The Letter-benches from the Project "The Hidden Letters" were Еxhibited in Velehrad, Czechia
The letter-benches, part of the installation "The Hidden Letters", were exhibited in the town of Velehrad, Czechia, from July 3 to 30, 2024, on the occasion of the Days of Goodwill. This was made possible thanks to the initiative of the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Prague. One of the largest annual religious events in the Czech Republic, the Days of Goodwill, traditionally takes place in connection with the Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, which is celebrated on July 5. The two-day celebrations commemorate the anniversary of the arrival of the apostles St. Cyril and St. Methodius in Great Moravia 1159 years ago.
During their stay in the Moravian municipality of Velehrad, the benches in the shape of letters from the Cyrillic alphabet, which have no counterparts in other alphabets, provided a comfortable place for rest for the residents and guests of the town. At the same time, they gave everyone the opportunity to get acquainted with the works of Bulgarian authors like Georgi Gospodinov, Nikola Petrov, Kristin Dimitrova, Ivan Landzhev, and Dimitar Kenarov.
In June, the same letter-benches were placed in the courtyard of the Literary Museum in Prague. There, they became a natural backdrop for a literary event during which Bulgarian poetry was read in the original and in translation into Czech.
The project "The Hidden Letters" by the "Read Sofia" foundation combines typography and poetry in an urban environment. Its goal is to create new places for reading and outdoor meetings. It started in 2018 in Sofia, where the letter-benches became a kind of stage for various readings and literary routes and became an integral part of the city's landscape and literary life. Since the summer of 2019, "The Hidden Letters" have traveled to various cities around the world, such as Paris, Rabat, Berlin, Budapest, Brussels, Edinburgh, Münster, Ghent, and Seoul, acting as ambassadors of the Bulgarian alphabet, literature, and culture.
The State Institute for Culture is a partner of the project.