The ‘Romanian Masks’ exhibition in the Czech national rankings

The exhibition ‘The Mystery of Romanian Folk Masks’, initiated by Muzeum Regionu Valašsko in Vsetín and developed in collaboration with four major Romanian ethnographic museums, is in the running for a top three spot in the 2025–26 Czech Republic exhibition calendar.

This project is more than just an exhibition of over 60 traditional Romanian masks, many of which are being shown in the Czech Republic for the first time. It also serves as a cultural bridge, emphasising the profound historical and ethnographic connections between our regions.

In Romanian folk culture, masks are not merely decorative accessories; they are also tools for symbolic communication, as well as for social and spiritual transformation.

The characters they represent — the Goat („Capra”), the Devils („Dracii”), the Old Men and Women („Moșii” și „Babele”), and the Sacrificed Bull („Taurul sacrificat”) — perform complementary roles. They cause ritual chaos, satirise social reality, and attract protection, fertility, and purification.

All of the masks presented in the exhibition have been handcrafted using traditional natural materials, such as wood, fur, leather, straw and textiles. They are often adorned with recycled or reinterpreted elements. This fusion of archaic and spontaneous elements endows the masks with a distinctive visual and symbolic force.

The exhibition, ‘The Mystery of Romanian Folk Masks’, is supported by Her Excellency Mrs Antoaneta Barta, Romania’s Ambassador to the Czech Republic. It was organised with the help of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Prague and opened on 7 December 2025.

It will be open to visitors in Vsetín, Czech Republic, from 7 December 2025 to 12 April 2026.