During the economic crisis of 1929, a group of 230 intellectuals and workers, in difficult living conditions, set up an association called the Pietatea Bănățeană Mutual Aid Funeral Association, with the aim of relieving families of financial worries in case of death. The association was registered at the Registry of the Timiș Torontal Court, civil commercial section, with file no. 2684 in 1929, under serial number 187, communicated in MO no.129/August 1929. Our Association currently has over 18,200 members, of which 11,291 are domiciled in Timișoara. Most of our members are over 60 years old.
The first experience of a cultural project of the association was during the opening event of the national cultural programme Timisoara European Capital of Culture on 17-19 February, namely with the project Memory Laboratories. For this project, the Association Pietatea Bănățeană collaborated with the team of local artists Renee Renard and Ciprian Chirileanu to create an interactive exhibition that attracted over 600 visitors from different generations, including international visitors. Following this first experience, the association aims to continue and expand its collaboration with the cultural sector by involving its very broad membership base, creating a new social-cultural space in the city aimed at seniors, and making the existing archives available to those interested.
The archive materials are in Romanian, German and Hungarian (holographic) and highlight intercultural relations and the common heritage specific to Banat. As objectives in the year of the European Capital of Culture we aim to involve as many members of the association as possible (especially seniors at risk of social isolation) in cultural activities, as well as to open the space of the association to tourists from Romania and Central Europe for a cultural experience that combines anthropology, visual and performing arts and storytelling.
The first experience of a cultural project of the association was during the opening event of the national cultural programme Timisoara European Capital of Culture on 17-19 February, namely with the project Memory Laboratories. For this project, the Association Pietatea Bănățeană collaborated with the team of local artists Renee Renard and Ciprian Chirileanu to create an interactive exhibition that attracted over 600 visitors from different generations, including international visitors. Following this first experience, the association aims to continue and expand its collaboration with the cultural sector by involving its very broad membership base, creating a new social-cultural space in the city aimed at seniors, and making the existing archives available to those interested.
The archive materials are in Romanian, German and Hungarian (holographic) and highlight intercultural relations and the common heritage specific to Banat. As objectives in the year of the European Capital of Culture we aim to involve as many members of the association as possible (especially seniors at risk of social isolation) in cultural activities, as well as to open the space of the association to tourists from Romania and Central Europe for a cultural experience that combines anthropology, visual and performing arts and storytelling.
