During the Network meeting, cultural managers, artists, and cultural representatives from Greece, Turkey, Romania, Latvia, Germany, and Bulgaria met and exchanged ideas, shared experiences, and discussed collaborative projects in art and culture. Some discussions dealt with events taking place as part of the Plovdiv European Capital of Culture 2019.
They visited The Night of Museums and Galleries festival in Plovdiv, and with the support of Genika Baycheva and Desislava Tsoneva, they enjoyed the cultural life of Sofia and Plovdiv.
The participants met actors from Plovdiv’s local cultural scene. Among them were local artists and representatives of organizations and institutions, such as ‘Plovdiv 2019’ European Capital of Culture Art Director Dr. Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva and her team; Prof. Dr. Orlin Dvoryanov, professor of art at Sofia University and president of the ‘art in action association’ with 25 years of experience in the NGO sector; Gergana Dimitrova and ‘36 Monkeys’, an organization for contemporary alternative art and culture that conducts not-for-profit events for the benefit of the general public; Reaktiv Boutique Studio for Artists, which was presented by Albena Baeva, a contemporary artist working in interactive design and experimental video, sound and performance; Rene Beekman, an instructor at the MA Programme for Digital Arts at the National Academy of Arts in Sofia; Yordan Chichikov, a young Bulgarian filmmaker; and Yanina Taneva, founder and ideas activator at Ideas Factory Association. They also visited some (new) production spaces, such as ‘Cosmos Cinema’.
The meetings gave participants a broad, informed perspective on contemporary Bulgarian cultural life. Moreover, it gave them an opportunity to discuss with like-minded people pertinent topics, including how culture and arts can help reshape the city, how to encourage civic participation, what role art plays in public space, and how to self-organize and manage projects.
While attending official and unofficial meetings, events, cultural venues, and project exhibitions, the participants discussed their experiences and learned about new ideas on how to foster creativity in new art and cultural exchange.
The meeting was open to twelve participants. Selection was based on short application letters.
Bulgarian Culture Day and Night brought together members from different programmes of the RBCM Network who had never met before. It helped them gather more detailed experience and knowledge about cultural exchange and encouraged new partnerships and ideas for new collaborative projects.
Information about the meeting was circulated through the RBCM Network round mails and Facebook. A special event was created for the meeting on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/events/284211348619901/)