A group of activists set up a recreational area with a number of benches in the Octavian Ghibu Square in Chisinau, where the administration of the National Museum of Arts intends to erect a building where to conserve the patrimony. This became possible after the Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) adopted a decision to return the area to the municipality, IPN reports.

In a news conference, National Museum of Arts director Tudor Zbarnea said the land was transferred to the museum by a CMC decision of 2015, but this July that decision was abrogated. As a result, the area returned to the municipality. They speculate that a storehouse is to be erected on that area, but it is actually not a storehouse, but a building for conserving the patrimony as about 20,000 pieces of the over 39,000 are kept in temporary stores given the absence of alternatives.

Tudor Zbarnea underlined that the necessity of a building for extending the museum appeared in the 1980s, but the administration will start to construct new buildings only after the existent premises are repaired. “We do not really understand these violent debates as those activists refused to have an amicable discussion from the start and we thus believe that a scandal was wanted and steps were taken to make us visible. I do not suffer from invisibility as I’m busy with work at the museum,” said the director.

Contacted by the press, Ion Stefanita, a member of the International Council of Museums, said that an amicable solution is needed to this problem. It’s clear that the administration wants to keep the museum’s property. On the other hand, as an inhabitant of the city, Ion Stefanita considers the green areas, such as squares and parks, need to be protected. The museum’s property could be stored in the area near the Hertsa House and the Kligman House on Stefan cel Mare Blvd, which are real architectural jewels.