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Monday 19 June 2023
19 June 2023 - 25 June 2023
December 2024
06.06.2023 - 22.06.2023

12th International Photo Festival — PHODAR Biennial | SAMENESS AND SEMBLANCE

Museum of Art from the Socialist Period
Under the motto ‘Sameness and Semblance’, 454 artists from 78 countries submitted works to the 12th International Photo Festival—PHODAR Biennial, demonstrating the great interest of artists from all over the world. The international jury selected 274 printed copies, presenting 21 artists from 12 countries, for inclusion in the exhibition. Three prizes were awarded—the grand prix, debut, and humanistic photography.
The regulations for this festival edition were distributed virtually via 44 electronic portals of national associations, specialist educational institutions, and media, placing the biennial among the leading events in world photography and almost doubling the number of participants when compared to previous years.
On 8 June, at 5 p.m., a theoretical seminar on the topic of ‘Sameness and Semblance’ will be held in the exhibition gallery, to be attended by experts in various disciplines of the humanities and the visual arts at St Kliment Ohridski Sofia University, the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA), and other higher educational institutions, galleries and NGOs, along with students, photo enthusiasts and established visual artists. On 22 June, at 4 p.m., a tour of the exposition will be organised for those who wish to learn more.
The PHODAR Foundation was established in 1999 to specialise in the visual arts while focusing on photography, the principal output being the International Photo Festival—the PHODAR Biennial. Its editions are thematic; photographic series and cycles are accepted. The jury consists of 9–11 experts in the genres of photography, the visual arts, and a variety of disciplines in the humanities.
The festival is made possible with the financial support of the Sofia Culture Programme.
Festivals
16.06.2023 - 26.06.2023

Exhibition "Games and Science with Muzeiko" in the Crystal garden

The Municipal Cultural Institute Scientific and Educational Children's Center "Muzeiko" presented to the citizens and guests of Sofia its new exhibition "Games and Science with Muzeiko", which can be viewed in the Crystal garden until June 26 th . It provides information on the interactive experience of young visitors at Muzeiko, revealing various fields of science, adventures in nature and great human inventions.
"Games and Science with Muzeiko" was created to inspire and educate children through fun and educational activities. The 27 panels introduce visitors to the exciting and magical experience that awaits them at Muzeiko. From physics and chemistry to biology and astronomy, the exhibition will offer a rich variety of scientific topics to be explored through play and learning.
"Games and Science with Muzeiko" is part of the "Outdoor Galleries" initiative, organized by the Directorate of Culture - Sofia Municipality. This partnership provides an opportunity to create unique cultural and educational events accessible to all citizens and especially to children.
Exhibitions
03.05.2023 - 26.06.2023

JOSEPH Tasnádi: Puzzlements

Curator: Dr. Szabolcs Süli-Zakar
Sofia Arsenal – Museum of Contemporary Art
‘What art is can neither be grasped nor determined—one can only feel it.’ Joseph Tasnádi
Joseph Tasnádi’s exhibition is a review of his post-2010 oeuvre, consisting of installations, interventions, and digital experiments, along with some earlier drawings. His uniquely resonant lyrical installations, as well as the intellectual and sensitively poeticised objects, enter a dialogue with each other and start weaving an associative network of additional meanings.
A version of the exhibition took place in 2022 at the MODEM Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, Debrecen, Hungary.
Tasnádi’s creative career incorporates an array of artistic disciplines and genres, yet his writings, drawings, digital experiments, installations, and interventions form an extraordinarily coherent and organic whole. They illustrate poetic and artistic aspects of a profound experience. Tasnádi seeks his inspiration, not inside but outside, art. He finds things. Things that spontaneously connect themselves with metacontents, such as hope, memory, death, the impossibility of communication, paradox, place, time, presence, or of their lack.
At the same time, he examines the relationships between technology and art. In recent years, his work has focused on the bonds between man and machine, the relationship of technology, metaphoric perspective, and poetic thinking.
He thematises important questions with hybrid contemporary artistic methods in which (scientific) research, (artistic) elaboration/reflection and the demand for poetic synthesis are deeply inter-connected.
Exhibitions
30.05.2023 - 16.07.2023

NEEDLES IN A HAYSTACK

The Palace
Artists: Boryana Petkova & Iskra Blagoeva, Boryana Rossa, Katya Dimova, Krasimira Butseva, Monika Popova, nada ree, Natalia Jordanova, Neda Milanova, Oksana Kazmina, Rayna Teneva, Sophia Grancharova, Zelikha Shoja.
Curator: Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva
Design: Viktoriya Staykova
The exhibition presents the results from the BFW’s open call for the Fund for art projects by women artists in 2022. The female authors and their concepts were chosen among over 200 candidates in the competition. The expert jury consists of the curators Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva, Daniela Radeva, Stefka Tsaneva, Margarita Dorovska, as well as Gergana Kutseva, Dobromira Terpesheva, and Rosena Ivanova from the BFW team. Invited to respond to the state of emergency, challenges, and urgency in this day and age, the women artists react with varied intensity, character, style, and a great amount of sincerity. Contrasts and similarities between them, in the choice of media, their candor, turning towards their inner selves, and sharing personal stories, experiences, and memories all create a common environment of empathy and reciprocation. What inevitably connects them is exposing stereotypes about women’s social role and position. They are also connected by the needle as a tool chosen by most of them, but also as a byword for that patriarchal image of the woman holding her needlework. An image rooted in the consciousness of generations on end, which all these women defy.
The story of the needle resembles a woman’s story, as confirmed by many feminist theorists. However, it does not follow a specific linearity, but is ambiguous and controversial, simultaneously a story about isolation, reassurance, and seclusion, but also about interacting with the world and opposition. The needle is the symbol of the skill passed on in the family, over generations, from grandmothers and mothers, knowing what it is to be a woman, the natural attraction towards the warmth of the fabric, and intimate interaction. The process of embroidery and sewing is story-telling. It encompasses the whole patience for bringing the threads together and passing on memories and messages. The needle as a means to create and to mend, as one of the symbols of coziness, of childhood memories, is fragile, but sharp.
The project of the Fund for Artistic Projects by Women was made possible thanks to the trust and financial support of Veronika Puncheva, Lachezar Tsotzorkov Foundation, Legrand, Ubisoft, ALD Automative, as well as with the logistical support of the Institute for Contemporary Art – Sofia and Credo Bonum Gallery. The opening event is hosted by Freixenet.
Exhibitions
09.05.2023 - 20.08.2023

NINA RUSEVA: ATLANTIS

The ‘Atlantis’ exhibition is an adventure of the senses, an open door to the notion of reality and the past, a bold and dreamy inducement to encounter the unknown or the non-existent, even if only in one pictorial world.
Nina Ruseva created most of these paintings specifically for the occasion. The extreme, exciting emotional experience physically separates us from the reality surrounding us and conveys us to distant worlds. Peru, the Antarctic, Perperikon, or the lost lands of Atlantis—all unfold before the eyes of the viewer, refracted through the personal emotion and sensibility of the artist, through the rich imagination and curiosity towards the unknown that she materialises in her painting.
Nina Ruseva’s landscapes occupy the boundary between abstraction and reality—effulgent and temperamental, creating a sense of dynamism and, at the same time, bringing tranquillity to a desolate space dominated by natural forms. The large formats allow for a bold handling of form, colour, and large strokes thickly applied to the canvas.
The bright palette and frequent use of dark contours are distinguishing features of Nina Ruseva’s figurative language, reinforcing the feeling of the illusoriness of natural scenes.
Exhibitions
20.02.2023 - 31.12.2023

THE APOSTLE’S CONFESSION

Multimedia exposition dedicated to 150 years since the death of the Apostle of Freedom, Vasil Levski.
Using holographic technology on a large-scale video wall, a re-enactment of the trial of the Apostle of Freedom is displayed, and significant moments of his life are brought back to life. Veselin Plachkov portrays Vasil Levski. Actors Ivan Trenev, Lyubov Pavlova, Rumen Ivanov, Alexander Georgiev, Biser Marinov and Nikola Dodov are also participants. Nelly Dimitrova is the screenwriter; Dimitar Gochev, the director; Simeon Parashkevov and Dimitar Gochev, cinematographers; Atanas Gendov, composer; Pirina Veselinova, Evgeni Gospodinov and the Svetoglas Quartet, musical performers; sensor studio, animation and mapping; Hristo Karagyozov, audio mixing and post-production; Ivo Milev, creative producer; and Tsvetoslav Borisov, executive producer.
The National Gallery and the Vasil Levski All-Bulgarian Committee created the exposition, with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and donations by the Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation, Kaufland Bulgaria EOOD, Aurubis Bulgaria JSC, Vazovski Machinery Works JSC – Sopot, and patriotic Bulgarians.
Kvadrat 500, entrance at 95, Vasil Levski Blvd., Sofia
Opening hours:
Tuesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.– 6 p.m.
The screenings are 30 minutes away, starting at 10 am
Bookings for groups of up to 20 people: +359 879 834 025
FREE ADMISSION
Exhibitions
08.06.2023 - 28.10.2023

Yana Lozeva | ANACRUSIS

The Vera Nedkova House Museum ‘In the Home of Vera Nedkova’, the programme launched in 2019, continues to present contemporary artists along with Nedkova’s paintings. Displayed in the cosy atmosphere marked by Vera Nedkova’s intellectual and creative presence, the six photographs by Yana Lozeva show images of women with a strong and memorable individuality. Despite the apparent incompatibility of the two artists in their creative pursuits and concepts, the photographs correspond in an elegant way with the paintings in the museum’s interior. ‘We were looking for expressiveness, not so much external as internal,’ Vera Nedkova stated in her memoirs about her own art. In her early works, she was moved by the portrait and its depiction in a non-standard style in a space devoid of details.
Taken over the past two years, the photographs have captured brief and elusive moments and states of the subjects portrayed. The female images seem to sink into space in the manner of a watercolour, with their blurred contours and transitions between black and white. With her keenness of observation, Yana Lozeva is intrigued by the mysteriousness of the ordinary, by the moment of lost control and that specificity of the ‘out-of-hand’ framing, which sneaks inexplicably and imperceptibly in to lie at the base of the ‘Anacrusis’ exhibition.
Exhibitions
06.06.2023 - 22.06.2023

12th International Photo Festival — PHODAR Biennial | SAMENESS AND SEMBLANCE

Museum of Art from the Socialist Period
Under the motto ‘Sameness and Semblance’, 454 artists from 78 countries submitted works to the 12th International Photo Festival—PHODAR Biennial, demonstrating the great interest of artists from all over the world. The international jury selected 274 printed copies, presenting 21 artists from 12 countries, for inclusion in the exhibition. Three prizes were awarded—the grand prix, debut, and humanistic photography.
The regulations for this festival edition were distributed virtually via 44 electronic portals of national associations, specialist educational institutions, and media, placing the biennial among the leading events in world photography and almost doubling the number of participants when compared to previous years.
On 8 June, at 5 p.m., a theoretical seminar on the topic of ‘Sameness and Semblance’ will be held in the exhibition gallery, to be attended by experts in various disciplines of the humanities and the visual arts at St Kliment Ohridski Sofia University, the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA), and other higher educational institutions, galleries and NGOs, along with students, photo enthusiasts and established visual artists. On 22 June, at 4 p.m., a tour of the exposition will be organised for those who wish to learn more.
The PHODAR Foundation was established in 1999 to specialise in the visual arts while focusing on photography, the principal output being the International Photo Festival—the PHODAR Biennial. Its editions are thematic; photographic series and cycles are accepted. The jury consists of 9–11 experts in the genres of photography, the visual arts, and a variety of disciplines in the humanities.
The festival is made possible with the financial support of the Sofia Culture Programme.
Festivals
16.06.2023 - 26.06.2023

Exhibition "Games and Science with Muzeiko" in the Crystal garden

The Municipal Cultural Institute Scientific and Educational Children's Center "Muzeiko" presented to the citizens and guests of Sofia its new exhibition "Games and Science with Muzeiko", which can be viewed in the Crystal garden until June 26 th . It provides information on the interactive experience of young visitors at Muzeiko, revealing various fields of science, adventures in nature and great human inventions.
"Games and Science with Muzeiko" was created to inspire and educate children through fun and educational activities. The 27 panels introduce visitors to the exciting and magical experience that awaits them at Muzeiko. From physics and chemistry to biology and astronomy, the exhibition will offer a rich variety of scientific topics to be explored through play and learning.
"Games and Science with Muzeiko" is part of the "Outdoor Galleries" initiative, organized by the Directorate of Culture - Sofia Municipality. This partnership provides an opportunity to create unique cultural and educational events accessible to all citizens and especially to children.
Exhibitions
03.05.2023 - 26.06.2023

JOSEPH Tasnádi: Puzzlements

Curator: Dr. Szabolcs Süli-Zakar
Sofia Arsenal – Museum of Contemporary Art
‘What art is can neither be grasped nor determined—one can only feel it.’ Joseph Tasnádi
Joseph Tasnádi’s exhibition is a review of his post-2010 oeuvre, consisting of installations, interventions, and digital experiments, along with some earlier drawings. His uniquely resonant lyrical installations, as well as the intellectual and sensitively poeticised objects, enter a dialogue with each other and start weaving an associative network of additional meanings.
A version of the exhibition took place in 2022 at the MODEM Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, Debrecen, Hungary.
Tasnádi’s creative career incorporates an array of artistic disciplines and genres, yet his writings, drawings, digital experiments, installations, and interventions form an extraordinarily coherent and organic whole. They illustrate poetic and artistic aspects of a profound experience. Tasnádi seeks his inspiration, not inside but outside, art. He finds things. Things that spontaneously connect themselves with metacontents, such as hope, memory, death, the impossibility of communication, paradox, place, time, presence, or of their lack.
At the same time, he examines the relationships between technology and art. In recent years, his work has focused on the bonds between man and machine, the relationship of technology, metaphoric perspective, and poetic thinking.
He thematises important questions with hybrid contemporary artistic methods in which (scientific) research, (artistic) elaboration/reflection and the demand for poetic synthesis are deeply inter-connected.
Exhibitions
30.05.2023 - 16.07.2023

NEEDLES IN A HAYSTACK

The Palace
Artists: Boryana Petkova & Iskra Blagoeva, Boryana Rossa, Katya Dimova, Krasimira Butseva, Monika Popova, nada ree, Natalia Jordanova, Neda Milanova, Oksana Kazmina, Rayna Teneva, Sophia Grancharova, Zelikha Shoja.
Curator: Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva
Design: Viktoriya Staykova
The exhibition presents the results from the BFW’s open call for the Fund for art projects by women artists in 2022. The female authors and their concepts were chosen among over 200 candidates in the competition. The expert jury consists of the curators Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva, Daniela Radeva, Stefka Tsaneva, Margarita Dorovska, as well as Gergana Kutseva, Dobromira Terpesheva, and Rosena Ivanova from the BFW team. Invited to respond to the state of emergency, challenges, and urgency in this day and age, the women artists react with varied intensity, character, style, and a great amount of sincerity. Contrasts and similarities between them, in the choice of media, their candor, turning towards their inner selves, and sharing personal stories, experiences, and memories all create a common environment of empathy and reciprocation. What inevitably connects them is exposing stereotypes about women’s social role and position. They are also connected by the needle as a tool chosen by most of them, but also as a byword for that patriarchal image of the woman holding her needlework. An image rooted in the consciousness of generations on end, which all these women defy.
The story of the needle resembles a woman’s story, as confirmed by many feminist theorists. However, it does not follow a specific linearity, but is ambiguous and controversial, simultaneously a story about isolation, reassurance, and seclusion, but also about interacting with the world and opposition. The needle is the symbol of the skill passed on in the family, over generations, from grandmothers and mothers, knowing what it is to be a woman, the natural attraction towards the warmth of the fabric, and intimate interaction. The process of embroidery and sewing is story-telling. It encompasses the whole patience for bringing the threads together and passing on memories and messages. The needle as a means to create and to mend, as one of the symbols of coziness, of childhood memories, is fragile, but sharp.
The project of the Fund for Artistic Projects by Women was made possible thanks to the trust and financial support of Veronika Puncheva, Lachezar Tsotzorkov Foundation, Legrand, Ubisoft, ALD Automative, as well as with the logistical support of the Institute for Contemporary Art – Sofia and Credo Bonum Gallery. The opening event is hosted by Freixenet.
Exhibitions
09.05.2023 - 20.08.2023

NINA RUSEVA: ATLANTIS

The ‘Atlantis’ exhibition is an adventure of the senses, an open door to the notion of reality and the past, a bold and dreamy inducement to encounter the unknown or the non-existent, even if only in one pictorial world.
Nina Ruseva created most of these paintings specifically for the occasion. The extreme, exciting emotional experience physically separates us from the reality surrounding us and conveys us to distant worlds. Peru, the Antarctic, Perperikon, or the lost lands of Atlantis—all unfold before the eyes of the viewer, refracted through the personal emotion and sensibility of the artist, through the rich imagination and curiosity towards the unknown that she materialises in her painting.
Nina Ruseva’s landscapes occupy the boundary between abstraction and reality—effulgent and temperamental, creating a sense of dynamism and, at the same time, bringing tranquillity to a desolate space dominated by natural forms. The large formats allow for a bold handling of form, colour, and large strokes thickly applied to the canvas.
The bright palette and frequent use of dark contours are distinguishing features of Nina Ruseva’s figurative language, reinforcing the feeling of the illusoriness of natural scenes.
Exhibitions
20.02.2023 - 31.12.2023

THE APOSTLE’S CONFESSION

Multimedia exposition dedicated to 150 years since the death of the Apostle of Freedom, Vasil Levski.
Using holographic technology on a large-scale video wall, a re-enactment of the trial of the Apostle of Freedom is displayed, and significant moments of his life are brought back to life. Veselin Plachkov portrays Vasil Levski. Actors Ivan Trenev, Lyubov Pavlova, Rumen Ivanov, Alexander Georgiev, Biser Marinov and Nikola Dodov are also participants. Nelly Dimitrova is the screenwriter; Dimitar Gochev, the director; Simeon Parashkevov and Dimitar Gochev, cinematographers; Atanas Gendov, composer; Pirina Veselinova, Evgeni Gospodinov and the Svetoglas Quartet, musical performers; sensor studio, animation and mapping; Hristo Karagyozov, audio mixing and post-production; Ivo Milev, creative producer; and Tsvetoslav Borisov, executive producer.
The National Gallery and the Vasil Levski All-Bulgarian Committee created the exposition, with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and donations by the Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation, Kaufland Bulgaria EOOD, Aurubis Bulgaria JSC, Vazovski Machinery Works JSC – Sopot, and patriotic Bulgarians.
Kvadrat 500, entrance at 95, Vasil Levski Blvd., Sofia
Opening hours:
Tuesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.– 6 p.m.
The screenings are 30 minutes away, starting at 10 am
Bookings for groups of up to 20 people: +359 879 834 025
FREE ADMISSION
Exhibitions
08.06.2023 - 28.10.2023

Yana Lozeva | ANACRUSIS

The Vera Nedkova House Museum ‘In the Home of Vera Nedkova’, the programme launched in 2019, continues to present contemporary artists along with Nedkova’s paintings. Displayed in the cosy atmosphere marked by Vera Nedkova’s intellectual and creative presence, the six photographs by Yana Lozeva show images of women with a strong and memorable individuality. Despite the apparent incompatibility of the two artists in their creative pursuits and concepts, the photographs correspond in an elegant way with the paintings in the museum’s interior. ‘We were looking for expressiveness, not so much external as internal,’ Vera Nedkova stated in her memoirs about her own art. In her early works, she was moved by the portrait and its depiction in a non-standard style in a space devoid of details.
Taken over the past two years, the photographs have captured brief and elusive moments and states of the subjects portrayed. The female images seem to sink into space in the manner of a watercolour, with their blurred contours and transitions between black and white. With her keenness of observation, Yana Lozeva is intrigued by the mysteriousness of the ordinary, by the moment of lost control and that specificity of the ‘out-of-hand’ framing, which sneaks inexplicably and imperceptibly in to lie at the base of the ‘Anacrusis’ exhibition.
Exhibitions
20.06.2023
Music and Dance Events
06.06.2023 - 22.06.2023

12th International Photo Festival — PHODAR Biennial | SAMENESS AND SEMBLANCE

Museum of Art from the Socialist Period
Under the motto ‘Sameness and Semblance’, 454 artists from 78 countries submitted works to the 12th International Photo Festival—PHODAR Biennial, demonstrating the great interest of artists from all over the world. The international jury selected 274 printed copies, presenting 21 artists from 12 countries, for inclusion in the exhibition. Three prizes were awarded—the grand prix, debut, and humanistic photography.
The regulations for this festival edition were distributed virtually via 44 electronic portals of national associations, specialist educational institutions, and media, placing the biennial among the leading events in world photography and almost doubling the number of participants when compared to previous years.
On 8 June, at 5 p.m., a theoretical seminar on the topic of ‘Sameness and Semblance’ will be held in the exhibition gallery, to be attended by experts in various disciplines of the humanities and the visual arts at St Kliment Ohridski Sofia University, the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA), and other higher educational institutions, galleries and NGOs, along with students, photo enthusiasts and established visual artists. On 22 June, at 4 p.m., a tour of the exposition will be organised for those who wish to learn more.
The PHODAR Foundation was established in 1999 to specialise in the visual arts while focusing on photography, the principal output being the International Photo Festival—the PHODAR Biennial. Its editions are thematic; photographic series and cycles are accepted. The jury consists of 9–11 experts in the genres of photography, the visual arts, and a variety of disciplines in the humanities.
The festival is made possible with the financial support of the Sofia Culture Programme.
Festivals
16.06.2023 - 26.06.2023

Exhibition "Games and Science with Muzeiko" in the Crystal garden

The Municipal Cultural Institute Scientific and Educational Children's Center "Muzeiko" presented to the citizens and guests of Sofia its new exhibition "Games and Science with Muzeiko", which can be viewed in the Crystal garden until June 26 th . It provides information on the interactive experience of young visitors at Muzeiko, revealing various fields of science, adventures in nature and great human inventions.
"Games and Science with Muzeiko" was created to inspire and educate children through fun and educational activities. The 27 panels introduce visitors to the exciting and magical experience that awaits them at Muzeiko. From physics and chemistry to biology and astronomy, the exhibition will offer a rich variety of scientific topics to be explored through play and learning.
"Games and Science with Muzeiko" is part of the "Outdoor Galleries" initiative, organized by the Directorate of Culture - Sofia Municipality. This partnership provides an opportunity to create unique cultural and educational events accessible to all citizens and especially to children.
Exhibitions
03.05.2023 - 26.06.2023

JOSEPH Tasnádi: Puzzlements

Curator: Dr. Szabolcs Süli-Zakar
Sofia Arsenal – Museum of Contemporary Art
‘What art is can neither be grasped nor determined—one can only feel it.’ Joseph Tasnádi
Joseph Tasnádi’s exhibition is a review of his post-2010 oeuvre, consisting of installations, interventions, and digital experiments, along with some earlier drawings. His uniquely resonant lyrical installations, as well as the intellectual and sensitively poeticised objects, enter a dialogue with each other and start weaving an associative network of additional meanings.
A version of the exhibition took place in 2022 at the MODEM Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, Debrecen, Hungary.
Tasnádi’s creative career incorporates an array of artistic disciplines and genres, yet his writings, drawings, digital experiments, installations, and interventions form an extraordinarily coherent and organic whole. They illustrate poetic and artistic aspects of a profound experience. Tasnádi seeks his inspiration, not inside but outside, art. He finds things. Things that spontaneously connect themselves with metacontents, such as hope, memory, death, the impossibility of communication, paradox, place, time, presence, or of their lack.
At the same time, he examines the relationships between technology and art. In recent years, his work has focused on the bonds between man and machine, the relationship of technology, metaphoric perspective, and poetic thinking.
He thematises important questions with hybrid contemporary artistic methods in which (scientific) research, (artistic) elaboration/reflection and the demand for poetic synthesis are deeply inter-connected.
Exhibitions
30.05.2023 - 16.07.2023

NEEDLES IN A HAYSTACK

The Palace
Artists: Boryana Petkova & Iskra Blagoeva, Boryana Rossa, Katya Dimova, Krasimira Butseva, Monika Popova, nada ree, Natalia Jordanova, Neda Milanova, Oksana Kazmina, Rayna Teneva, Sophia Grancharova, Zelikha Shoja.
Curator: Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva
Design: Viktoriya Staykova
The exhibition presents the results from the BFW’s open call for the Fund for art projects by women artists in 2022. The female authors and their concepts were chosen among over 200 candidates in the competition. The expert jury consists of the curators Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva, Daniela Radeva, Stefka Tsaneva, Margarita Dorovska, as well as Gergana Kutseva, Dobromira Terpesheva, and Rosena Ivanova from the BFW team. Invited to respond to the state of emergency, challenges, and urgency in this day and age, the women artists react with varied intensity, character, style, and a great amount of sincerity. Contrasts and similarities between them, in the choice of media, their candor, turning towards their inner selves, and sharing personal stories, experiences, and memories all create a common environment of empathy and reciprocation. What inevitably connects them is exposing stereotypes about women’s social role and position. They are also connected by the needle as a tool chosen by most of them, but also as a byword for that patriarchal image of the woman holding her needlework. An image rooted in the consciousness of generations on end, which all these women defy.
The story of the needle resembles a woman’s story, as confirmed by many feminist theorists. However, it does not follow a specific linearity, but is ambiguous and controversial, simultaneously a story about isolation, reassurance, and seclusion, but also about interacting with the world and opposition. The needle is the symbol of the skill passed on in the family, over generations, from grandmothers and mothers, knowing what it is to be a woman, the natural attraction towards the warmth of the fabric, and intimate interaction. The process of embroidery and sewing is story-telling. It encompasses the whole patience for bringing the threads together and passing on memories and messages. The needle as a means to create and to mend, as one of the symbols of coziness, of childhood memories, is fragile, but sharp.
The project of the Fund for Artistic Projects by Women was made possible thanks to the trust and financial support of Veronika Puncheva, Lachezar Tsotzorkov Foundation, Legrand, Ubisoft, ALD Automative, as well as with the logistical support of the Institute for Contemporary Art – Sofia and Credo Bonum Gallery. The opening event is hosted by Freixenet.
Exhibitions
09.05.2023 - 20.08.2023

NINA RUSEVA: ATLANTIS

The ‘Atlantis’ exhibition is an adventure of the senses, an open door to the notion of reality and the past, a bold and dreamy inducement to encounter the unknown or the non-existent, even if only in one pictorial world.
Nina Ruseva created most of these paintings specifically for the occasion. The extreme, exciting emotional experience physically separates us from the reality surrounding us and conveys us to distant worlds. Peru, the Antarctic, Perperikon, or the lost lands of Atlantis—all unfold before the eyes of the viewer, refracted through the personal emotion and sensibility of the artist, through the rich imagination and curiosity towards the unknown that she materialises in her painting.
Nina Ruseva’s landscapes occupy the boundary between abstraction and reality—effulgent and temperamental, creating a sense of dynamism and, at the same time, bringing tranquillity to a desolate space dominated by natural forms. The large formats allow for a bold handling of form, colour, and large strokes thickly applied to the canvas.
The bright palette and frequent use of dark contours are distinguishing features of Nina Ruseva’s figurative language, reinforcing the feeling of the illusoriness of natural scenes.
Exhibitions
20.02.2023 - 31.12.2023

THE APOSTLE’S CONFESSION

Multimedia exposition dedicated to 150 years since the death of the Apostle of Freedom, Vasil Levski.
Using holographic technology on a large-scale video wall, a re-enactment of the trial of the Apostle of Freedom is displayed, and significant moments of his life are brought back to life. Veselin Plachkov portrays Vasil Levski. Actors Ivan Trenev, Lyubov Pavlova, Rumen Ivanov, Alexander Georgiev, Biser Marinov and Nikola Dodov are also participants. Nelly Dimitrova is the screenwriter; Dimitar Gochev, the director; Simeon Parashkevov and Dimitar Gochev, cinematographers; Atanas Gendov, composer; Pirina Veselinova, Evgeni Gospodinov and the Svetoglas Quartet, musical performers; sensor studio, animation and mapping; Hristo Karagyozov, audio mixing and post-production; Ivo Milev, creative producer; and Tsvetoslav Borisov, executive producer.
The National Gallery and the Vasil Levski All-Bulgarian Committee created the exposition, with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and donations by the Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation, Kaufland Bulgaria EOOD, Aurubis Bulgaria JSC, Vazovski Machinery Works JSC – Sopot, and patriotic Bulgarians.
Kvadrat 500, entrance at 95, Vasil Levski Blvd., Sofia
Opening hours:
Tuesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.– 6 p.m.
The screenings are 30 minutes away, starting at 10 am
Bookings for groups of up to 20 people: +359 879 834 025
FREE ADMISSION
Exhibitions
08.06.2023 - 28.10.2023

Yana Lozeva | ANACRUSIS

The Vera Nedkova House Museum ‘In the Home of Vera Nedkova’, the programme launched in 2019, continues to present contemporary artists along with Nedkova’s paintings. Displayed in the cosy atmosphere marked by Vera Nedkova’s intellectual and creative presence, the six photographs by Yana Lozeva show images of women with a strong and memorable individuality. Despite the apparent incompatibility of the two artists in their creative pursuits and concepts, the photographs correspond in an elegant way with the paintings in the museum’s interior. ‘We were looking for expressiveness, not so much external as internal,’ Vera Nedkova stated in her memoirs about her own art. In her early works, she was moved by the portrait and its depiction in a non-standard style in a space devoid of details.
Taken over the past two years, the photographs have captured brief and elusive moments and states of the subjects portrayed. The female images seem to sink into space in the manner of a watercolour, with their blurred contours and transitions between black and white. With her keenness of observation, Yana Lozeva is intrigued by the mysteriousness of the ordinary, by the moment of lost control and that specificity of the ‘out-of-hand’ framing, which sneaks inexplicably and imperceptibly in to lie at the base of the ‘Anacrusis’ exhibition.
Exhibitions
21.06.2023

JOHANNES BRAHMS – EIN DEUTSCHES REQUIEM

Bulgaria Concert Hall Conductor
Peter Dimitrov
Soloist/s
Boris Dobrev
Rumyana Kostova
Simeon Vladov
Ensemble
Simfonieta Vidin
National Philharmonic Choir
Music and Dance Events
06.06.2023 - 22.06.2023

12th International Photo Festival — PHODAR Biennial | SAMENESS AND SEMBLANCE

Museum of Art from the Socialist Period
Under the motto ‘Sameness and Semblance’, 454 artists from 78 countries submitted works to the 12th International Photo Festival—PHODAR Biennial, demonstrating the great interest of artists from all over the world. The international jury selected 274 printed copies, presenting 21 artists from 12 countries, for inclusion in the exhibition. Three prizes were awarded—the grand prix, debut, and humanistic photography.
The regulations for this festival edition were distributed virtually via 44 electronic portals of national associations, specialist educational institutions, and media, placing the biennial among the leading events in world photography and almost doubling the number of participants when compared to previous years.
On 8 June, at 5 p.m., a theoretical seminar on the topic of ‘Sameness and Semblance’ will be held in the exhibition gallery, to be attended by experts in various disciplines of the humanities and the visual arts at St Kliment Ohridski Sofia University, the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA), and other higher educational institutions, galleries and NGOs, along with students, photo enthusiasts and established visual artists. On 22 June, at 4 p.m., a tour of the exposition will be organised for those who wish to learn more.
The PHODAR Foundation was established in 1999 to specialise in the visual arts while focusing on photography, the principal output being the International Photo Festival—the PHODAR Biennial. Its editions are thematic; photographic series and cycles are accepted. The jury consists of 9–11 experts in the genres of photography, the visual arts, and a variety of disciplines in the humanities.
The festival is made possible with the financial support of the Sofia Culture Programme.
Festivals
22.06.2023 - 24.06.2023

Balkan wine fest

UPDATED INFORMATION:
The event is scheduled to take place A WEEK LATER 22-24.06.2023 due to the weather conditions.
For more information please click HERE.
The 12th Balkan Wine Festival will take place in Sofia city in front of the National Palace of Culture from June 15th to 17th, 2023.
In the heart of Sofia, the "Wine City" of the Balkan Wine Festival will rise once again to present the most interesting, curious and exciting wines from the Balkans region - Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Moldova, Armenia.
You will have the unique opportunity to taste more than 1000 wines, meet the producers and hear their stories.
AMONG THE HIGHLIGHTS THIS YEAR:
50 tents with over 100 cellars
Tents with food products and places to eat
Culinary delights
Golden tent with the award-winning wines in the competition
Photo corner
Pet free area
Stage with musical performances and thematic stand-up program
Corner for selling items
Festival bookstore
Painting with wine and many more surprises that will fill your senses with many emotions and pleasant memories!
For more information, please click HERE.
Festivals
16.06.2023 - 26.06.2023

Exhibition "Games and Science with Muzeiko" in the Crystal garden

The Municipal Cultural Institute Scientific and Educational Children's Center "Muzeiko" presented to the citizens and guests of Sofia its new exhibition "Games and Science with Muzeiko", which can be viewed in the Crystal garden until June 26 th . It provides information on the interactive experience of young visitors at Muzeiko, revealing various fields of science, adventures in nature and great human inventions.
"Games and Science with Muzeiko" was created to inspire and educate children through fun and educational activities. The 27 panels introduce visitors to the exciting and magical experience that awaits them at Muzeiko. From physics and chemistry to biology and astronomy, the exhibition will offer a rich variety of scientific topics to be explored through play and learning.
"Games and Science with Muzeiko" is part of the "Outdoor Galleries" initiative, organized by the Directorate of Culture - Sofia Municipality. This partnership provides an opportunity to create unique cultural and educational events accessible to all citizens and especially to children.
Exhibitions
03.05.2023 - 26.06.2023

JOSEPH Tasnádi: Puzzlements

Curator: Dr. Szabolcs Süli-Zakar
Sofia Arsenal – Museum of Contemporary Art
‘What art is can neither be grasped nor determined—one can only feel it.’ Joseph Tasnádi
Joseph Tasnádi’s exhibition is a review of his post-2010 oeuvre, consisting of installations, interventions, and digital experiments, along with some earlier drawings. His uniquely resonant lyrical installations, as well as the intellectual and sensitively poeticised objects, enter a dialogue with each other and start weaving an associative network of additional meanings.
A version of the exhibition took place in 2022 at the MODEM Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, Debrecen, Hungary.
Tasnádi’s creative career incorporates an array of artistic disciplines and genres, yet his writings, drawings, digital experiments, installations, and interventions form an extraordinarily coherent and organic whole. They illustrate poetic and artistic aspects of a profound experience. Tasnádi seeks his inspiration, not inside but outside, art. He finds things. Things that spontaneously connect themselves with metacontents, such as hope, memory, death, the impossibility of communication, paradox, place, time, presence, or of their lack.
At the same time, he examines the relationships between technology and art. In recent years, his work has focused on the bonds between man and machine, the relationship of technology, metaphoric perspective, and poetic thinking.
He thematises important questions with hybrid contemporary artistic methods in which (scientific) research, (artistic) elaboration/reflection and the demand for poetic synthesis are deeply inter-connected.
Exhibitions
30.05.2023 - 16.07.2023

NEEDLES IN A HAYSTACK

The Palace
Artists: Boryana Petkova & Iskra Blagoeva, Boryana Rossa, Katya Dimova, Krasimira Butseva, Monika Popova, nada ree, Natalia Jordanova, Neda Milanova, Oksana Kazmina, Rayna Teneva, Sophia Grancharova, Zelikha Shoja.
Curator: Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva
Design: Viktoriya Staykova
The exhibition presents the results from the BFW’s open call for the Fund for art projects by women artists in 2022. The female authors and their concepts were chosen among over 200 candidates in the competition. The expert jury consists of the curators Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva, Daniela Radeva, Stefka Tsaneva, Margarita Dorovska, as well as Gergana Kutseva, Dobromira Terpesheva, and Rosena Ivanova from the BFW team. Invited to respond to the state of emergency, challenges, and urgency in this day and age, the women artists react with varied intensity, character, style, and a great amount of sincerity. Contrasts and similarities between them, in the choice of media, their candor, turning towards their inner selves, and sharing personal stories, experiences, and memories all create a common environment of empathy and reciprocation. What inevitably connects them is exposing stereotypes about women’s social role and position. They are also connected by the needle as a tool chosen by most of them, but also as a byword for that patriarchal image of the woman holding her needlework. An image rooted in the consciousness of generations on end, which all these women defy.
The story of the needle resembles a woman’s story, as confirmed by many feminist theorists. However, it does not follow a specific linearity, but is ambiguous and controversial, simultaneously a story about isolation, reassurance, and seclusion, but also about interacting with the world and opposition. The needle is the symbol of the skill passed on in the family, over generations, from grandmothers and mothers, knowing what it is to be a woman, the natural attraction towards the warmth of the fabric, and intimate interaction. The process of embroidery and sewing is story-telling. It encompasses the whole patience for bringing the threads together and passing on memories and messages. The needle as a means to create and to mend, as one of the symbols of coziness, of childhood memories, is fragile, but sharp.
The project of the Fund for Artistic Projects by Women was made possible thanks to the trust and financial support of Veronika Puncheva, Lachezar Tsotzorkov Foundation, Legrand, Ubisoft, ALD Automative, as well as with the logistical support of the Institute for Contemporary Art – Sofia and Credo Bonum Gallery. The opening event is hosted by Freixenet.
Exhibitions
09.05.2023 - 20.08.2023

NINA RUSEVA: ATLANTIS

The ‘Atlantis’ exhibition is an adventure of the senses, an open door to the notion of reality and the past, a bold and dreamy inducement to encounter the unknown or the non-existent, even if only in one pictorial world.
Nina Ruseva created most of these paintings specifically for the occasion. The extreme, exciting emotional experience physically separates us from the reality surrounding us and conveys us to distant worlds. Peru, the Antarctic, Perperikon, or the lost lands of Atlantis—all unfold before the eyes of the viewer, refracted through the personal emotion and sensibility of the artist, through the rich imagination and curiosity towards the unknown that she materialises in her painting.
Nina Ruseva’s landscapes occupy the boundary between abstraction and reality—effulgent and temperamental, creating a sense of dynamism and, at the same time, bringing tranquillity to a desolate space dominated by natural forms. The large formats allow for a bold handling of form, colour, and large strokes thickly applied to the canvas.
The bright palette and frequent use of dark contours are distinguishing features of Nina Ruseva’s figurative language, reinforcing the feeling of the illusoriness of natural scenes.
Exhibitions
22.06.2023 - 20.07.2023

SOFIA’S LABYRINTH by Hiro Kamigaki and IC4DESIGN, creators of the Pierre Detective series

Kvadrat 500
‘Sofia’s Labyrinth’ is the new story of Hiro Kamigaki, creator of the “Detective Pierre” book series, beloved by many children and their parents in our country. In this project, children of different ages will build their own routes and immerse themselves in the cultural traditions of Bulgaria, combined with the images of superheroes, kukeri and rose pickers, will track their movement through the streets of the capital, find the clues and solve the additional mysterious challenges on the road. The routes are woven into the drawings so detailed and colorful that they turn each maze into a work of art! The magical worlds that Hiro Kamigaki creates easily reach children’s imaginations through the illustrated complex mazes with mysterious paths, futuristic cities, hot air balloons, treasures, animals, ninjas, fantasy characters, haunted houses. Each illustration is actually a diagram in which you have to find your way from start to finish. And as if that’s not fun enough, like real detectives you have to find hidden objects, train your observation, answer questions, help others, practice your English.
The typical approach of Hiro Kamigaki’s to building each new world involves meticulous site research, gathering information from photographic material, satellite maps, urban plans, typology of local customs and cultural features.
Kamigaki creates a utopian world in his mind unencumbered by direct contact with the respective city, he does not initially visit the place he is about to paint in order to allow his imagination to construct a new magical situation. The artist painted the colorful labyrinth of Sofia in 2021, and after visiting the capital in the summer of 2022, IC4DESIGN created the black and white map of the city, a much more accurate and detailed version, in which verbal messages are woven.
The ‘Sofia’s Labyrinth’ is realized with the partnership and financial support of EUROSPEED. During the exhibition, the National Gallery organizes educational programs for children, which you can follow on its Facebook page and Instagram profile.
Exhibitions
20.02.2023 - 31.12.2023

THE APOSTLE’S CONFESSION

Multimedia exposition dedicated to 150 years since the death of the Apostle of Freedom, Vasil Levski.
Using holographic technology on a large-scale video wall, a re-enactment of the trial of the Apostle of Freedom is displayed, and significant moments of his life are brought back to life. Veselin Plachkov portrays Vasil Levski. Actors Ivan Trenev, Lyubov Pavlova, Rumen Ivanov, Alexander Georgiev, Biser Marinov and Nikola Dodov are also participants. Nelly Dimitrova is the screenwriter; Dimitar Gochev, the director; Simeon Parashkevov and Dimitar Gochev, cinematographers; Atanas Gendov, composer; Pirina Veselinova, Evgeni Gospodinov and the Svetoglas Quartet, musical performers; sensor studio, animation and mapping; Hristo Karagyozov, audio mixing and post-production; Ivo Milev, creative producer; and Tsvetoslav Borisov, executive producer.
The National Gallery and the Vasil Levski All-Bulgarian Committee created the exposition, with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and donations by the Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation, Kaufland Bulgaria EOOD, Aurubis Bulgaria JSC, Vazovski Machinery Works JSC – Sopot, and patriotic Bulgarians.
Kvadrat 500, entrance at 95, Vasil Levski Blvd., Sofia
Opening hours:
Tuesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.– 6 p.m.
The screenings are 30 minutes away, starting at 10 am
Bookings for groups of up to 20 people: +359 879 834 025
FREE ADMISSION
Exhibitions
08.06.2023 - 28.10.2023

Yana Lozeva | ANACRUSIS

The Vera Nedkova House Museum ‘In the Home of Vera Nedkova’, the programme launched in 2019, continues to present contemporary artists along with Nedkova’s paintings. Displayed in the cosy atmosphere marked by Vera Nedkova’s intellectual and creative presence, the six photographs by Yana Lozeva show images of women with a strong and memorable individuality. Despite the apparent incompatibility of the two artists in their creative pursuits and concepts, the photographs correspond in an elegant way with the paintings in the museum’s interior. ‘We were looking for expressiveness, not so much external as internal,’ Vera Nedkova stated in her memoirs about her own art. In her early works, she was moved by the portrait and its depiction in a non-standard style in a space devoid of details.
Taken over the past two years, the photographs have captured brief and elusive moments and states of the subjects portrayed. The female images seem to sink into space in the manner of a watercolour, with their blurred contours and transitions between black and white. With her keenness of observation, Yana Lozeva is intrigued by the mysteriousness of the ordinary, by the moment of lost control and that specificity of the ‘out-of-hand’ framing, which sneaks inexplicably and imperceptibly in to lie at the base of the ‘Anacrusis’ exhibition.
Exhibitions
22.06.2023

DANIEL GEISS & SARAH MCELRAVY

Bulgaria Concert Hall
Conductor
Daniel Geiss
Soloist/s
Sarah McElravy
Ensemble
Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra
Program
Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 6 Pastoral in F major, Op. 68
William Walton - The Viola Concerto
Music and Dance Events
22.06.2023 - 24.06.2023

Balkan wine fest

UPDATED INFORMATION:
The event is scheduled to take place A WEEK LATER 22-24.06.2023 due to the weather conditions.
For more information please click HERE.
The 12th Balkan Wine Festival will take place in Sofia city in front of the National Palace of Culture from June 15th to 17th, 2023.
In the heart of Sofia, the "Wine City" of the Balkan Wine Festival will rise once again to present the most interesting, curious and exciting wines from the Balkans region - Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Moldova, Armenia.
You will have the unique opportunity to taste more than 1000 wines, meet the producers and hear their stories.
AMONG THE HIGHLIGHTS THIS YEAR:
50 tents with over 100 cellars
Tents with food products and places to eat
Culinary delights
Golden tent with the award-winning wines in the competition
Photo corner
Pet free area
Stage with musical performances and thematic stand-up program
Corner for selling items
Festival bookstore
Painting with wine and many more surprises that will fill your senses with many emotions and pleasant memories!
For more information, please click HERE.
Festivals
16.06.2023 - 26.06.2023

Exhibition "Games and Science with Muzeiko" in the Crystal garden

The Municipal Cultural Institute Scientific and Educational Children's Center "Muzeiko" presented to the citizens and guests of Sofia its new exhibition "Games and Science with Muzeiko", which can be viewed in the Crystal garden until June 26 th . It provides information on the interactive experience of young visitors at Muzeiko, revealing various fields of science, adventures in nature and great human inventions.
"Games and Science with Muzeiko" was created to inspire and educate children through fun and educational activities. The 27 panels introduce visitors to the exciting and magical experience that awaits them at Muzeiko. From physics and chemistry to biology and astronomy, the exhibition will offer a rich variety of scientific topics to be explored through play and learning.
"Games and Science with Muzeiko" is part of the "Outdoor Galleries" initiative, organized by the Directorate of Culture - Sofia Municipality. This partnership provides an opportunity to create unique cultural and educational events accessible to all citizens and especially to children.
Exhibitions
03.05.2023 - 26.06.2023

JOSEPH Tasnádi: Puzzlements

Curator: Dr. Szabolcs Süli-Zakar
Sofia Arsenal – Museum of Contemporary Art
‘What art is can neither be grasped nor determined—one can only feel it.’ Joseph Tasnádi
Joseph Tasnádi’s exhibition is a review of his post-2010 oeuvre, consisting of installations, interventions, and digital experiments, along with some earlier drawings. His uniquely resonant lyrical installations, as well as the intellectual and sensitively poeticised objects, enter a dialogue with each other and start weaving an associative network of additional meanings.
A version of the exhibition took place in 2022 at the MODEM Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, Debrecen, Hungary.
Tasnádi’s creative career incorporates an array of artistic disciplines and genres, yet his writings, drawings, digital experiments, installations, and interventions form an extraordinarily coherent and organic whole. They illustrate poetic and artistic aspects of a profound experience. Tasnádi seeks his inspiration, not inside but outside, art. He finds things. Things that spontaneously connect themselves with metacontents, such as hope, memory, death, the impossibility of communication, paradox, place, time, presence, or of their lack.
At the same time, he examines the relationships between technology and art. In recent years, his work has focused on the bonds between man and machine, the relationship of technology, metaphoric perspective, and poetic thinking.
He thematises important questions with hybrid contemporary artistic methods in which (scientific) research, (artistic) elaboration/reflection and the demand for poetic synthesis are deeply inter-connected.
Exhibitions
30.05.2023 - 16.07.2023

NEEDLES IN A HAYSTACK

The Palace
Artists: Boryana Petkova & Iskra Blagoeva, Boryana Rossa, Katya Dimova, Krasimira Butseva, Monika Popova, nada ree, Natalia Jordanova, Neda Milanova, Oksana Kazmina, Rayna Teneva, Sophia Grancharova, Zelikha Shoja.
Curator: Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva
Design: Viktoriya Staykova
The exhibition presents the results from the BFW’s open call for the Fund for art projects by women artists in 2022. The female authors and their concepts were chosen among over 200 candidates in the competition. The expert jury consists of the curators Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva, Daniela Radeva, Stefka Tsaneva, Margarita Dorovska, as well as Gergana Kutseva, Dobromira Terpesheva, and Rosena Ivanova from the BFW team. Invited to respond to the state of emergency, challenges, and urgency in this day and age, the women artists react with varied intensity, character, style, and a great amount of sincerity. Contrasts and similarities between them, in the choice of media, their candor, turning towards their inner selves, and sharing personal stories, experiences, and memories all create a common environment of empathy and reciprocation. What inevitably connects them is exposing stereotypes about women’s social role and position. They are also connected by the needle as a tool chosen by most of them, but also as a byword for that patriarchal image of the woman holding her needlework. An image rooted in the consciousness of generations on end, which all these women defy.
The story of the needle resembles a woman’s story, as confirmed by many feminist theorists. However, it does not follow a specific linearity, but is ambiguous and controversial, simultaneously a story about isolation, reassurance, and seclusion, but also about interacting with the world and opposition. The needle is the symbol of the skill passed on in the family, over generations, from grandmothers and mothers, knowing what it is to be a woman, the natural attraction towards the warmth of the fabric, and intimate interaction. The process of embroidery and sewing is story-telling. It encompasses the whole patience for bringing the threads together and passing on memories and messages. The needle as a means to create and to mend, as one of the symbols of coziness, of childhood memories, is fragile, but sharp.
The project of the Fund for Artistic Projects by Women was made possible thanks to the trust and financial support of Veronika Puncheva, Lachezar Tsotzorkov Foundation, Legrand, Ubisoft, ALD Automative, as well as with the logistical support of the Institute for Contemporary Art – Sofia and Credo Bonum Gallery. The opening event is hosted by Freixenet.
Exhibitions
09.05.2023 - 20.08.2023

NINA RUSEVA: ATLANTIS

The ‘Atlantis’ exhibition is an adventure of the senses, an open door to the notion of reality and the past, a bold and dreamy inducement to encounter the unknown or the non-existent, even if only in one pictorial world.
Nina Ruseva created most of these paintings specifically for the occasion. The extreme, exciting emotional experience physically separates us from the reality surrounding us and conveys us to distant worlds. Peru, the Antarctic, Perperikon, or the lost lands of Atlantis—all unfold before the eyes of the viewer, refracted through the personal emotion and sensibility of the artist, through the rich imagination and curiosity towards the unknown that she materialises in her painting.
Nina Ruseva’s landscapes occupy the boundary between abstraction and reality—effulgent and temperamental, creating a sense of dynamism and, at the same time, bringing tranquillity to a desolate space dominated by natural forms. The large formats allow for a bold handling of form, colour, and large strokes thickly applied to the canvas.
The bright palette and frequent use of dark contours are distinguishing features of Nina Ruseva’s figurative language, reinforcing the feeling of the illusoriness of natural scenes.
Exhibitions
23.06.2023 - 25.06.2023

SOFIA MOTO FEST IN SUPPORT OF DONATION

The Sofia motorcycle clubs, through the "Sofia MS 22" Association, are organizing the first charity motorcycle show of its kind, which will take place under the sign of a heart-pounding cause - promotion of the National campaign in support of donation and transplantation - "Yes! For life!"
The Moto Car Fest will be held in the period from June 23 to 25, 2023 in the park next to Terminal 2 of Sofia Airport. The co-organizers are the "Sofia-European Capital of Sports" Foundation, "SOF Kunket" JSC-Sofia Airport and "Slatina" CO-district and it is supported by the Sofia Municipality, the Ministry of Sports, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Health.
On an area of ​​over 100 acres, which is one of the most remarkable preserved green treasures of the city of Sofia, the latest models of motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, campers and caravans, ATVs, UTVs, bicycles will be presented by the official importers. All kinds of accessories for motorcycles, cars, trucks, mountain and sea tourism will also be exhibited.
During the event, the organizers will provide an area to BFAS for the presentation of the Bulgarian motor sport, as well as an opportunity for demonstrations of racing cars.
Everyone who would participate in this wonderful event will have the opportunity to be introduced to the large audience at the fest.
Those who are willing to register may do so by e-mail: office@bfas.bg or by phone 0897 79 60 79.
Sports Events
22.06.2023 - 20.07.2023

SOFIA’S LABYRINTH by Hiro Kamigaki and IC4DESIGN, creators of the Pierre Detective series

Kvadrat 500
‘Sofia’s Labyrinth’ is the new story of Hiro Kamigaki, creator of the “Detective Pierre” book series, beloved by many children and their parents in our country. In this project, children of different ages will build their own routes and immerse themselves in the cultural traditions of Bulgaria, combined with the images of superheroes, kukeri and rose pickers, will track their movement through the streets of the capital, find the clues and solve the additional mysterious challenges on the road. The routes are woven into the drawings so detailed and colorful that they turn each maze into a work of art! The magical worlds that Hiro Kamigaki creates easily reach children’s imaginations through the illustrated complex mazes with mysterious paths, futuristic cities, hot air balloons, treasures, animals, ninjas, fantasy characters, haunted houses. Each illustration is actually a diagram in which you have to find your way from start to finish. And as if that’s not fun enough, like real detectives you have to find hidden objects, train your observation, answer questions, help others, practice your English.
The typical approach of Hiro Kamigaki’s to building each new world involves meticulous site research, gathering information from photographic material, satellite maps, urban plans, typology of local customs and cultural features.
Kamigaki creates a utopian world in his mind unencumbered by direct contact with the respective city, he does not initially visit the place he is about to paint in order to allow his imagination to construct a new magical situation. The artist painted the colorful labyrinth of Sofia in 2021, and after visiting the capital in the summer of 2022, IC4DESIGN created the black and white map of the city, a much more accurate and detailed version, in which verbal messages are woven.
The ‘Sofia’s Labyrinth’ is realized with the partnership and financial support of EUROSPEED. During the exhibition, the National Gallery organizes educational programs for children, which you can follow on its Facebook page and Instagram profile.
Exhibitions
20.02.2023 - 31.12.2023

THE APOSTLE’S CONFESSION

Multimedia exposition dedicated to 150 years since the death of the Apostle of Freedom, Vasil Levski.
Using holographic technology on a large-scale video wall, a re-enactment of the trial of the Apostle of Freedom is displayed, and significant moments of his life are brought back to life. Veselin Plachkov portrays Vasil Levski. Actors Ivan Trenev, Lyubov Pavlova, Rumen Ivanov, Alexander Georgiev, Biser Marinov and Nikola Dodov are also participants. Nelly Dimitrova is the screenwriter; Dimitar Gochev, the director; Simeon Parashkevov and Dimitar Gochev, cinematographers; Atanas Gendov, composer; Pirina Veselinova, Evgeni Gospodinov and the Svetoglas Quartet, musical performers; sensor studio, animation and mapping; Hristo Karagyozov, audio mixing and post-production; Ivo Milev, creative producer; and Tsvetoslav Borisov, executive producer.
The National Gallery and the Vasil Levski All-Bulgarian Committee created the exposition, with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and donations by the Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation, Kaufland Bulgaria EOOD, Aurubis Bulgaria JSC, Vazovski Machinery Works JSC – Sopot, and patriotic Bulgarians.
Kvadrat 500, entrance at 95, Vasil Levski Blvd., Sofia
Opening hours:
Tuesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.– 6 p.m.
The screenings are 30 minutes away, starting at 10 am
Bookings for groups of up to 20 people: +359 879 834 025
FREE ADMISSION
Exhibitions
08.06.2023 - 28.10.2023

Yana Lozeva | ANACRUSIS

The Vera Nedkova House Museum ‘In the Home of Vera Nedkova’, the programme launched in 2019, continues to present contemporary artists along with Nedkova’s paintings. Displayed in the cosy atmosphere marked by Vera Nedkova’s intellectual and creative presence, the six photographs by Yana Lozeva show images of women with a strong and memorable individuality. Despite the apparent incompatibility of the two artists in their creative pursuits and concepts, the photographs correspond in an elegant way with the paintings in the museum’s interior. ‘We were looking for expressiveness, not so much external as internal,’ Vera Nedkova stated in her memoirs about her own art. In her early works, she was moved by the portrait and its depiction in a non-standard style in a space devoid of details.
Taken over the past two years, the photographs have captured brief and elusive moments and states of the subjects portrayed. The female images seem to sink into space in the manner of a watercolour, with their blurred contours and transitions between black and white. With her keenness of observation, Yana Lozeva is intrigued by the mysteriousness of the ordinary, by the moment of lost control and that specificity of the ‘out-of-hand’ framing, which sneaks inexplicably and imperceptibly in to lie at the base of the ‘Anacrusis’ exhibition.
Exhibitions
22.06.2023 - 24.06.2023

Balkan wine fest

UPDATED INFORMATION:
The event is scheduled to take place A WEEK LATER 22-24.06.2023 due to the weather conditions.
For more information please click HERE.
The 12th Balkan Wine Festival will take place in Sofia city in front of the National Palace of Culture from June 15th to 17th, 2023.
In the heart of Sofia, the "Wine City" of the Balkan Wine Festival will rise once again to present the most interesting, curious and exciting wines from the Balkans region - Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Moldova, Armenia.
You will have the unique opportunity to taste more than 1000 wines, meet the producers and hear their stories.
AMONG THE HIGHLIGHTS THIS YEAR:
50 tents with over 100 cellars
Tents with food products and places to eat
Culinary delights
Golden tent with the award-winning wines in the competition
Photo corner
Pet free area
Stage with musical performances and thematic stand-up program
Corner for selling items
Festival bookstore
Painting with wine and many more surprises that will fill your senses with many emotions and pleasant memories!
For more information, please click HERE.
Festivals
16.06.2023 - 26.06.2023

Exhibition "Games and Science with Muzeiko" in the Crystal garden

The Municipal Cultural Institute Scientific and Educational Children's Center "Muzeiko" presented to the citizens and guests of Sofia its new exhibition "Games and Science with Muzeiko", which can be viewed in the Crystal garden until June 26 th . It provides information on the interactive experience of young visitors at Muzeiko, revealing various fields of science, adventures in nature and great human inventions.
"Games and Science with Muzeiko" was created to inspire and educate children through fun and educational activities. The 27 panels introduce visitors to the exciting and magical experience that awaits them at Muzeiko. From physics and chemistry to biology and astronomy, the exhibition will offer a rich variety of scientific topics to be explored through play and learning.
"Games and Science with Muzeiko" is part of the "Outdoor Galleries" initiative, organized by the Directorate of Culture - Sofia Municipality. This partnership provides an opportunity to create unique cultural and educational events accessible to all citizens and especially to children.
Exhibitions
03.05.2023 - 26.06.2023

JOSEPH Tasnádi: Puzzlements

Curator: Dr. Szabolcs Süli-Zakar
Sofia Arsenal – Museum of Contemporary Art
‘What art is can neither be grasped nor determined—one can only feel it.’ Joseph Tasnádi
Joseph Tasnádi’s exhibition is a review of his post-2010 oeuvre, consisting of installations, interventions, and digital experiments, along with some earlier drawings. His uniquely resonant lyrical installations, as well as the intellectual and sensitively poeticised objects, enter a dialogue with each other and start weaving an associative network of additional meanings.
A version of the exhibition took place in 2022 at the MODEM Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, Debrecen, Hungary.
Tasnádi’s creative career incorporates an array of artistic disciplines and genres, yet his writings, drawings, digital experiments, installations, and interventions form an extraordinarily coherent and organic whole. They illustrate poetic and artistic aspects of a profound experience. Tasnádi seeks his inspiration, not inside but outside, art. He finds things. Things that spontaneously connect themselves with metacontents, such as hope, memory, death, the impossibility of communication, paradox, place, time, presence, or of their lack.
At the same time, he examines the relationships between technology and art. In recent years, his work has focused on the bonds between man and machine, the relationship of technology, metaphoric perspective, and poetic thinking.
He thematises important questions with hybrid contemporary artistic methods in which (scientific) research, (artistic) elaboration/reflection and the demand for poetic synthesis are deeply inter-connected.
Exhibitions
30.05.2023 - 16.07.2023

NEEDLES IN A HAYSTACK

The Palace
Artists: Boryana Petkova & Iskra Blagoeva, Boryana Rossa, Katya Dimova, Krasimira Butseva, Monika Popova, nada ree, Natalia Jordanova, Neda Milanova, Oksana Kazmina, Rayna Teneva, Sophia Grancharova, Zelikha Shoja.
Curator: Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva
Design: Viktoriya Staykova
The exhibition presents the results from the BFW’s open call for the Fund for art projects by women artists in 2022. The female authors and their concepts were chosen among over 200 candidates in the competition. The expert jury consists of the curators Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva, Daniela Radeva, Stefka Tsaneva, Margarita Dorovska, as well as Gergana Kutseva, Dobromira Terpesheva, and Rosena Ivanova from the BFW team. Invited to respond to the state of emergency, challenges, and urgency in this day and age, the women artists react with varied intensity, character, style, and a great amount of sincerity. Contrasts and similarities between them, in the choice of media, their candor, turning towards their inner selves, and sharing personal stories, experiences, and memories all create a common environment of empathy and reciprocation. What inevitably connects them is exposing stereotypes about women’s social role and position. They are also connected by the needle as a tool chosen by most of them, but also as a byword for that patriarchal image of the woman holding her needlework. An image rooted in the consciousness of generations on end, which all these women defy.
The story of the needle resembles a woman’s story, as confirmed by many feminist theorists. However, it does not follow a specific linearity, but is ambiguous and controversial, simultaneously a story about isolation, reassurance, and seclusion, but also about interacting with the world and opposition. The needle is the symbol of the skill passed on in the family, over generations, from grandmothers and mothers, knowing what it is to be a woman, the natural attraction towards the warmth of the fabric, and intimate interaction. The process of embroidery and sewing is story-telling. It encompasses the whole patience for bringing the threads together and passing on memories and messages. The needle as a means to create and to mend, as one of the symbols of coziness, of childhood memories, is fragile, but sharp.
The project of the Fund for Artistic Projects by Women was made possible thanks to the trust and financial support of Veronika Puncheva, Lachezar Tsotzorkov Foundation, Legrand, Ubisoft, ALD Automative, as well as with the logistical support of the Institute for Contemporary Art – Sofia and Credo Bonum Gallery. The opening event is hosted by Freixenet.
Exhibitions
09.05.2023 - 20.08.2023

NINA RUSEVA: ATLANTIS

The ‘Atlantis’ exhibition is an adventure of the senses, an open door to the notion of reality and the past, a bold and dreamy inducement to encounter the unknown or the non-existent, even if only in one pictorial world.
Nina Ruseva created most of these paintings specifically for the occasion. The extreme, exciting emotional experience physically separates us from the reality surrounding us and conveys us to distant worlds. Peru, the Antarctic, Perperikon, or the lost lands of Atlantis—all unfold before the eyes of the viewer, refracted through the personal emotion and sensibility of the artist, through the rich imagination and curiosity towards the unknown that she materialises in her painting.
Nina Ruseva’s landscapes occupy the boundary between abstraction and reality—effulgent and temperamental, creating a sense of dynamism and, at the same time, bringing tranquillity to a desolate space dominated by natural forms. The large formats allow for a bold handling of form, colour, and large strokes thickly applied to the canvas.
The bright palette and frequent use of dark contours are distinguishing features of Nina Ruseva’s figurative language, reinforcing the feeling of the illusoriness of natural scenes.
Exhibitions
23.06.2023 - 25.06.2023

SOFIA MOTO FEST IN SUPPORT OF DONATION

The Sofia motorcycle clubs, through the "Sofia MS 22" Association, are organizing the first charity motorcycle show of its kind, which will take place under the sign of a heart-pounding cause - promotion of the National campaign in support of donation and transplantation - "Yes! For life!"
The Moto Car Fest will be held in the period from June 23 to 25, 2023 in the park next to Terminal 2 of Sofia Airport. The co-organizers are the "Sofia-European Capital of Sports" Foundation, "SOF Kunket" JSC-Sofia Airport and "Slatina" CO-district and it is supported by the Sofia Municipality, the Ministry of Sports, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Health.
On an area of ​​over 100 acres, which is one of the most remarkable preserved green treasures of the city of Sofia, the latest models of motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, campers and caravans, ATVs, UTVs, bicycles will be presented by the official importers. All kinds of accessories for motorcycles, cars, trucks, mountain and sea tourism will also be exhibited.
During the event, the organizers will provide an area to BFAS for the presentation of the Bulgarian motor sport, as well as an opportunity for demonstrations of racing cars.
Everyone who would participate in this wonderful event will have the opportunity to be introduced to the large audience at the fest.
Those who are willing to register may do so by e-mail: office@bfas.bg or by phone 0897 79 60 79.
Sports Events
22.06.2023 - 20.07.2023

SOFIA’S LABYRINTH by Hiro Kamigaki and IC4DESIGN, creators of the Pierre Detective series

Kvadrat 500
‘Sofia’s Labyrinth’ is the new story of Hiro Kamigaki, creator of the “Detective Pierre” book series, beloved by many children and their parents in our country. In this project, children of different ages will build their own routes and immerse themselves in the cultural traditions of Bulgaria, combined with the images of superheroes, kukeri and rose pickers, will track their movement through the streets of the capital, find the clues and solve the additional mysterious challenges on the road. The routes are woven into the drawings so detailed and colorful that they turn each maze into a work of art! The magical worlds that Hiro Kamigaki creates easily reach children’s imaginations through the illustrated complex mazes with mysterious paths, futuristic cities, hot air balloons, treasures, animals, ninjas, fantasy characters, haunted houses. Each illustration is actually a diagram in which you have to find your way from start to finish. And as if that’s not fun enough, like real detectives you have to find hidden objects, train your observation, answer questions, help others, practice your English.
The typical approach of Hiro Kamigaki’s to building each new world involves meticulous site research, gathering information from photographic material, satellite maps, urban plans, typology of local customs and cultural features.
Kamigaki creates a utopian world in his mind unencumbered by direct contact with the respective city, he does not initially visit the place he is about to paint in order to allow his imagination to construct a new magical situation. The artist painted the colorful labyrinth of Sofia in 2021, and after visiting the capital in the summer of 2022, IC4DESIGN created the black and white map of the city, a much more accurate and detailed version, in which verbal messages are woven.
The ‘Sofia’s Labyrinth’ is realized with the partnership and financial support of EUROSPEED. During the exhibition, the National Gallery organizes educational programs for children, which you can follow on its Facebook page and Instagram profile.
Exhibitions
24.06.2023
Religious Holidays
20.02.2023 - 31.12.2023

THE APOSTLE’S CONFESSION

Multimedia exposition dedicated to 150 years since the death of the Apostle of Freedom, Vasil Levski.
Using holographic technology on a large-scale video wall, a re-enactment of the trial of the Apostle of Freedom is displayed, and significant moments of his life are brought back to life. Veselin Plachkov portrays Vasil Levski. Actors Ivan Trenev, Lyubov Pavlova, Rumen Ivanov, Alexander Georgiev, Biser Marinov and Nikola Dodov are also participants. Nelly Dimitrova is the screenwriter; Dimitar Gochev, the director; Simeon Parashkevov and Dimitar Gochev, cinematographers; Atanas Gendov, composer; Pirina Veselinova, Evgeni Gospodinov and the Svetoglas Quartet, musical performers; sensor studio, animation and mapping; Hristo Karagyozov, audio mixing and post-production; Ivo Milev, creative producer; and Tsvetoslav Borisov, executive producer.
The National Gallery and the Vasil Levski All-Bulgarian Committee created the exposition, with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and donations by the Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation, Kaufland Bulgaria EOOD, Aurubis Bulgaria JSC, Vazovski Machinery Works JSC – Sopot, and patriotic Bulgarians.
Kvadrat 500, entrance at 95, Vasil Levski Blvd., Sofia
Opening hours:
Tuesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.– 6 p.m.
The screenings are 30 minutes away, starting at 10 am
Bookings for groups of up to 20 people: +359 879 834 025
FREE ADMISSION
Exhibitions
08.06.2023 - 28.10.2023

Yana Lozeva | ANACRUSIS

The Vera Nedkova House Museum ‘In the Home of Vera Nedkova’, the programme launched in 2019, continues to present contemporary artists along with Nedkova’s paintings. Displayed in the cosy atmosphere marked by Vera Nedkova’s intellectual and creative presence, the six photographs by Yana Lozeva show images of women with a strong and memorable individuality. Despite the apparent incompatibility of the two artists in their creative pursuits and concepts, the photographs correspond in an elegant way with the paintings in the museum’s interior. ‘We were looking for expressiveness, not so much external as internal,’ Vera Nedkova stated in her memoirs about her own art. In her early works, she was moved by the portrait and its depiction in a non-standard style in a space devoid of details.
Taken over the past two years, the photographs have captured brief and elusive moments and states of the subjects portrayed. The female images seem to sink into space in the manner of a watercolour, with their blurred contours and transitions between black and white. With her keenness of observation, Yana Lozeva is intrigued by the mysteriousness of the ordinary, by the moment of lost control and that specificity of the ‘out-of-hand’ framing, which sneaks inexplicably and imperceptibly in to lie at the base of the ‘Anacrusis’ exhibition.
Exhibitions
24.06.2023

CONCERT FOR BABIES

Military academy - small hall
Music and Dance Events
16.06.2023 - 26.06.2023

Exhibition "Games and Science with Muzeiko" in the Crystal garden

The Municipal Cultural Institute Scientific and Educational Children's Center "Muzeiko" presented to the citizens and guests of Sofia its new exhibition "Games and Science with Muzeiko", which can be viewed in the Crystal garden until June 26 th . It provides information on the interactive experience of young visitors at Muzeiko, revealing various fields of science, adventures in nature and great human inventions.
"Games and Science with Muzeiko" was created to inspire and educate children through fun and educational activities. The 27 panels introduce visitors to the exciting and magical experience that awaits them at Muzeiko. From physics and chemistry to biology and astronomy, the exhibition will offer a rich variety of scientific topics to be explored through play and learning.
"Games and Science with Muzeiko" is part of the "Outdoor Galleries" initiative, organized by the Directorate of Culture - Sofia Municipality. This partnership provides an opportunity to create unique cultural and educational events accessible to all citizens and especially to children.
Exhibitions
03.05.2023 - 26.06.2023

JOSEPH Tasnádi: Puzzlements

Curator: Dr. Szabolcs Süli-Zakar
Sofia Arsenal – Museum of Contemporary Art
‘What art is can neither be grasped nor determined—one can only feel it.’ Joseph Tasnádi
Joseph Tasnádi’s exhibition is a review of his post-2010 oeuvre, consisting of installations, interventions, and digital experiments, along with some earlier drawings. His uniquely resonant lyrical installations, as well as the intellectual and sensitively poeticised objects, enter a dialogue with each other and start weaving an associative network of additional meanings.
A version of the exhibition took place in 2022 at the MODEM Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, Debrecen, Hungary.
Tasnádi’s creative career incorporates an array of artistic disciplines and genres, yet his writings, drawings, digital experiments, installations, and interventions form an extraordinarily coherent and organic whole. They illustrate poetic and artistic aspects of a profound experience. Tasnádi seeks his inspiration, not inside but outside, art. He finds things. Things that spontaneously connect themselves with metacontents, such as hope, memory, death, the impossibility of communication, paradox, place, time, presence, or of their lack.
At the same time, he examines the relationships between technology and art. In recent years, his work has focused on the bonds between man and machine, the relationship of technology, metaphoric perspective, and poetic thinking.
He thematises important questions with hybrid contemporary artistic methods in which (scientific) research, (artistic) elaboration/reflection and the demand for poetic synthesis are deeply inter-connected.
Exhibitions
30.05.2023 - 16.07.2023

NEEDLES IN A HAYSTACK

The Palace
Artists: Boryana Petkova & Iskra Blagoeva, Boryana Rossa, Katya Dimova, Krasimira Butseva, Monika Popova, nada ree, Natalia Jordanova, Neda Milanova, Oksana Kazmina, Rayna Teneva, Sophia Grancharova, Zelikha Shoja.
Curator: Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva
Design: Viktoriya Staykova
The exhibition presents the results from the BFW’s open call for the Fund for art projects by women artists in 2022. The female authors and their concepts were chosen among over 200 candidates in the competition. The expert jury consists of the curators Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva, Daniela Radeva, Stefka Tsaneva, Margarita Dorovska, as well as Gergana Kutseva, Dobromira Terpesheva, and Rosena Ivanova from the BFW team. Invited to respond to the state of emergency, challenges, and urgency in this day and age, the women artists react with varied intensity, character, style, and a great amount of sincerity. Contrasts and similarities between them, in the choice of media, their candor, turning towards their inner selves, and sharing personal stories, experiences, and memories all create a common environment of empathy and reciprocation. What inevitably connects them is exposing stereotypes about women’s social role and position. They are also connected by the needle as a tool chosen by most of them, but also as a byword for that patriarchal image of the woman holding her needlework. An image rooted in the consciousness of generations on end, which all these women defy.
The story of the needle resembles a woman’s story, as confirmed by many feminist theorists. However, it does not follow a specific linearity, but is ambiguous and controversial, simultaneously a story about isolation, reassurance, and seclusion, but also about interacting with the world and opposition. The needle is the symbol of the skill passed on in the family, over generations, from grandmothers and mothers, knowing what it is to be a woman, the natural attraction towards the warmth of the fabric, and intimate interaction. The process of embroidery and sewing is story-telling. It encompasses the whole patience for bringing the threads together and passing on memories and messages. The needle as a means to create and to mend, as one of the symbols of coziness, of childhood memories, is fragile, but sharp.
The project of the Fund for Artistic Projects by Women was made possible thanks to the trust and financial support of Veronika Puncheva, Lachezar Tsotzorkov Foundation, Legrand, Ubisoft, ALD Automative, as well as with the logistical support of the Institute for Contemporary Art – Sofia and Credo Bonum Gallery. The opening event is hosted by Freixenet.
Exhibitions
09.05.2023 - 20.08.2023

NINA RUSEVA: ATLANTIS

The ‘Atlantis’ exhibition is an adventure of the senses, an open door to the notion of reality and the past, a bold and dreamy inducement to encounter the unknown or the non-existent, even if only in one pictorial world.
Nina Ruseva created most of these paintings specifically for the occasion. The extreme, exciting emotional experience physically separates us from the reality surrounding us and conveys us to distant worlds. Peru, the Antarctic, Perperikon, or the lost lands of Atlantis—all unfold before the eyes of the viewer, refracted through the personal emotion and sensibility of the artist, through the rich imagination and curiosity towards the unknown that she materialises in her painting.
Nina Ruseva’s landscapes occupy the boundary between abstraction and reality—effulgent and temperamental, creating a sense of dynamism and, at the same time, bringing tranquillity to a desolate space dominated by natural forms. The large formats allow for a bold handling of form, colour, and large strokes thickly applied to the canvas.
The bright palette and frequent use of dark contours are distinguishing features of Nina Ruseva’s figurative language, reinforcing the feeling of the illusoriness of natural scenes.
Exhibitions
23.06.2023 - 25.06.2023

SOFIA MOTO FEST IN SUPPORT OF DONATION

The Sofia motorcycle clubs, through the "Sofia MS 22" Association, are organizing the first charity motorcycle show of its kind, which will take place under the sign of a heart-pounding cause - promotion of the National campaign in support of donation and transplantation - "Yes! For life!"
The Moto Car Fest will be held in the period from June 23 to 25, 2023 in the park next to Terminal 2 of Sofia Airport. The co-organizers are the "Sofia-European Capital of Sports" Foundation, "SOF Kunket" JSC-Sofia Airport and "Slatina" CO-district and it is supported by the Sofia Municipality, the Ministry of Sports, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Health.
On an area of ​​over 100 acres, which is one of the most remarkable preserved green treasures of the city of Sofia, the latest models of motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, campers and caravans, ATVs, UTVs, bicycles will be presented by the official importers. All kinds of accessories for motorcycles, cars, trucks, mountain and sea tourism will also be exhibited.
During the event, the organizers will provide an area to BFAS for the presentation of the Bulgarian motor sport, as well as an opportunity for demonstrations of racing cars.
Everyone who would participate in this wonderful event will have the opportunity to be introduced to the large audience at the fest.
Those who are willing to register may do so by e-mail: office@bfas.bg or by phone 0897 79 60 79.
Sports Events
22.06.2023 - 20.07.2023

SOFIA’S LABYRINTH by Hiro Kamigaki and IC4DESIGN, creators of the Pierre Detective series

Kvadrat 500
‘Sofia’s Labyrinth’ is the new story of Hiro Kamigaki, creator of the “Detective Pierre” book series, beloved by many children and their parents in our country. In this project, children of different ages will build their own routes and immerse themselves in the cultural traditions of Bulgaria, combined with the images of superheroes, kukeri and rose pickers, will track their movement through the streets of the capital, find the clues and solve the additional mysterious challenges on the road. The routes are woven into the drawings so detailed and colorful that they turn each maze into a work of art! The magical worlds that Hiro Kamigaki creates easily reach children’s imaginations through the illustrated complex mazes with mysterious paths, futuristic cities, hot air balloons, treasures, animals, ninjas, fantasy characters, haunted houses. Each illustration is actually a diagram in which you have to find your way from start to finish. And as if that’s not fun enough, like real detectives you have to find hidden objects, train your observation, answer questions, help others, practice your English.
The typical approach of Hiro Kamigaki’s to building each new world involves meticulous site research, gathering information from photographic material, satellite maps, urban plans, typology of local customs and cultural features.
Kamigaki creates a utopian world in his mind unencumbered by direct contact with the respective city, he does not initially visit the place he is about to paint in order to allow his imagination to construct a new magical situation. The artist painted the colorful labyrinth of Sofia in 2021, and after visiting the capital in the summer of 2022, IC4DESIGN created the black and white map of the city, a much more accurate and detailed version, in which verbal messages are woven.
The ‘Sofia’s Labyrinth’ is realized with the partnership and financial support of EUROSPEED. During the exhibition, the National Gallery organizes educational programs for children, which you can follow on its Facebook page and Instagram profile.
Exhibitions
20.02.2023 - 31.12.2023

THE APOSTLE’S CONFESSION

Multimedia exposition dedicated to 150 years since the death of the Apostle of Freedom, Vasil Levski.
Using holographic technology on a large-scale video wall, a re-enactment of the trial of the Apostle of Freedom is displayed, and significant moments of his life are brought back to life. Veselin Plachkov portrays Vasil Levski. Actors Ivan Trenev, Lyubov Pavlova, Rumen Ivanov, Alexander Georgiev, Biser Marinov and Nikola Dodov are also participants. Nelly Dimitrova is the screenwriter; Dimitar Gochev, the director; Simeon Parashkevov and Dimitar Gochev, cinematographers; Atanas Gendov, composer; Pirina Veselinova, Evgeni Gospodinov and the Svetoglas Quartet, musical performers; sensor studio, animation and mapping; Hristo Karagyozov, audio mixing and post-production; Ivo Milev, creative producer; and Tsvetoslav Borisov, executive producer.
The National Gallery and the Vasil Levski All-Bulgarian Committee created the exposition, with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and donations by the Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation, Kaufland Bulgaria EOOD, Aurubis Bulgaria JSC, Vazovski Machinery Works JSC – Sopot, and patriotic Bulgarians.
Kvadrat 500, entrance at 95, Vasil Levski Blvd., Sofia
Opening hours:
Tuesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.– 6 p.m.
The screenings are 30 minutes away, starting at 10 am
Bookings for groups of up to 20 people: +359 879 834 025
FREE ADMISSION
Exhibitions
08.06.2023 - 28.10.2023

Yana Lozeva | ANACRUSIS

The Vera Nedkova House Museum ‘In the Home of Vera Nedkova’, the programme launched in 2019, continues to present contemporary artists along with Nedkova’s paintings. Displayed in the cosy atmosphere marked by Vera Nedkova’s intellectual and creative presence, the six photographs by Yana Lozeva show images of women with a strong and memorable individuality. Despite the apparent incompatibility of the two artists in their creative pursuits and concepts, the photographs correspond in an elegant way with the paintings in the museum’s interior. ‘We were looking for expressiveness, not so much external as internal,’ Vera Nedkova stated in her memoirs about her own art. In her early works, she was moved by the portrait and its depiction in a non-standard style in a space devoid of details.
Taken over the past two years, the photographs have captured brief and elusive moments and states of the subjects portrayed. The female images seem to sink into space in the manner of a watercolour, with their blurred contours and transitions between black and white. With her keenness of observation, Yana Lozeva is intrigued by the mysteriousness of the ordinary, by the moment of lost control and that specificity of the ‘out-of-hand’ framing, which sneaks inexplicably and imperceptibly in to lie at the base of the ‘Anacrusis’ exhibition.
Exhibitions
25.06.2023

THE THREE PIGGIES

Musical by Alexandar Raichev
Military academy - small hall
Performed in Bulgarian
Music and Dance Events
25.06.2023

THE LAND OF DREAMS

World premiere of the first Bulgarian electroacoustic opera
Chamber hall
Music and Dance Events