curatorial / Society / Marconi Cinema in Bucharest, a century-old building, becomes a cultural space / photo gallery

23 Iulie 2025 /

Marconi Cinema in Bucharest, a century-old building, becomes a cultural space / photo gallery

Marconi Cinema in Bucharest, inaugurated in 1930 after being designed by architect Constantin Canănău, and left in a state of disrepair for decades, has a good chance to come back to life thanks to a rehabilitation campaign.

ARCEN has announced that it will transform – by the end of 2029 – the Marconi ruin, located at the intersection of Calea Griviței and Atelierului Street, into a cultural space with two cinema halls, concert and conference halls, an exhibition space dedicated to photography, a hub open to young students studying theater, film and image courses, a terrace where film screenings will be held in summer, as well as a café and restaurant.

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Marconi Cinema – in an advanced state of dilapidation requiring an impressive collective mobilization of specialists with proven experience in the rescue and conservation of built heritage, but also of significant financial resources – is now private property.

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Edmond Niculușcă, president and founder of ARCEN, says that the rehabilitation of the historic monument building will be a project of an entire community, without public money. “We are not going to do it with public funds or an exclusive private person, but by mobilizing an entire community. We are already working with highly professional people on many levels on this project. A major challenge will be to attract a share of European funds”. In addition, ARCEN plans to develop international partnerships to reactivate the site.

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A campaign lauched on July 25

The fundraising campaign, which will last around four years, starts on July 25, 2025.
From 21:00, Cinema Marconi will be illuminated for the first time in decades with a video mapping show coordinated by ARCEN.

The event will include the presentation of the vision and the project which depends on community mobilization.

The campaign aims to raise at least €3 million over the next 4 years. The first phase – making the building safe – starts this summer and the whole project is expected to be completed in 2029-2030.

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