The Dumitru I. Grumăzescu Galleries (Galeriile Dumitru I. Grumăzescu) are a cultural and exhibition space in central Iași, operated as a section of the Queen Marie Municipal Museum. Founded in 1992 by antiquarian and collector Dumitru I. Grumăzescu, the galleries developed from an antiquarian shop into an unusual meeting place for collectors, writers, artists, actors, and musicians.
Grumăzescu filled the interior with books, paintings, icons, jewelry, decorative objects, old cameras, radios, and mechanical musical instruments, creating a space that functioned somewhere between an antiquarian shop, private collection, gallery, and cultural salon. His interests were particularly broad, but Mihai Eminescu held a special place in the collection, with Grumăzescu assembling thousands of items connected with the poet and organizing exhibitions devoted to Eminescu in Romania and abroad.
The galleries soon became known as much for their events as for the objects on display. University classes, poetry meetings, book launches, exhibitions, classical and folk music evenings, and collectors’ fairs were held here, while Grumăzescu also founded the Păstorel Teodoreanu Free Academy and other literary circles. A small stage described as Romania’s first pocket theater hosted actors including Ion Caramitru, Leopoldina Bălănuță, and Horațiu Mălăele, giving the relatively intimate space an unexpectedly rich theatrical history.
After Dumitru Grumăzescu’s death in 2018, the galleries were incorporated into the Queen Marie Municipal Museum and reopened in June 2019. The historic collections and atmosphere of the former antiquarian gallery remain an important part of their identity, while the rooms are also used for temporary art exhibitions, book launches, poetry meetings, and other cultural events organized through the museum.
