Geotema 56_10 – The City of the Sensitive and the Brave. Personal Stories, Art and Place-Making in Cluj, Romania

Cluj, the second largest city in Romania, undergoes a process of defining its identity, whereat cultural heritage could be a major resource in the process. In order to support this, we realised research on visual materials using an album of original works about Cluj, artists’ drawings about the city – Clujul meu s¸i Clujul ta˘u [My Cluj and Your Cluj]. The project from which the album developed started in February 2013, as an initiative of a store for stationary, arts, and graphics supply, and it developed into a community project, where initatiors, contributors and society created together a compendium of original works. The album is an innovative product, offering an alternative image of Cluj, focusing on spatial and cultural connections, merging the features and the essence of the city and its people, It could be used as a planning tool, or an instrument in the process of placemaking, a special souvenir and an information source for tourism.

Keywords: visual art, place-making, place identity, geographical knowledge, Cluj.