Luminara Florescu is the co-curator and a contributing artist of the Prison Residencies project.  She is a mother, an artist, and a creative wellbeing practitioner. Florescu works with a range of media and processes embracing a playful, humorous, and often subversive attitude to art-making. Her inspiration comes from many sources including the Fluxus Art Movement. She enjoys research projects while embracing working more spontaneously and initiating collective experiences in collaboration with artists from across artforms and the public.

 

For her residency, Florescu is creating a ‘Data Hub’ where the hyper-organized routines of the prison system meet with the ambiguities of historical research.  She will use vintage filing systems to record visitors’ responses and stories relating to the prison while QR Codes will be used to link visitors with the extensive research carried out by Florescu and the other participating artists.  During her research, Florescu was also captivated by the uniforms of female Victoria Prison Officers, in particular, the large bunches of keys that hung from chains around their waists. The keys marked who was in charge. 

 

Biography:

In 2019 Florescu co-curated and contributed to the well-received, Arts Council England-funded ‘B-Wing’ exhibition in Shepton Mallet Prison. Her limited edition artist book titled ‘Noble Offerings is part of the V&A Museum’s permanent collection and her video art installation “Home Town’ was chosen to represent British artists in Milan. Florescu is a founding member of HEARTHSTONE Ways CIC an artist-led organization whose purpose is to bring Contemporary Art as a form of Well-being to communities in the South West through socially engaged and collaborative art projects.

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Website: http://luminarastar.co.uk

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luminara_florescu