Organizing and conducting edition of "The Old School" Art Residence on the topic of "Ritual Art -Time and Space"

Project facts

Project promoter:
Chitalishte 'Zora-1887', Gorna Lipnitsa
Project Number:
BG08-0017
Target groups
Children ,
Roma
Status:
Completed
Initial project cost:
€36,255
Final project cost:
€35,149
From EEA Grants:
€ 26,889
The project is carried out in:
Велико Търново / Veliko Tarnovo

More information

Description

Cultural events, especially those with international participation, often occur in cities. The project aims to overcome the cultural oblivion of villages as regards cultural events, especially those with international participation, by bringing modern artists and making of modern art back to villages and to enable local people to get in touch with it. The project promotes creation and dissemination of innovative cultural products and attraction of a wide range of viewers and cultural exchanges and multicultural dialogue between Bulgaria, Europe and the world. The project also contributes to the objectives of EEA Grants of decreasing social and economic disparities by social and cultural inclusion of local people and ensuring equal access of them to cultural achievements, and promoting Gorna Lipnitsa as a tourist and cultural destination. The project objectives will be achieved by organizing the Old School residency in 2015 in the village of Gorna Lipnitsa, when there will be children's school for the village children, including those of Roma origin, to work together with artists from around the world. The residency will be held with the active interaction between the local community /including Roma people/ and the participating artists - all events and workshops will be open and freely accessible to visitors and local people will take an active part in them. The residency will have a parallel program with various cultural events. At the end of the residency a closing exhibition will be organized purposed to present the works created by the artists during their stay in the residency. In the next six months after the end of the event the exhibition will visit six cities in Bulgaria (Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Ruse, Stara Zagora), with accompanying workshops, presentations and performances. The project is targeted at residents of Gorna Lipnitsa village, including Roma community, and all citizens (Bulgarian and foreign) – creators, artists, tourists, researchers.

Summary of project results

Cultural events, especially those with international participation often occur in cities. Villages and smaller municipalities are left in cultural oblivion. The proposed project aims to bring modern artists and the making of modern art back to the village and to people's beliefs and traditions and, at the same time, to enable local people to get in touch with modern art. By using the achievements of the previous five editions of The Old School residency the project aim is to enable the creation of art in villages where Bulgarian identity and uniqueness are strongly pronounced. The result of the project is a successfully implemented Art Residence “The Old School 2015”. The effect of this is divided into three main areas: - Culture – part of the Bulgarian population became familiar with contemporary art and culture diversity. - Social – the project contributed to the social inclusion of Roma ethnicity. - Economic – realized project contributed to the promotion of Gorna Lipnitsa as a tourist and cultural destination, which have an overall positive effect on the local population. 6 new exhibitions of contemporary art (including art and culture of the Roma minority) were held during the project and 1 new event related to contemporary art. 13 artists participated in the implementation of the The Old School residency from USA, Poland, Iceland and China. 35 representatives of Roma community participated in new exhibits of contemporary art, 1 manifestation of contemporary art, oriented towards Roma people (the whole Art Residence will was connected with Roma ritual art); conducted 7 press conferences, printed 500 colored catalogues; brochures; 13 interviews with media. Over 600 citizens, artists, tourists and others had the opportunity to deepen their cultural heritage knowledge.

Summary of bilateral results