The exhibition 1:1. A visual cartography of the Dorobanți neighborhood is produced by the Aria-11 Association as part of the Filtru Cultural București project and hosted by the Museum of Maps. It invites you to immerse yourself in the details that caught the eye of those who walked the streets of Dorobanți, the surrounding neighborhood. The exhibition stands at the intersection of two ways of perceiving space: the abstract (top-down) and the personal (bottom-up). Through photography, the charted area loses its theoretical character and becomes a lived-in space, actualized through direct exploration and the intersecting perspectives of multiple observers.

Opening: Wednesday, September 2, 2026, at 18:00. Admission is free for the opening.
Exhibition Dates: September 3  – 20, 2026.
Location: Museum of Maps, 39 Londra Street, Bucharest
Visiting Hours: Wednesday – Sunday, 10:00 – 18:00
Tickets: 10 lei (standard), 5 lei (seniors), 2.5 lei (students)
Tickets available online HERE

Cartography and architectural photography seem to share a common dynamic: both duplicate reality while simultaneously differentiating themselves from it. It is precisely this distance that makes the studied reality visible, revealing it in a new light. However, the two media start from diametrically opposed points to meet before the same goal: rendering space.

On a map, reality is translated and scaled on paper to become intelligible for orientation and planning. A map simplifies, selects and orders. It makes reality visible precisely by differentiating itself from it, allowing the viewer to grasp it from above. Nor does the photographer aim for a 1:1 reproduction of a place; instead, they are drawn to the textures of buildings, to the overlaps and shapes of the city. Through photography, they create a personal mapping of a space, bringing to light what remains hidden to the hurried passerby.

This selection of images is the result of a workshop led by architect and photographer Marius Vasile, during which ten participants embarked on a walking tour through the Capitale-Dorobanți neighborhood. Over the course of two hours, they captured architectural details that together compose a visual map of the area. The images reflect the architectural diversity of the neighborhood, which took shape at the beginning of the 20th century through the Filipescu allotment and continues to evolve through contemporary architectural interventions.

Working constantly on the boundary between representational and documentary photography, Marius Vasile guided the participants to discover the perspective that resonated with them, without shying away from gray areas. The photos were taken using digital cameras, film, or smartphones, with each device being used to highlight its distinct qualities.

Throughout this process, an invisible map guided their steps — an area defined by Marius Vasile for this tour and a route constructed spontaneously alongside the participants.

Participants: Alexandra Cojocaru, Cristian Marin, Cristina Rotaru, Eugenia Dinescu, Laura Ioana Tiron, Lorena Marin, Mirela Pipoi, Carina Roșu, Simina Haiduc, Ștefana Daniela Brat
Coordinator: Marius Vasile
Curators: Irina Antohe, Teodora Munteanu
Consultant: Curator Ioana Marinescu

This exhibition is part of the Filtru Cultural București project, a cultural initiative that maps and documents cultural spaces across the city through photography and journalism, with an emphasis on their urban context.
Filtru Cultural București is a cultural project co-funded by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund (AFCN). The project does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or how its results may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the grant beneficiary.