Casa Lupu is a community with no hierarchical structure, composed of professionals working in within the creative industry. Casa Lupu has emerged as a common work-space for about 30 friends. Soon, more and more people became interested about this idea so they developed into a larger community. At Casa Lupu, they started by developing some of their independent projects and also by hosting various unconventional cultural events. Gradually, the group’s activities have acquired more of a public dimension, providing for creatively (spare) time spending, a pro-active response to the local cultural scene. Even from the first year, Casa Lupu has become a popular alternative culture hub in Bucharest.
Calup is the newest cultural product developed by Casa Lupu. The purpose of this project is creating unique “pop-up” cultural events, inside some of the most interesting buildings of Bucharest.
How does Calup work?
They choose a building in central Bucharest; a beautiful one, (ideally) one with an interesting story to tell. Often, the buildings that they like are unused and ignored city dwellers. They work on the house in order to highlight its best assets. They create an original concept for a cultural event that matches the house. Finally, they open the building to the public. For one time only and for a short while, they invite the public into buildings that are inaccessible otherwise.
Through these events they aim to identify and shed light on the buildings’ hidden potential as an unique attractor in the urban fabric. Calup events suggest and implement alternative but economically viable solutions for the urban regeneration of some of the most beautiful houses in Bucharest.
Dark Matters @ Caimatei 10, the first event in the Calup project, was a specific urban intervention on Bucharest’s cultural landscape. For one time only, they opened to the public one of the most stately houses in the city, otherwise inaccessible to the public. The visitors were expected on Saturday, April 27, at Caimatei,10 villa, for a unique public venue where they were offered – in the dark – three floors of art installations, exhibitions and a party floor.
For more info go to www.facebook.com/calupu and www.facebook.com/casa.lupu
Info and images courtesy of Calup