Jean-Lorin Sterian – The Artist Who Turned His Home into a Theatre and Art into a Personal Experience

Interview with Jean-Lorin Sterian, the artist who turned his home into a theatre and brought art into the intimate space of living rooms through lorgean theatre and HomeFest.

Jean-Lorin Sterian made his debut at the age of 21 with a volume of sci-fi short stories that, fortunately, can no longer be found anywhere. After three more books, he published Lorgean, a novel about proto-hipsters and life inside a men’s lifestyle magazine newsroom. Echoes of that period can be found in the film Starshitting. After experimenting with intentional playback through the band Grupul Sanitar, he now performs with pj.lo & the accidentals. In 2008, he founded lorgean theatre in his own studio apartment, and since 2014 he has organized HomeFest, a performing arts festival that takes place in private homes and apartments. Although he has published other works of literature and anthropology, directed films and documentaries, released experimental music albums, and had exhibitions and performances, and although he introduces himself to strangers as a performer, he knows he will forever be known as the guy who opened a theater in his own home.

C&B: How would you describe yourself in one sentence to make those who don’t know you yet curious?

Jean-Lorin Sterian: A person who, if he can’t find his place, builds it himself.

C&B: If we were to follow the narrative thread of your career or business, what key moments defined you?

Jean-Lorin Sterian: Giving up my journalism career, which coincided with the opening of lorgean theatre. Organizing the first edition of HomeFest in 2014. The first concert with pj.lo & the accidentals, where I had the courage to sing live.

C&B: What has been the most difficult moment so far in your journey, and how did you overcome it?

Jean-Lorin Sterian: The burnout caused by working on my PhD, after organizing 14 festivals (HomeFest and lorgennale) over 10 years. I took a sabbatical year, which I am living now.

C&B: Is there a dream or ambition that has always guided you, regardless of obstacles?

Jean-Lorin Sterian: I don’t perceive myself as an ambitious person. Over time, I’ve taken paths I didn’t anticipate. I’ve ended up doing things I didn’t necessarily dream of, but they were within me, waiting for the right context to emerge.

C&B: What were you like at the beginning of your journey, and how do you feel you’ve transformed since then?

Jean-Lorin Sterian: From the end of high school until about 15 years ago, I was convinced that my calling was to write. I sincerely believed that was my purpose in life. Then I discovered other forms of artistic expression. I’ve always believed I can offer an original perspective on the world. When I stop believing that, I’ll stop altogether.

C&B: If we were to meet your team or collaborators, what do you think they’d say about you?

Jean-Lorin Sterian: An easy-going guy. With occasional outbursts. 😊

C&B: What is the most important decision you’ve made that changed your trajectory?

Jean-Lorin Sterian: The evening in December 2008 when I organized the first event at lorgean theatre in my studio apartment in Bucharest. From the very first performance, I realized that the atmosphere during the show was unlike anything I’d known before—not like stage or café theater, nor like performances at the National Dance Center, and certainly not like the antiseptic atmosphere of galleries and museums. Looking back, that authentic and different energy was probably the driving force that fueled my desire to continue what seemed at the time to be a quirky, short-lived project. The second major decision was moving to Timișoara in 2025. That’s also where I organized the last HomeFest, in the year of the cultural capital. I don’t yet know what trajectory will follow.

C&B: What were the initial reactions—both from the public and the artists—to this unconventional concept?

Jean-Lorin Sterian: Curiosity, excitement—a vibe unlike traditional theater performances. In fact, the audience reactions at lorgean theatre were what made me organize the first edition of HomeFest, since several spectators expressed their enthusiasm about hosting performances themselves. For the artists, it was both a challenge and a playground where they could experiment freely, without institutional constraints.

C&B: What differentiates HomeFest from traditional theater and art festivals?

Jean-Lorin Sterian: HomeFest literally brings art into people’s homes. Unlike municipalities, it renovates interiors—culturally. Art becomes accessible, brought down from its pedestal. There are now many projects that aim to make art more approachable, but when we started, we were among the pioneers.

C&B: What does an ordinary day look like for you now, and what moments bring you the most satisfaction?

Jean-Lorin Sterian: The moments when I manage to stick to the schedule I’ve set for myself. But also when something unexpected happens creatively. I think I have something that could be called an “unexpected addiction.” What attracts me most is working on a new song—the moment when the melody appears.

C&B: What values or principles guide you in what you do, and how do you apply them daily?

Jean-Lorin Sterian: By nature, I tend to gravitate toward niche activities or things that haven’t been done before. I’ve never felt comfortable in a formal framework. Anyway, I’m much better at creating concepts than implementing them. For that, I need people with administrative skills, because I have an aversion to paperwork and bureaucracy. I’d like to only do activities where everyone benefits, as happens in homemade culture projects—where the host, audience, and artists offer one another unique experiences.

C&B: How did you come up with the idea for HomeFest and what inspired you to bring art into the intimate space of homes?

Jean-Lorin Sterian: I was drawn to the idea of a laboratory, where artists could try new things outside traditional rehearsal rooms and stages. That’s why I opened lorgean theatre in my home, where I let them do whatever they wanted, without any pressure related to funding or audience satisfaction. The name came easily—lorgean was a word I had used before in different contexts with various meanings. I chose to write it without capital letters because I wanted to stay away from “Art” in the grand, institutional sense of the word. Looking further back, I remember that after finishing high school, I often told friends in Constanța, my hometown, about my desire to open a café in an abandoned bus that had been sitting for years behind the Dramatic Theatre. In 2006, when I was sharing a rented apartment on Maria Rosetti Street with a friend, we seriously considered turning our living room into a private bar for close friends. When I moved to Șipotul Fântânilor, I created the pilot for a talk show called lorgean tv, which I filmed in my studio.

C&B: How do you see HomeFest evolving in the coming years? Are you thinking about expanding the concept to other cities or countries?

Jean-Lorin Sterian: I’ve already done that, organizing international versions in Zagreb, Stuttgart, Lisbon, Budapest, and Chișinău. Soon, I’ll be participating in an event called Incubator in Istanbul, where I might lay the groundwork for international collaborations within a European cultural project.

Through projects such as lorgean theatre and HomeFest, he has redefined how audiences connect with art, proving that innovation and sensitivity can coexist in the same place – at home.