Catalogue of the Water tower art fest 2010
Design: Efrosina Peneva and Denitsa Toneva
Visual Identity Water tower art fest: poststudio.bg
Text edit: Polina Pankova

documentary by Studio1+1

Water tower opening of art fest

venue bath Bankya

venue Serdika underground

ARTISTS:
Formverk
M.Hulse
Kuten
M.Losier
K.Maehring
Product of boy
Accos
M.Vidal
Y.Walter
A.Weshinskey
Yagama
Be’Shee’S
BG artists

PLACES:
Water Tower Lozenetz

How to get there:
walking.

Address:
Sofia, Lozenets, the corner of Galichitsa Str. and Sv. Tedosiy Tarnovski Str.

The Water Tower was designed by an Austrian architect and built according to the French school’s pattern of water towers’ architecture in the 1920s. It stands out with its unique construction and is one of the most interesting architectural sites in the region of upper Lozenets.

Its has quite a logical history behind its rising necessity – to play the important role in bringing water to the higher (at that time 2 and 3 floor) buildings in the region, situated at the level or higher to the main reservoir in Lozenetz, east of the seminary.

The architect had in mind that the building would also be used as a watch tower and the citizens of Sofia will take pleasure in watching the view of the city center and the Vitosha Mountain.

Wide stairs lead you to its third floor. There is an exit to a balcony where a wonderful 360 degrees view of the surrounding area reveals itself. The water reservoir is situated just above the third platform. Extremely narrow staircase is taking you up there, where another one leads you to the actual top of the tower.

Even though it hasn’t been used for decades in respect of its own purposes, the Water Tower is very often used nowadays as a site for cultural activities and communication. Although it’s abandoned and deserted, it’s still very beautiful. There have been artistic projects and events running annually for already more than four years, only thanks to the efforts of NGO IME in partnership with the Lozenetz Municipality.

The garden around the Water Tower is regularly cleaned and has turned into a meeting place for creative people and artistic initiatives presenting contemporary art and culture.

Tower Serdika (Serdika Underground)

How to get there:
metro: Serdika Metro Station, walking; trams # 20, 22 or 23.

Address:
Sofia, the corner of Ekzarh Yosif Str. and Maria Luisa Blvd. – entrance next to the Roca Showroom

Another space which we are going to use for our cultural mapping of the city during the fest is “the underground” with archeological remains from the wall of the ancient city of Serdika. We are going to be hosted by the north wall close to the corner tower of Serdika, remains of which could be seen on the corner of Ekzarh Yosif Str. and Maria Luisa Blvd. (the old Sofia shop). The basement hall of the corner building gives just a glimpse of what the massive wall must have been and how it was surrounding like a belt the ancient city of Serdika. It had defined the size of the city for centuries until its final demolition in the 15th century, after the Ottoman conquest.

It was built in 176-180 A.D. by the Roman emperors Mark Aurelius and Commodious. The wall had four main gates, facing the four directions of the world and mapping the main streets leading to the center of the city (a capital at that time). Actually the first wall was reconstructed a few times and a few more towers were built – sharp-pointed, five-cornered and triangle between them. All this had been done in order to protect Serdika and its citizens by the Goths’, West Goths’ and Huns’ attacks, robberies and predatory wars. The walls were 8–10 meters high, while the towers were more than 14 meters high.

Showroom Roca Expo Bath Sofia

How to get there:
metro: Serdika Metro Station, walking; trams # 20, 22 or 23.

Address:
Sofia, the corner of Ekzarh Yosif Str. and Maria Luisa Blvd.

It becomes property of Roca Bulgaria AD at the beginning of 2006. The Showroom is part of the world-wide network of Roca showrooms, all of which are united by a single idea – that of continuity and development, of tradition and innovation. The company uses a renovated building in the historical city center of Sofia, “saturated with the spirit of Bulgaria”, as they say.

Roca Expo Bath Centre is the first showroom in Bulgaria which presents the full product range of the three brands of Roca Bulgaria AD.  But it’s not a place designed only for trading purposes. It’s an open space for ideas where you can meet leading architects, consultants, construct your own project among the diversity of the new technological opportunities. And last but not least it’s one more time a space open to the peculiarities of the contemporary arts and culture in the 2011 Water Tower Art Fest’s programme.

The Central Mineral Baths

How to get there:
metro: Serdika Metro Station, walking; trams # 20,22 or 23.

Address:
Sofia, the corner of Iskar Str. and Serdika Str. 

The Central Mineral Baths’ building was built in 1913 at the place of earlier destroyed Turkish bath. The building was designed in the Vienna Secession style, but integrating typically Bulgarian, Byzantine and Eastern Orthodox ornamental elements. The north wing was damaged during the bombing of Sofia in World War II, but was restored several years later. The Central Mineral Baths was closed in 1986 due to its bad condition. It has been in a process of reconstruction for many years. Part of it functions as a museum and a gallery space.

National Museum of Military History

How to get there:
trams # 20 or 23; buses # 9,72,120,313 or 413.

Address:
Sofia, 92 Cherkovna Str.

Back in 1914, Tsar Ferdinand І established the Military-Historical Commission at the Headquarters of the Bulgarian Army. It consisted of a museum, archives and a library. The Military Museum played a really significant role those days, together with the Museum of Archeology and the Museum of Ethnography.

The first exhibition was opened on 12 May 1937 in a building located on 15 Moskovska Str. In 1949 the Museum’s name was changed and it became known as the Central Museum of People’s Army. In 1950-1951 it was moved to another building situated on 23 Gen. Skobelev Blvd. An interesting fact is that after an agreement between the Bulgarian and the Hungarian governments in 1967, the Military Museum’s staff opened the only one Museum of the First Bulgarian Army situated abroad.

In 1968, the Military Museum was given a status of a national institution and became known as the National Museum of Military History. The Naval Museum and Park-Museum “Vladislav Varnenchik” in Varna are its branches.

WORKSHOPS:

Free workshop with Klaus Maehring (www.klaus.maehring.at)

Theme: Taking a b/w photograph with an old camera, development of the negative under very improvised conditions

During my projects I discovered that the process of analog photography has become quite exotic nowadays. Most of people got used to digital photography. To see how a film is loaded, to watch the up-side-down picture on a focusing screen before exposure, the mixing of chemistry to produce an actual negativ, all this is almost considered a miracle or pure alchemy.
Besides this, analog photography always was considered to require perfectionism, a darkroom and lots of equipement. Through my work I discovered that this can be all done under very improvised conditions. And if one leaves behind perfect timing and measuring, one actually opens up to ‘mistakes’ that can enrichen the picture-language.
In the workshop, that will cover one afternoon and will be held around the bus, I will set up my Graflex 4×5” camera, take a picture and develop the b/w negative.

when: June 26, afternoon
where: around the Old Bath, Bankya
who: everyone, who is interested

Free Workshop for children (8-11) with Lindsay Duncanson, Product of Boy

Theme: Clairvoyance

In the workshop the young people will collaborate to make an installation work using paper models, photography, and video. The workshop will explore ideas of home dream, Deja vu premonition. The work made in all workshops will work together to make a haunting installation of young peoples dreams and experienced.
Each child will be asked to write out a strange dream experience of de javu or premonition that they have had. Over and over again until it fills in a whole sheet of paper. This will be turned in to a paper model of a house which will be illuminated from the inside. On the inside of each house will be photograph of each child.
Each young person will be asked to record their memory/ dream experience onto a video camera. This will be played along side the work. It is a small introduction to video and art installation.

when: June 26, 14h
where: The Old Bath, Bankya
when: June 27, 14h
where: Water tower, Lozenets

DISCUSSION:
Debate concept to be realized within Water tower art fest – 28 June 2010
With local art organizations, municipality and governmental institutions representatives, business sector, local citizens, artist and artists organizations and
Experts – art managers from European art residency centers
By establishing a network of the European independent cultural organizations, artists and cultural workers from Bulgaria, Armenia, Croatia, Sweden and Turkey, and other European countries the new issue emerged: connecting cultures and different communities through abandoned architectural sites and contemporary artistic production. In the time when the public space gets more and more narrow, and the big capital directs the development of the cities, we would like to give back the right to the people to decide, to the citizens, asking about their own needs, opinions, wishes, offering possible solutions through art, in the same time producing the social liaisons and direct experiencing of the common goods. We have chosen several neglected sites, places in transition, in each of the mentioned countries and our wish is to make them alive in this way and incite public discussion about their destiny.
The debate within the Water tower art fest has the aim to help the communication and interaction between municipality, governmental institutions, local associations and art organizations for the development of the cultural life in Sofia – the capital of Bulgaria.
We will raise the awareness of the need of such self sustained art centres in future more through the debate within the art fest organized by NGO IME.
We have invited art managers of art residency centres from Europe, especially to present their model of art centres/residency as public private partnership.
The confirmed guests so far are:
Tere Badia - managing director of Hangar Art residency center Barcelona
(The Budapest Observatory)
Corina Bucea- Fabrica de Pensule, Cluj, Romania (tba)
Invited speaker is Péter Inkei - Regional Observatory on Financing Culture in East-Central Europe (The Budapest Observatory)

If we manage to reach a conclusion over the future of a particular building or negotiate with the municipality for turning one into an art center with given priority to alternative arts and residency center for young creative people and a meeting point for the elder generation and marginal groups, we will consider this endeavor for a successful one.
Moderators are Yuriy Vulkovsky & Milena Deleva

Yuriy Vulkovsky is a cultural researcher and practitioner. Since 1994 he have been involved in a number of research and actions projects in the field of cultural policy, cultural management, mapping of the cultural sector, civic participation in policy-making, social impact of the arts, and others. Some of the most important of these researches and projects are : “Mapping of the Bulgarian cultural sector” (2006); “Social impact of the art and new-media festival in the village of Bela Rechka” (2006); “Civic support for transparent and effective cultural policy” (2006-2007); “Cultural Policy and Legislation: A New Approach to Sharing Responsibilities” (2003); “Technological Park Culture” (2001-2003); “Research on Arts and Culture Parts of the Political Documents for Parliament Elections’1994” (1994).
Since 2004 he is teaching cultural policy in New Bulgarian University and then in Sofia University. In 2005 he has created the first Bulgarian web-site for cultural policy – www.culturalpolicy.dir.bg
Since March 2009 he is executive director of the Foundation for Urban Projects and Research.

Milena Deleva
Managing Director of Elizabeth Kostova Foundation
Graduated in cultural studies from Sofia University and has done research on cultural policy in the Netherlands. She is a co-author of Cultural Policy, Politics and Change (Amsterdam: Boekmanstichting, 2005) and author of Technological Park Culture(Bucharest: Ecumest, 2005). She is a guest lecturer at the Cultural Studies Department of Sofia University and the Cultural Policy Program of Plovdiv University. From 2005 to 2007, she ran the literature series at the Red House Center for Culture and Debate. She has also worked for the European Cultural Foundation of Amsterdam and was coordinator of the literature program of Soros Center for the Arts in Sofia from 1998 to 2002.

PARTNERS:

With the kind supoport of Sofia Municipalty – Culture Department

Lozenets Municipality
Bankya Municipality
Old Sofia with Historical Museum
Specialized Rehabilitation Hospitals – National center EAD
Embassy of Sweden, Sofia
French Cultural institute
Mr. Bricolage
Domaine Boyar
Poststudio
Inter Kultura Consult
WhAT Association
Veloevolution
Studio 1+1
NBU
Hostel Sofia Guesthouse
Prisma lighting
Drenikov rent-a-car
Magazine 1
Sofia week
AGBU-Sofia (Armenian General Benevolent Union)
Art and Blog

TEAM:
Nia Puskarova - artist/ curator and chairwoman of NGO IME - www.imebg.org

Efrosina Peneva - coordination
www.decorsign.net

Biliana Baleva - media and publicity

Kristina Strukanska - project manager
www.mooshkato.com

Poststudio - graphic identity
www.poststudio.bg

Xenia Vargova - internet
www.xen.joroxen.net