Presentation of the book „10 years Open Arts: HERE EVERYWHERE“
28 May 2018, Monday
Generator, 47, Tcherni Vrah blvd., Sofia
18:00 – Meeting with the Open Arts Foundation team and guests at the event
18:30 – 19:30 – Discussion with Vesselina and Katrin Sarievi (founders of Open Arts Foundation), Luchezar Boyadjiev (artist), Lyubo Georgiev (architect), Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva (art historian), Vesislav Iliev (economist) and Georgi Lazarov (designer of the book)
Moderator: Vladiya Mihaylova (curator and culturologist)
The book “10 years Open Arts: HERE EVERYWHERE” is an anniversary edition for the jubilee of Open Arts Foundation and the exhibition “HERE EVERYWHERE” curated by Vladiya Mihaylova, which was realized in its context,. The bilingual edition is part of a large scale initiative of the foundation in its decennial celebration of sustainable work in the NGO sector in Bulgaria. A period, within which “Open Arts” have implemented and developed new cultural management practices and models of work, created events and projects of great significance and have affirmed their belief in the necessity of cultural missionary work. The book’s 160 pages present the key projects of “Open Arts”, their partners and associates, as well as the catalogue of the “HERE EVERYWHERE” exhibition catalogue, which was realized within the framework of NIGHT/Plovdiv 2017.
How is work sustainable operation possible in the unsustainable environment of Bulgaria’s NGO sector? How are long-term partnerships created, how is context cultivated, how are audiences developed and how are the memory of the city and contemporary art preserved? What is the journey toward creating the vision, ethics and the system of values of an organization? These are only a few of the questions Open Arts Foundation has given rise to and which shall be reviewed in the discussion.
Together with Vesselina Sarieva and Vesislav Iliev we shall discuss the sustainability and the impact of large-scale cultural events such as NIGHT/Plovdiv and in what manner do they take part in the development of the identity and the economy of the cities. With Katrin Sarieva and Lyubo Georgiev we shall consider the role of art and cultural heritage in the contemporary city – topics that are at the core of projects such as “The Alternative Map of Plovdiv”, “FLUCA – Austrian cultural pavilion”, “City Arbour” among others. We shall take a specific look at contemporary art, the necessity of knowledge sharing and expanding the audience in a talk with Luchezar Boyadjiiev and Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva, both of whom shall discuss the Foundation’s contemporary art projects, such as the educational platform “Introduction to Contemporary Art” and the special edition „Walk & Talk with Luchezar Boyadzhiev” (2016). An important topic in the discussion shall also be the effort towards building sustainable co-operations and the presentation of art and culture in an international environment. The experience and impact of projects such as “Focus Bulgaria” (2015) and the development of “Collectors’ Forum” in collaboration with Sariev Conptemporary Gallery shall be shared. The event shall also include an announcement of two new projects of Open Arts Foundation, which continues to actively work toward the presentation of contemporary art in Bulgaria.
