The Plovdiv Night of Museums and Galleries will offer a concentrated experience of the visual and performing arts for the 7th consecutive year on 17 September. More than fifty locations – museums, galleries, bookshops, clubs, streets and parks – will be open to the public late into the night, turning Bulgaria’s second largest city into a giant art stage.
A Major Cultural Event
40 000 visitors and guests attended last year’s edition of the Plovdiv Night of Museums and Galleries, which makes it one of the largest cultural events in Bulgaria. Organized by the Open Arts Foundation, the festival takes its cue from the best traditions of art cities around the world, while at the same time serving as a catalyst for local cultural processes. The program this year includes exhibitions, educational programs for adults and children, interactive performances, meetings with artists, live events across the town, concerts, screenings and workshops.
Something for Everyone
Following the success of last year’s edition, the program will be divided in three segments:
- Museums&Galleries, which provides a core of professionally curated shows.
- Culture&Club, with the participation of cultural institutes, bookshops, informal art spaces and clubs.
- The City and Public Spaces segment, whose events will happen across the town.
All spaces will be accessible to the public from 19:00 on Saturday, 17 September, to 01:00 on Sunday, 18 September.
A separate children’s program – the Small Night – will be organized from 17:00 to 20:00 on Saturday, with entertainment and educational events provided for the youngest.
The official afterparty of the Plovdiv Night of Museums and Galleries 2011 will be hosted in the Tobacco Warehouse, on the corner of Ivan Vazov St. and Ekzarh Yosif St., in the wee hours of 18 September.
A Real Community Effort
Most of the events in the program are produced by the participating cultural organizations, with the Open Arts Foundation running two platforms of its own – Special Projects and Open Call platform.
New participants in the Plovdiv Night of Museums and Galleries this year are the recently renovated Regional Museum of Archeology, the Ivan Vazov National Library, the Surp Kovork Armenian church and the Victoria and Kirkor Armenian school, as well as locations such as Fabric Bar in 31 Otets Paisiy St., the iconic and now derelict Cosmos Cinema and the monument to soldiers who have died for Bulgaria known as Bratska mogila.
A new element in this year is a VIP event – called the Collectors’ Forum – which will from now on precede the official shows. Its goals are to provide visibility for successful private collectors’ practices and to encourage aspiring collectors to start and run their own art collections. Participation in the event is by invitation only.
The visual identity of the Night is the work of Poststudio for visual culture, who have developed a special font inspired by the city’s street signs, graffiti and magazines, called The Letters of Plovdiv.
Organizing Your Night
Visitors and guests of the festival can put together their itineraries with the help of the Night’s catalogue, which includes a map of all locations, as well as on-line and the official blog of the festival. Free downloads with the full program will be available for ipad, iphone and android, while daily news will be posted on the Night of museum and galleries facebook page.
Sponsors
The Plovdiv Night of Museums and Galleries is organised by the Open Arts Foundation in partnership with the Municipality of Plovdiv and the financial support of the America for Bulgaria Foundation and Vivacom.
Information:
OPEN ARTS FOUNDATION
36 Otets Paisii St.
Plovdiv 4000
Bulgaria
(t) +359 885 550 993
(e) [email protected]
