ARK Oradea is an LGBTQIA+ association working on rights, visibility and community building in the city. It was entered in Romania's Register of Associations and Foundations in 2023, and it describes itself as the first organisation in Oradea to defend and promote the rights of LGBTQIA+ people.
It runs Oradea Pride, which it founded the same year. The city has refused to authorise the Pride march every year since, most recently on grounds of public morals, and the 2026 edition went ahead anyway under the theme "Oradea este a tuturor", Oradea belongs to everyone. Around 700 people walked it and police issued fines to participants. More than 120 organisations from 30 countries signed a statement asking the local authorities to stop blocking the march.
The rest of the programme is quieter and runs through the year: a film club, a feminist cineclub, a reading circle, queer poetry evenings, art therapy and craft workshops, quiz nights, a charity fair and mutual aid work. There are campaigns against conversion therapy, a guide to far-right codes and symbols, and forms for reporting incidents and the fines handed out at the march. Events are held at Centrul ARK on Strada Ion Buzoianu and at other venues around the city.
Volunteering is open to anyone who wants to help, and there is a standing consultation form for LGBTQIA+ people in Oradea to say what they need from the association.
The people in this picture are AI-generated.
