Join us for the launch of LOC! Explore the Central Park and discover its wonderful outdoor augmented reality installations!

Starting on October 19th, Central Park visitors are warmly invited to immerse themselves in a delightful series of interactive augmented reality installations! Discover the lesser-known wonders of our beloved and popular park's biodiversity (details on-site at LOC. Central Park.)

These magical virtual installations were created by talented local artists working hand-in-hand with ecology and biodiversity experts, in a wonderful collaboration between Reactor de creație și experiment and Clujul Sustenabil.

The artistic creations were designed by Gál Orsolya, Ioana Hogman, Marius Mornea, and Mihai Păcurar. During an exciting workshop in early July, they teamed up with ecology and biology experts Natalia Ciobanu, Eliana Sevianu, and Mihai Savu to explore beautiful ideas at the intersection of human life and the green ecosystems of our city. The spotlight was on our beloved Central Park, focusing on the vibrant concept of biodiversity and how human activities over the last decades shape this ecosystem.

You can read all about these inspiring collaborative and individual journeys in a special book documenting the LOC. Central Park project, which will be joyfully launched alongside the interactive installations!

On October 19, 2024, at 4:00 PM, the augmented reality installations in Central Park will spring to life! You are invited to explore them right on the spot. The opening tour will be led by the creators themselves, starting from the main entrance of the park (near the Hungarian State Theatre) and winding its way to the Casino and Chios Lake area, where many of the artworks await your discovery.

This exciting event is perfect for audiences of all ages! To enjoy the installations, all you need is a mobile phone with internet access and a pair of headphones.

These augmented reality experiences will whisk you away into the secret world of local birds and take you through 200 years of park history from an insect's perspective, while building wonderful new bridges to understand our relationship with plants and our past, present, and future ecosystem!

Labyrinth is the enchanting creation of artist Gál Orsolya, where visitors are invited to wander through a hidden maze in the park's green area. Along the way, you will step through sensory zones belonging to different ecosystems, opening secret gateways to magical parallel worlds!

In Monuments of Latency, Ioana Hogman presents a series of installations exploring our relationship with plants—both the ones we grow for food and those that keep us company every day in the city's public spaces. These delightful visual and audio experiences will give you a wonderful opportunity to explore the beauty of living in symbiosis with nature.

Marius Mornea, combining his passion as a sustainability specialist and artist, presents Palette of the Banks, a playful journey through the park’s history seen through the eyes of a tiny insect species living in Chios Lake. Caddisfly larvae develop underwater and are famous for building cozy little tube-like shelters. The installation draws a creative parallel between the stages of the park’s development and the building materials available to these little creatures over the last 200 years!

Birds of the Park is a spectacular installation by Mihai Păcurar where you can meet five of the park's bird species! They are presented on a grand, oversized scale—just like a fun dinosaur park experience! The experience also features a delightful soundscape sharing fascinating stories about how these birds help our park's ecosystem thrive.

What is LOC?

LOC is a vibrant platform dedicated to exploring creative, alternative ways of living in Cluj-Napoca. Its main goal is to provide a welcoming space and tools for local residents to explore urban living through the lens of global warming, resource access, gentrification, urban planning, and, of course, our impact on nature.

The LOC platform comes to life through an augmented reality app that acts as an open-air AR gallery. You can enjoy these projects right on the spot in Cluj, or explore them anywhere else with a different set of playful instructions!

This exciting project will unfold over several years, with each new stage bringing a brand-new installation designed for a real space in Cluj.

LOC is envisioned and developed by Mihai Păcurar, an amazing interdisciplinary artist whose work spans a wide range of interconnected media. With a deep passion for the theatre, Mihai has worked as a set and video designer on over 80 productions for both state and independent stages! Today, he is thrilled to explore the wonderful intersection of art and technology to create research and educational platforms, continuing his brilliant experiments with image and sound as the head of his company within the Postnational Interfonic Theatre.

This project was proudly initiated and developed by Reactor de creație și experiment.

Partners: Clujul Sustenabil, Cluj Cultural Centre, Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering at Babeș-Bolyai University.

Augmented reality module wonderfully implemented by Augmented Space Agency. 

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A cultural project co-funded by the National Cultural Fund Administration. The project does not necessarily represent the position of the National Cultural Fund Administration. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the program or how the results of the program may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the funding beneficiary.

Project proudly supported by the Cluj-Napoca City Hall and Local Council.