T

he Prodan Romanian Cultural Foundation is a charitable body endowed by the Estates of the late Mia Prodan de Kisbunn of Romania and her daughter the late Maria Bjornson, the well-known British theatre and opera designer best known to the public as the costume and set designer for Phantom of the Opera.

The purpose of the Foundation is to promote outside Romania the high points of Romanian contributions to 20th century Western culture, mainly the activities of the Romanian diaspora who fled their country to escape the two world wars and the Nazi and communist regimes.

For the purposes of the Foundation, the various ethnic differences of the creative personalities concerned are ignored, and the criterion adopted is 'born or grew up in Romania or territory which was or is Romanian, or of Romanian descent with a strong Romanian family tradition (such as Maria Bjornson)'.