MATCA artspace is an artist-run space managed by three local artists (Alexandru Muraru, Matei Toșa and Alexandra Mocan) that emerged in Cluj-Napoca at the beginning of 2017. Since then it has been following a mindset of shaping its know-how along with its collaborations, most of them being presented in the form of group shows.
Underlying the necessity of being in touch with the conscious form of artistic practice and research, the space is coagulating its purposes by drawing a thin border between aesthetics and content, usually choosing to bring out raw forms of expression. The space is meant as a tool for research into local (or nearby) contemporary art, in order to establish connections with minds that have something relevant to say about the world. Wishing to step more off the walls, MATCA prioritizes alternative forms of expression which mix mediums outside the canvas/frame, not as a form of denying traditional practices, but as a form of getting out of the comfort zone and being open to experimentation and various ways of shaping meaning.
Set up to be a welcoming environment, MATCA`s aim is to fuse what could be meant under the terms of emergent and established into parallel, non-hierarchical dialogues, where the position and the role of the artist in society could be debated. As a former garage/leather crafts workspace, it maintains its undisguised atmosphere and rough vibe that invites artists and thinkers to relate to it in their projects.