Artist Stalk #4 with Gianina Cărbunariu
(Artist Stalk)

Sometimes, the most interesting conversations with artists don’t start with their work, but with much simpler things: what made them pause recently, what they can’t stop thinking about, what they noticed on a day when they weren’t looking for anything in particular. At Artist Stalk, that’s exactly where we like to stay – in the unplanned zone of the conversation. An Artist Stalk is a conversation about anything but one’s own practice, which opens up another perspective on the things around us and brings us closer to the person who is the artist, rather than to the status of being an artist.

Gianina Cărbunariu is a theatre director, playwright, and cultural manager. A graduate of the “I.L. Caragiale” National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest, she also completed a master’s degree in Dramatic Writing and defended her doctoral thesis, The Director-Playwright, summa cum laude.

Internationally recognized for her documentary and politically engaged theatre, she is the author and director of acclaimed productions such as Stop the Tempo, Kebab, 20/20, Solitaritate, and Tipografic Majuscul. Her productions have been presented at renowned festivals and venues, including the Festival d’Avignon, the Münchner Kammerspiele, and the Royal Court Theatre in London.

She has received two UNITER Awards: Best Production of 2014 for De vânzare/For Sale (Odeon Theatre, Bucharest), and the UNITER Senate Special Award for Tipografic Majuscul, recognizing her contribution to documentary theatre.

From 2017 to April 2024, she served as General Director of the Youth Theatre in Piatra Neamț, where she also curated the International Theatre Festival. Her tenure was marked by a participatory artistic vision focused on community engagement and the promotion of new voices in theatre. She currently teaches theatre directing at the Faculty of Theatre and Television at Babeș-Bolyai University.

As part of the Artist Stalk Cluj program, we have invited artists connected to the local scene to join the conversation and propose a video work, installed in the gallery space, that serves as a key reference: a work that has left a mark on them, shaped their artistic sensibility, or opened up new perspectives for them. For the fourth Artist Stalk in Cluj, Gianina Cărbunariu has selected the video work Why I Never Became a Dancer by Tracey Emin, which can be seen at Contemporar from 1 to 4 October 2026.

Tracey Emin – Why I Never Became a Dancer (1995)
1 – 4 octombrie 2026
Visiting hours: 
Thursday (October 1st, 2026) 15:00 – 19:00
Friday – Sunday (October 2nd-4th, 2026): 16:00 – 22:00 (Noaptea Albă a Galeriilor)

Artist Stalk is a concept developed by Indecis artist run (Timișoara) and adopted by Contemporar in Cluj.
With the kind support of: White Cube London

Event organized with the support of the Cluj-Napoca City Hall and Local Council.