Transylvanian Sketching Tour

This trip was sponsored through my 'Art Getaway Prize' awarded by GAMIAN Europe, after I participated in the Vibrant Mind exhibition last year.

Destination 1: Cluj Napoca

I've wanted to visit Cluj Napoca since being told by my Romanian friends that it is a cultural hub with many museums and art galleries, as a university town its populated by young people studying in the city. After my boyfriend told me that his grandma was born and lived in a Transylvanian village not far away, we decided to turn the trip into a mini-Transylvanian tour.

On our first day in Cluj we visited the Steampunk Transylvania museum (the only one of its kind in Europe), before heading to the Botanical Gardens.

I tried to make friends with some Romanian kitties but they weren't as enthusiastic to see me as the Turkish cats in Antalya!

The town has a really vibrant night life, and I even managed to find some Vegan friendly food at Marty's Eatery and Sushi on Fire!

Since it was an "Art Getaway", we visited the Art Museum in Banffy Palace which had a huge temporal range of artwork on display, I especially enjoyed the current exhibition by Romanian contemporary artist, Valentin Codoiu.

We also visited the Ethngraphic Museum and National Ethnographic Park where you can see the old style Romanian houses from different periods, as well as traditional clothing and tools.

We also visited 'MINA cluj' which has a 360' light projection show as well as highly instagramable 'New Media Art' installations.

I also enjoyed some of the street art on display around the city!

Sketches from Cluj Napoca

Destination 2: Medias

We took the train from Cluj Napoca to Medias, a pleasant 3-hour journey through the Transylvanian countryside. We had some initial difficulty finding the accommodation because, although we had the property address, the host hadn't sent us any of the check-in information despite me messaging multiple times to ask. The appartment turned out to be in the same building as the local radio station, and the friendly DJ helped us find the check-in information before giving us a tour of the radio station as well as helping us to arrange transport to our next destination.

Medias turned out to be a beautiful little town with a charming historic centre, which we enjoyed exploring despite to thunder storms and torrential downpours.

Unfortunately, I was struck down by a mystery sickness whilst we were in Medias, so I spent most of the time in bed!

Sketches from Medias

Destination 3: Bazna (Baaßen)

We only had two nights in Medias before travelling to our third destination, with thanks to a friend of the Radio Medias DJ, Emmanuel, who lives in the next village along. He showed us his family's home on the way and we got to meet a very cute dog and cat as well as some chickens.

The village, also known as Baaßen, is where my boyfriend's grandma was born and lived until she moved to Bavaria. The family story is rather a tragic but common tale for the Transylvanian-Saxons, who began settling in the region in the 12th-century. After WWII, the Saxons of working age were deported to forced labour camps in Siberia and the Ukraine as reparations for the war - the living conditions were harsh and 20% of them didn't survive. My boyfriend's great-grandparents eventually escaped and moved to Bavaria, only then retrieving the children who had been left in the village. Most of the remaining Transylvanian-Saxons, who had not been deported after the war, were bought by the German government during the Communist reigime, so very few Saxons still live in the region, despite having had a huge cultural influence.

We were fortunate to be given a private tour of the Church, where we were allowed to play the organ - which is apparently the oldest working organ in Transylania.

The village is surrounded by beautiful countryside and I enjoyed exploring the area in the sunshine, being careful not to venture to far into woodland areas where there are bears!

Sketches from Baaßen

Destination 4: Sibiu (Hermannstadt)

Our fourth and final destination was the city of Sibiu, also known as Hermannstadt, which has heavily German influenced architecture, as well as museums, art galleries and a small airport from which we could fly home.

By coincidence, we arrived in Sibiu on a weekend where a lot of cultural events were occurring, so we had the opportunity to see traditional dancing and music at a festival in the central square...

as well as a wine festival at the ethnographic park, where we saw another performance of slightly different traditional dancing in costume and Romanian folk music.

We also visited the Brukenthal Art Museum ...

and the contemporary art gallery where there was an amazing exhibition by Irina Minodora Ene, who used some really interesting materials in her work including; baked bread, lipstick kisses and boot prints.

I found this artwork, 'Stepped On', particularly powerful.

There are many nice restaurants and cafés in Sibiu, as well as an entire street of Gelato stalls.

We did another walking tour in Sibiu, and we got to meet a real "journey man" - people who are training in traditional crafts.

On our final day in Sibiu, we visited the Saxon church, which had a stunning tiled roof, as well as a climate change exhibition on display inside and a very tall tower with amazing views over the city.

Sketches from Sibiu

With Thanks...

My huge thanks go to GAMIAN Europe who sponsored the trip through the "Art Getaway Prize" I was awarded after participating in The Vibrant Mind - Exploring Mental Health Through Artistry - touring exhibition. I'm also grateful to my boyfriend, Johann, for sharing the journey with me (memories are so much more precious when you have someone special to share them with!) as well as taking hundreds of photos/videos whenever requested!

Finally, a brief note on the role of sketching in my creative practice, and its importance for my mental health and well-being. I have been making these landscape and architectural sketches since I was 17/18 years old, at a time when I was suffering from severe mental health illness, walking and sketching was central to my recovery and remains a core element of my creative practice to this day. The function of these sketches is two-fold: firstly, to document my journeys and the places I have visited, celebrating the diverse cultural heritage of Europe and providing me with a memento of my experiences in each destination. Secondly, sketching is an act of mindfulness which helps me to cope with the toll that the stress of travel (which I do a lot of) puts on my mind and body. The act of making a sketch grounds me in a place, helping me to process the often overwhelming exposure to unfamiliar stimuli and to focus my mind for a period of time and find meaning and purpose in the sensation of displacement. It comes down to a rather simple equation: If I make a representation of the destination, then it makes the journey (and associated physical and mental costs of travel) worthwhile. This is why I always carry my sketchbook with me when I travel (for work or leisure) and why I find so much joy and meaning in sketching the world in all its diverse beauty.

The Vibrant Mind (Touring Exhibition), by GAMIAN Europe, 2024