On 17 September, Plovdiv is organizing its seventh consecutive Night of Museums and Galleries. Citizens and guests of the city will have a chance to attend more than fifty events – exhibitions, concerts, performances, screenings, lectures, etc. – and enjoy the art of artists from Bulgaria and around the world. According to tradition, the program will start with the Children’s Night (17:00 – 20:00), and will continue with the events from the main program (19.00 — 1.00).
Here are some of the highlights from the Museums & Galleries Program.
A major new participant in this year’s Night of Museums and Galleries is the recently re-opened Regional Museum of Archeology. In addition to its impressive new permanent exhibit, it will also show the exhibition Christian Archeology, with rare and valuable books from the museum’s collection. The special guests for the Night will be Dr. Martin Heide (Germany) and Prof. Peter S. Williams (Norway), who will deliver a lecture entitled The Jesus we find under the layers of time: historical fact and the faith of the early Christians. Documentaries about the latest news in archeological research in the Plovdiv region will also be screened.
The Regional Museum of Ethnography will once again be showing the exhibition Magic for Love – a collection of traditional Bulgarian costumes for important family events and occasions, as well as their new exhibit Karlovo’s Cutlers and Coppersmiths: the Nedyalkov Family, and a collection of cartoons by Tsocho Peev.
Visitors of the Regional Museum of History will be able to see the museum’s permanent exhibit The Bulgarian Revival, while the Centre for Contemporary History will host a photography exhibition by the Kazanluk’85 Group entitled 25 Years Later. The exhibition Donating: Memory for Tomorrow, with objects donated to the museum in the last two decades, will be on show at the Bulgarian Reunification of 1885 Hall. On display will be photos, postcards, objects and personal memories about the history of Plovdiv and some of its well known personalities who lived or worked there from the end of the 19th c. to the second half of the 20th c.
The program of the Museum of Aviation (a 14-minute ride on the commuter train to Assenovgrad) starts as early as 10 o’clock in the morning, when the first demonstrations with radio-controlled model aircraft will begin. The documentary Bulgaria’s Amphibians, Reptiles and Invertebrates will be shown at the Regional Museum of Natural Science.
True to its mission, the Sariev Gallery is keeping its eye firmly fixed on contemporary art. The gallery’s team has invited Bulgarian artists living in different European cities – Loubri (Sofia), Lazar Lyutakov (Vienna), Rada Boukova (Paris), Vikenti Komitski (Sofia), Anton Stoyanov (Berlin) and Voin de Voin (Berlin) – to contribute works of different styles and media to an exhibition called Poor but Sexy. The German magazine Basso will be presented at the nearby artnewscafé. Contemporary art and new media will also be shown at the Centre for Contemporary Art / Ancient Baths, where curator Vera Mlechevska has put together the exhibition The End and Beyond, with the participation of internationally recognised authors from France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria and other countries.
Fine arts lovers will also have a lot to choose from. The highlights here include a sculpture-and-drawings exhibition inspired by Astor Piazzola, from artist Kolyu Karamfilov, at L’Union Gallery, and a joint exhibition with works by the artistic duo Vihroni Popnedelev and Adelina Popnedeleva at the Resonance Gallery. Maxim Boyadjiev will show oil paintings at the Georgi “Slona” Bozhilov Gallery, while Petar Velikov will unveil an exhibition with black-and-white drawings at the Aspect Gallery. After the opening, the artist will demonstrate different drawing techniques.
The George Papazov Gallery will acquaint its public with the work of the Bulgarian-born U.S.-based artist Petar Velichkov and the sculptures of Nikolai Savov. Dessislava Mincheva and Dolores Dilova will present their oil painting exhibition A Sense of Water at the U.P.A.R.K. Gallery. Another oil painting exhibition, with works by Yordan “Yuri” Yordanov, will be shown at the Old Town’s Red Pony Gallery, while Georgi Bailov is the pick of the Philippopolis Gallery&Museum. The Encho Pironkov Permanent Exhibit will also remain open throughout the whole night. A series of shows curated by art historian Boris Danailov will be on display in various houses in the Old Town, as part of the 2011 edition of the traditional Plovdiv Autumn Exhibitions.
Walking on the edge of the risky and the unconventional, the Pironessa Gallery is giving its territory to a poetic performance entitled Toma Markov & Rossen Markovski – Disguised and Anonymous. Another intriguing project is Robert Barumov’s BG Paradise: Elite Art for Every Table and Every Home at the Dyakov Gallery. Vuzrazhdane Gallery is dedicating its Night to the figure of the scarecrow, with artist interpretations provided by Stavri Kalinov, Dimitar Rashkov and Vladimir Genadiev.
The exhibition Studio 52: The Free Territory, with works by well-known Plovdivian artists, will open at the City Art Gallery. Another exhibition organised by the same gallery, will present 14 oil paintings / water colours and 30 erotic drawings by Yoan Leviev, which have previously not been shown in Plovdiv. The Icon Gallery’s bill for the Night is an exhibition about Toma Vishanov and his 18 c. circle of friends and colleagues in Hungary, as well as its up-dated permanent collection of icons.
A music gig by the Kopfdrehung – Ivan Kostolov (guitars), Ivailo Stoyanov (DJ), Vladimir Daov (percussion) – is part of the live entertainment at the Encho Pironkov Permanent Exhibit. The group was founded in 2005 by non-professional musicians – students of fine arts in the Städelschule in Frankfurt – whose music can best be described as sound art. Live choral singing is the choice of the Philippopolis Gallery&Museum – the Evmolpeya Choir, and the Icon Gallery – the Mixed Choir of the Sveta Troitsa church, while the Iglika Folk Dance Ensemble will perform at the Regional Museum of Ethnography.
In the early hours of the evening, the youngest fans of the Night of Museums and Galleries can attend the children’s painting workshop co-organised by the Regional Museum of Ethnography and National Geographic Bulgaria, while the Museum of Natural Science will host the programs Find Me In the Museum! and Colour Me and Name Me!, which start at 17:00 and 18:00, respectively. The Museum of Aviation will be open for children who would like to participate in its pleine air as early as 10 o’clock in the morning.
Additional information, including interviews with some of the artists, will be posted daily on the festival’s blog – www.gallery-night.info/blog, while fresh news will be uploaded regularly on the Night’s pages in Facebook and Twitter. The full program will be made available at www.gallery-night.info after 1 September.
For additional information:
OPEN ARTS FOUNDATION
Organiser of the Plovdiv Night of Museums and Galleries
36 Otets Paisiy St., Plovdiv 4000, Bulgaria
www.openarts.info, +359 888 520375, +359 885 550993, office@openarts.info
