ASTRA, Romania's only museum displaying at Paris International Cultural Heritage Fair

The Sibiu-based ASTRA Museum is Romania's only museum displaying throughout Sunday at the Paris International Cultural Heritage Fair, and among the exhibitors at the Romanian stand is potter Ionut Biscu, a soldier with the NATO Command in Sibiu who promotes the Horezu ceramics, the museum's spokesman, Cosmin Calinescu, told AGERPRES on Friday.

"The ASTRA Museum has been participating in the Paris Cultural Heritage Fair since 2018. As last year's edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year is our third participation. The fair offers the museum an opportunity to increase its visibility, draw tourists to the city of Sibiu and facilitate exchanges of experience, research into the developments of restoration, new solutions for the development of the museum. If in past years the live presentations were performed only by museum restorers, this year we bring to the public's attention an essential component of Romanian heritage, included on the UNESCO list, namely the Horezu ceramics, through potter Ionut Biscu, aided on the decorative side by Ramona Biscu," ASTRA Deputy Director General Ovidiu Baron told AGERPRES.

The Paris International Cultural Heritage Fair is being held, as usual, at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris. This year, the stand of the ASTRA Museum will once again promote the values of the Romanian cultural heritage, the exhibitions and projects of the ASTRA Museum and tourist attractions from Sibiu County, through the pamphlets provided by the Sibiu County Tourism Association. The live presentations of the ASTRA Museum brand include pottery workshops, with Horezu pottery - placed on the UNESCO Heritage List - in the lead role. Potter Biscu will work on a traditional potter's wheel, but also on an electric one, aided on the decorative side by Ramona Biscu (Ceramics Art of Horezu). Also, Raluca Miritoiu, restorer at the ASTRA Museum, will carry out textile restoration workshops. The stand of the ASTRA Museum is located in the Gabriel Hall - A15, the same place as in the previous edition held before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Established in 1994, the International Cultural Heritage Fair is organised by Ateliers d'Art de France, with the participation, on average, of over 300 exhibitors from 12 countries, heritage organisations operating in the field of restoration and crafts, public cultural bodies, artists, authors, etc.