Archives for “Art & culture” tag

The Modern Art Gallery opened its doors a couple of years ago. It focuses on 20th century masters such as Picasso, Miró, Shagal, but also post-war American art. It’s the only gallery of modern art in Bulgaria and one of the few in Eastern Europe with such a focus. There is usually a temporary exhibition on the ground floor and a permanent exhibition on the second floor.

Once you enter, you are immediately welcomed by a friendly and smartly dressed lady, who would provide you with thorough information about each piece of art – a short biography of the artist, stories about the respective period of life and events in world history, which provoked or inspired the creation of his work.

Since its mission is to reinforce the interest of art enthusiasts and to make modern art more accessible to public, the gallery organizes regular educational seminars with art experts from notorious universities in France, US and Germany. The gallery also conducts a weekend art school for kids, where they develop their ability to observe, perceive and interpret the surrounding reality and environment – involving emotion and imagination.

The current expostition is called “The Portrait” and it contains portraits from the masters of the 20th century. It includes works of Picasso, Chagall, Dali and others, and it is open until the 20th of June. 

Does it happen to you when you’re walking the streets of a foreign city you know nothing about and wonder where it’s at? And I mean not the cafes, bars or shops, not the clubs or even the cultural hubs, but something of a community space, the place where people gather WITHOUT the occasion of monetary exchange?

When this happens to me I look for parks, public spaces and squats. In Sofia sadly we don’t have any of the latter, but the closest thing we have are social centers like the Fridge/Haspel. It’s a space for discussions, community purposes and art left out of the official discourse (pun intended), aiming to promote cooperation, debate and critical thinking.

That being said, they organize discussions, lectures by prominent thinkers, presentations of different academic and activist projects, screenings, soliparties, workshops on how to fix your bike, and parties and events at the suggestion of someone from the community. Ever since they united with the Fridge, an independent art space, they also host exhibitions and theater projects. Currently it’s part of the the Art-Up exhibition. Basically, it’s a place for people to inhabit. If you want to learn about real issues in Sofia or just talk to an intelligent person, that’s the place to find them.

As the poetic cannon goes, it’s based behind a big supermarket, facing the trash-bins . And right next to that there’s the my favorite makeshift terrace of a neighborhood café, where you can experience the true delights of a Sofia backyard.

The Art Hostel’s bar was the first mixed bar/arts venue with DIY aesthetic to appear in Sofia and praise is truly due, as it has preserved its charm and atmosphere for over 10 years. If you are in Sofia, you might already be staying there, but let’s say it anyways: it’s hidden in the small central streets and, besides the obvious, offers a spirited little bar and a classic Sofia backyard.

What has kept the bar running all this time is the nourishing mix of locals and travelers – you can always count on finding company for a beer/glass of gluhwine on a cold winter evening. And despite the time passed, I still enjoy hanging out there – the apartment feel of it, with live jazz/ethno gigs often held in “the livingroom”, and the fact that you can always meet likeminded people. They maintain a whatever-you-can-think-of program of events – from exhibitions to poetry and drama readings, from table football tournaments to screenings of… Star Wars. But even if there’s nothing on, there’s a good chance you’ll end up at somebody’s party or meet a fresh traveling face.

The decor of the 6 different rooms is an assemblage from basements and streets, built on by the ideas of local and visiting artists through the years. Most of them were also employed at the bar at some point. In short, if you know no one in Sofia, that’s the place to go to. An excellent way to start the evening.

I believe this place is often overlooked by travelers and locals alike. It’s a shame for a place with quite an intriguing past and quite an interesting present. Before the WWII this used to be the city casino (check out how it used to look like at the Stara Sofia blog).

Don’t get me wrong. It was not a gambler’s paradise but more like the most famous place for meetings and social networking. The biggest halls in town hosted balls, political meetings, concerts, even paintings exhibitions. The casino was heavily damaged after the war and converted into gallery soon after.

Nowadays it’s big halls host exhibitions once again. The gallery has a huge collection – 3500 paintings, 800 sculptures, 2800 other drawings – but most of it is in storage. Usually there are at least two exhibitions in the gallery. They organize around 30 exhibitions per year. Entrance is completely free. And it’s located in the park (check out the City Garden article) so it’s the perfect part to a nice day outside.

These are the current exhibition(s) to see inside:

The Other Eye Project: Gorgons in the Storage Room, or, Apocalypse NowCurators: Ani Vaseva, Boryana Rossa, Monika Vakarelova

30 April 2013 – 2 June 2013

If we talk local, you should definitely eat at a real Bulgarian kruchma – the word “pub”, which it means, cannot truly deliver all the juice and aromas inherent. Oh, this temple of the soul, smelling of lyutenitsa, brew yeast and meatballs – it attends to your bodily needs and brings you in harmony with your spiritual being.

“Sam Doydoh” is a homage to this concept with a few special twists. Based in a ramshackle house in the center’s periphery, it doesn’t even have a sign on its door, except the coal writing on the wall and a wooden board.

The owner started it as a place to gather his friends – all devotees of the almost extinct kafana, where conversations and spirits flow freely from table to table. On the wall hang caricatures of the regulars: some – notorious pub heroes, others – prominent figures of the cultural scene, third both. As the rest of the brick-a-brack interior (the ski on the wall, the book quotes, the peculiar bathroom design) they reflect the odd sense of humor that helped this scene survive long hard times. Lethal to all pretense and marred by an aura of tipsiness and smoke, it’s a place for the soul like no other. The name – “I came by myself” – is also a pledge to its spiritual services. No man shall be an island.

Quite often the regulars stage themselves jazz concerts, and the high degrees of the mood are guaranteed. Be early to get a seat.