On Sunday, 05 November 2023, Spotlight Heritage Timisoara, organised a remarkable performance of music and poetry - Heritage in the Spotlight - Lights Revived - at the Jecza Museum. This initiative was carried out by the Polytechnic University of Timișoara in partnership with the Triade Foundation, as part a the Cultural Programme Timișoara 2023 European Capital of Culture.

The show brought to the forefront the memories of women of culture in the Timisoara area, focusing on the stories of childhood, youth, student life and memories of the Jecza family. Past and present were merged in a unique way with the help of digital and augmented reality technologies, creating a special show for the audience present, which brought to life images and moments of contemporary culture developed around the Jecza Museum, the Giroc district area.

"We really wanted the memories of the women of Timisoara to come to light. The city's history is full of records and memories of men, but we wanted it to be different. All the other shows have focused mainly on stories from a slightly more distant or closer past, but this show [Resurrected lights] is about today's women, about women who today have managed to make their mark on Timisoara culture and art.", presented Dr Diana Andone, Director of the UPT ID/IFR and e-Learning Centre.

The performance gathered almost 100 participants, guests, friends, former colleagues and acquaintances, who enjoyed poetry, music, texts and memories of life in the contemporary cultural space of Timisoara.

"We especially wanted to do this show here [Jecza Museum], which is a cultural space Sorina Jecza and her friends, Prof. Smaranda Vultur, the poet Robert Serban, who wrote poems dedicated to the city within the Spotlight Heritage project, and the writer Marcel Tolcea, a friend of the Jecza family, and as a special guest, the teacher Alexandra Gutu.", added Dr Diana Andone.

The event started with the memories of Mrs. Sorina Jecza: "...I really wanted to bring friends with me, calling you that because it's been more than 23 years since the Triad Foundation has been in existence, 23 years since your presence has been the muse for the guide that I have been.", continuing to share with the audience memories of her family, her older sister Carmen, who was a cornerstone for her.

There followed stories, discussions and other memories of youth, which came from writer Marcel Tolcea, and Robert Serban, who delighted the audience with poems about his past and his student days, about Timisoara, made within the Spotlight Heritage project, but also from the audience who shared their own experiences.

"When I had to rummage through the family archives, I took this picture from there [...] because they say it's good to go back to childhood and look into the eyes of the child you were and look at him with gentleness, with kindness, with gentleness; to somehow increase this dowry that they [parents] gave you.", said Prof. Smaranda Vultur when she made her presence known on stage.

A highlight of the evening was Alexandra Gutu's live cello performance of Johann Bach's Suite 1, giving the audience a vibrant soundtrack that carried everyone's thoughts and unspoken memories from the past into the present. Andrei Jecza presented how important it is to interact with art from an early age and how dynamic and constantly adapting cultural spaces are created.

The audience shared memories and personal stories about the sculptor Peter Jecza, the Triade Foundation and the Giroc neighbourhood. From the memories and stories chosen as typologies to identify with various life stages or personal relationships, each spectator was able to identify their own life moments, allowing them moments of intimate, personal reflection, but also to find their life energies and connection with art.

The event was a symphony of music, poetry and technology, connecting the past to the present in a profound and unique way. Personal and cultural memories were revived through digital technology in a moving dialogue between history and innovation.

The digital components of the project are accessible online at https://spotlight-timisoara.eu/ and via mobile apps that can be downloaded from Android and Apple stores or by searching "Spotlight Heritage Timisoara".

Find out more about the show here:

The event is part of the Spotlight Heritage Timisoara digital cultural initiative, part of the Cultural Programme Timisoara 2023 European Capital of Culture and is co-funded by the Ministry of Culture through the Project Centre.