Exhibition on the thirtieth anniversary of the National Endowment Fund 13 Centuries of Bulgaria
On the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the National Endowment Fund 13 Centuries Bulgaria, the State Institute for Culture jointly with the National Endowment Fund hosted a photo exhibition entitled River of Tolerance by young Bulgarian and foreign artists at the Mission Gallery. The photo exhibition opened at 18:30 hrs on 26 November at the Mission Gallery. The project includes some of the works presented by the participants in the First International Youth Art Festival River of Tolerance organised by the National Endowment Fund 13 Centuries Bulgaria from 14 to 20 September 2010 in the town of Samokov. Both the organisers and the participants were attracted by the idea of offering young artists in painting and photography from Bulgaria and Germany an opportunity to create by establishing direct contact with the rich cultural heritage in the region of Samokov, a town with deep traditions where Bulgarians, Jews, Turks, Armenians, Romani, and Sarakatsani have lived together for centuries. The town’s rich cultural heritage has been preserved in several remarkable monuments of architecture, like e.g. the Moneylender’s House, the Bishop’s Church, the Convent, Bairakli Mosque, and the synagogue. The young artists were provided with the opportunity to communicate, work, and create on these sites and at the Graphics Centre of the Union of Bulgarian Artists, the District History Museum, and the District Art Gallery. Representatives of the young generation of artists from the Netherlands and from Denmark also participated in the project. The present exhibition at the Mission Gallery represents the outcome of the 96-hour art youth session, which was organised in the framework of the Samokov Art Festival aiming to offer an alternative look into the three religious communities that coexist on the territory of the Samokov District. The exhibition will be open until 1 December 2010.