Romania is launching its first nationwide art week this autumn. The inaugural Romanian Art Week runs from 17 to 25 October 2026 across five cities — Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Oradea and Craiova — aiming to connect the country's contemporary art scenes with each other and with the international art world through exhibitions, talks, studio visits and encounters. The initiative is developed with three of Romania's leading museums: the National Museum of Art of Romania (MNAR), the Museum of Recent Art (MARe) and the National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC). It also joins The Spider, an international network linking art weeks and gallery weekends in cities including Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Vienna and Zurich, embedding the Romanian edition in a wider European circuit. The programme opens on 17 October at MNAC with a panel on moving from local practice to international presence, moderated by Catinca Tăbăcaru, followed by "A Night at Combinatul Fondului Plastic" — late openings and a party across galleries including Nicodim, Sandwich, Sector1, IOMO and Gloria Gallery. The following days bring a dense talks programme at Universul Palace, covering how art scenes are built with figures such as Philippe Van Cauteren, the role of brands in culture, and what makes an art institution relevant today. Later in the week, MARe hosts an evening on the economics of art-making and a collectors' reception, while panels tackle sponsorship, gallery mediation and alternative art scenes in Central and Eastern Europe. The week closes with a party at Bragadiru Palace on 24 October and guided tours of MNAC, MNAR, MARe and Art Safari across the final weekend.