
Mihaela Cîrjan (b. 1985) is an interdisciplinary cultural worker based in Bucharest, Romania, acting independently as cultural manager and, under the chosen name Michelle Panthère, as cultural context creator. She works in collaboration with artists and artistic collectives from different cultural backgrounds or with her own ideas, focusing on a practice of collective care and growth. In 2016 she co-founded the NGO MATKA, an instrument to develop artistic and educational projects for and with marginalized groups. In 2020 she initiated Rezidența21, a platform for artistic residencies and programs focused on experimental and contemporary music production and the development of the local independent scene. Also in 2020, she co-founded the initiative Atelierele Malmaison, a space dedicated primarily to hosting artist studios in the historical building Malmaison in Bucharest, and she is currently part of the multidisciplinary collective L1 Studios, which was formed in this context. In 2023, she co-created Satelit, a pop-up space for contemporary art in the National Technical Museum in Bucharest.
In recent years her interests have expanded into the curatorial area, with a focus on creating interdisciplinary collaborative contexts guided by the threads that unite feminist, posthuman, queer and decolonial thinking. With this in mind, she hopes to develop an open space for residencies, artistic experiment, critical and speculative thinking near Bucharest, under the name Anexa Matka, which was already inaugurated with a transnational residency in summer 2023.
Contexts and Exhibitions
group exhibition, co-curated w. Lea Rasovszky and Georgia Țidorescu, Satelit @ ”Dimitrie Leonida” National Technical Museum, Bucharest, Romania
transnational artistic residency on diy practices, Anexa Matka, Cornetu, Ilfov, Romania
group exhibition, co-curated w. Edith Lázár, in the broader context I believe in the continuous evolution of species. an exercise on non-anthropocentric thinking, Matka @ Ivan Gallery, Bucharest, Romania
contemporary art program part of the broader context Triumf Amiria. The Queer Culture Museum[?], Combinatul Fondului Plastic, Switch.Lab, Atelierele Malmaison, Suprainfinit Gallery, Goethe-Institut in Bucharest, Tranzit House in Cluj, Kunsthalle Bega in
Timișoara, and online
platform for independent music and sound hosting residencies and training programs
Collaborative Projects
SATELIT, 2023-ongoing
exhibition space for contemporary art, Matka @ ”Dimitrie Leonida” National Technical Museum, Bucharest, Romania
Art & Community, 2022-2023
contemporary art program focusing on artistic support, art workshops and debate, L1 Studios @ Atelierele Malmaison, Bucharest, Romania
imaginary nomad institution investigating Romanian queer culture since the decriminalization of same sex relationships in 2001, MozaiQ LGBT, Romania
Creative Spaces for Education, 2016-2022
cultural intervention and restauration program, Matka @ ”Me and My Friends” Day Center, Bucharest, Romania