleido, photography asserts the same vocation of mediation: it helps us see more closely, document, and give shape to shared experiences.
Local presences
In 2022, the Caleido Days in Ferentari brought together neighborhood residents and audiences from all over Bucharest for shows, concerts, DJ sessions, and 20 workshops in photography, theater, dance, music, painting, crafts, gastronomy, neighborhood history, the Romani language, civic education, and the history of Roma culture. Through this approach, we bring together contemporary art and local traditions while providing the necessary conditions for each place to express its own voice.
Another example is Young Theater in Vama Buzăului, where 80 young people learned acting, set design, direction, and photography through direct practice, in a project subsequently developed alongside the local community and supported by European funds.
Independent artists and borderless cooperation
Independent creators represent the heart of the Caleido program. We support the independent scene through new productions, counseling, and presentation spaces. In Timișoara, as part of the 2023 European Capital of Culture, the Caleido Festival brought 20 shows and workshops under the concept of Togetherness, placing emphasis on the connection between people.
Through cultural exchanges with partners from Norway, we bring international mentoring opportunities, residencies, and joint productions to the local stage. In this sense, internationalization does not mean stepping out of the local context, but bringing new resources, practices, and partners into a relationship with it. Caleido remains a living platform where culture circulates freely among people and transforms every meeting into a shared experience.
Photo credit: Alex Iacob