Horror Vacui was a seven-day, non-stop performance that brought together 505 actors to share 505 stories of abandonment.

Drawn from the Museum of Abandonment’s archives, artistic statements, and real-life testimonies, it explored the collective trauma of child institutionalization in communist Romania, sparking the much-needed dialogue around a subject long left unspoken.

Alongside the performance, the project established a civic engagement system, connecting audiences with actionable tools and resources via the Museum of Civic Engagement. It also launched a petition demanding official recognition of the suffering endured by institutionalized children during Romania’s communist period.

The project merged theatre and social change on an unprecedented scale, engaging over 700 artists and reaching beneficiaries from all over the country via online campaigns and non-stop live streaming.