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It will be the first with
residency program
The mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova and the head of the SOS culture and education commission Malina Edreva during the construction inspection. PHOTO: Velislav Nikolov
for foreign artists
Next year, the former thermal power station of the National Palace of Culture in South Park will become the home of independent artists. In autumn 2021, the first of its kind in our country Center for Contemporary Art will come into operation.
Reconstruction is progressing on schedule, it became clear during Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova’s inspection a few days ago. The municipality is investing around BGN 5 million in the new art center.
“This is a long-awaited and prepared project. We hope that in the fall of 2021 Sofia and our country will finally have a Center for Contemporary Art. We announce an international competition to choose the best architectural project. Among more than 60 participants, including from all over Europe , the jury chose a Bulgarian office: young people with completed projects in Burgas, “said the director of the SOS Culture and Education Committee Malina Edreva, who is among the main promoters of the project.
Before announcing the competition, won by the team of architects Mariana Sarbova, Adriana Sarbova and Desislava Stoyanova, meetings were held with independent artists of various genres.
“We wanted to know what their expectations and needs were. So together we prepared the project assignment. Almost overnight, the jury debated which project would best fulfill the functions that a Contemporary Art Center has to offer,” Edreva explained.
The main activity of the center will be related to the performing and visual arts.
There will be a great hall in it. It is designed so that
for 1 hour to be able
is transformed by
event room in
such for the stage
letters
In one variant, it will have around 350 seats, and in the other, with around 550 standing.
On the second floor there will be another smaller room with 150 seats. Make-up and costumes will be made, as well as the mandatory premises for the preparation of the stage performances. The center will also have a special residency program. It will provide 6 residential places. These are rooms where foreign artists can live while working in the center.
“In this way we will give foreign artists from all over the world the opportunity to visit Sofia, work here and create co-productions with our artists. This makes the center unique not only for Sofia, but for the whole of Bulgaria ”, emphasized Edreva.
At the insistence of the municipality in the “Heating Plant” workshops will be held to work with children.
“The educational element is very important for us to involve young and talented people from an early age to work with professionals. The idea is for the “Thermal Power Station” to act as a multi-gender center, “Edreva added.
The announcement of public tenders for the selection of contractors for the sound, lighting and furniture of the Center for Contemporary Art is currently being prepared. Procedures will be separated to ensure higher quality performance. During the preparation of the procedures and our meetings with the association “Central Térmica”, part of which are contemporary artists from different fields, it became clear that if we bet on lighting
special equipment
to make
light shows –
something that is missing in Sofia, unlike Lyon and Berlin for example, which are famous for their light festivals, we will not only be able to do such festivals here, but it will also open up opportunities for training and skill development of artists who work with light. I am ready to defend this opportunity, because this is a new track for the work of these artists ”, said Edreva. She believes that due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, it is a light show that may be one of the first products of the center. Thus, in the fall of 2021, the capital will have its own art factory, which will prepare light shows, theater, music, pantomime and visual arts. They will give new life to the building built in 1982, which is surrounded by three artificial hills and on one side borders the Perlovska River. At the end of the year, the municipality will announce a contest for the director of the center.
The municipality’s intentions are for the center to act regionally. Therefore, it will be supported with its own income, which will form around 30-40% of the required budget, and with a subsidy from the state and the municipality. The operation of the place will be one of the main themes that the candidates to head the newest art zone in Sofia will have to describe in a concept.
“The crisis as an opportunity” – new
artist support program
The Municipality of Sofia will announce a special program that will support the creation of digital products and the various communities of Sofia.
The Crisis as an Opportunity program will fund projects in two directions. The first is for digital products.
“To make the digital product of high quality, we will provide a mentoring program by IT specialists. We want to provide other opportunities for artist and audience gatherings, if there are restrictions on indoor spaces again in the fall. The second direction is aimed at communities. In the state of emergency we saw how important social ties, solidarity and empathy were. Volunteers, who had the knowledge and experience, were immediately involved and helped local and national authorities to reach more quickly to the most vulnerable groups. On the other hand, there were the communities of parents of children with disabilities. Digital education has not been prepared for this situation, so through these programs we will support these communities so that all children can be the same if the learning is to be brought back online Non-governmental organizations in the field of donations and relationships Cross-community ones can apply for the program. In the first direction, the maximum value for a project will be 20,000 BGN and for the second, 10,000 BGN ”, explained the head of the SOC’s culture and education commission, Malina Edreva.
The program will start with a budget of BGN 500,000. This is the money of the municipal councilors of the supervisory councils of the municipal structures. Since April, they have refused to be paid. With some of them, even in a state of emergency, the municipality launched the crisis program “Solidarity in culture.” 232 projects were supported by more than 407,000 BGN, among which are 17 art spaces that have maintained their activity: galleries, theaters, stages, etc.
Among the projects supported by “Solidarity in culture” are the online puppet theater, the latest song from “Atlas” “Unblock your souls”, the acoustic version of the song “Sagapao” by Dara, the online project of actress Elena Petrova – “Bulgarian love letters isolated”, etc.
“We are starting a series of meetings to hear from cultural operators and producers what we have learned this year. What should we take into account when preparing the Sofia Culture Program and the Sofia cultural calendar for 2021. It is clear that a different year awaits us. We want this conversation with the union to be able to prepare the most flexible and adaptive programs that really benefit the sector ”, said Edreva.
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