2006

Water tower art fest 2006

Congratulations! citizen initative mission-possible
Thank’s to all that helped us and supported us in this endeavour!

We the members of IME would like to resist the ongoing apathy and disinterest towards imnprotant issues like:

- reckless atitude towards the enviorenment
- reckless atitude towards beautifull monuments of material culture
- reckless atitude towrads ourselves

so we would like to initiate different projects with the same aim – to clean and ennoble the spaces around us either in the cities such as neglected buldings, sites monuments of culture or different aspects of our exsisting everyday abiding!

Take care and keep an open ear and heart to our new projects including citizen inititive for the better.

Description of the project – Water Tower – spring June 2006
Under the Manucipalty of Sofia culture citizen initiatives , NGO -IME is presenting a social event with the aim of cleaning the areaaround the Water Tower. The event along with musical perfromance and avisual show will be happening end of June 2006 .

With the DJ session by:
“astro+prism” Newcastle, UK
(Nicola and Kelly Lumley) DJ/VJ/PRODUCER TEAM
www.astroandprism.co.uk & Pavel Stoychev(Surbahar):
www.ouim.net ; www.ouim.org ; www.voxxlab.org
DJ Kliment & DJ Dicki

Projections onto the Water Tower as a spectacle granted to localcitizens beneficiaries after the renovation/cleaning of the area.

Many thanks to:
IP Consult; Manucipality of Sofia ; Zagorka AD ; www.klinikakantchelov.net

Water Tower Lozenets

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

How to get there:
walking

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 Lozenetz.
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)

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

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

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.

open call

Open call for 2012 edition of Water Tower Art Fest
22-30 June

On behalf of NGO IME, we have the pleasure of inviting you to submit a proposal for an art work, installation or performance to the Water Tower Art Fest in Sofia, Bulgaria

This year WTAF follows the white rabbit

in this respect any interpretation of Alice in Wonderland — treated as a contemporary issue is welcomed.

The main activity of the organization NGO IME is the Water Tower Art Fest. Since 2006, annually the fest took place in an abandoned historic building of the Water tower in Sofia. Since 2007 we have incorporated other abandoned buildings and locations also into the program of the festival. The fest presents international and national contemporary artists’ work in the spheres of performance, video and site specific installations. The art works are specifically created and produced according to the places in question reflecting their history or architectural value.
WTAF is an initiative started only with a few people in Sofia encompassing ideas of art, creativity, urban renewaland alternative art spaces. Gradually it became an international event gathering artists form around the world that came together as independent entities representing their individual style and search for mutual understanding and cosmopolitanism in the face of widely spread apathy and unwillingness to cooperate. “We believe that art has a function in the society and we delegate that function back to it.”

Please make your proposal specific to the venue/s in which you are interested in working. 2012 sites will be:
Water Tower, Sofia (Main/first exhibition venue) — site specific installations are welcomed

Art Hall Vivacom (any of the details attributes to the old analogue telephone central can be used, just ask) 

Laboratory “Bulgarian Rose”

1 Day exclusive Performance venue at Pancharevo Lake in partnership with transformatori.net

(Venues may be subject to change due to unforseen circumstances. Please request specs for venues by email)

Please state a detailed explanation and concept of your proposed art work including:
— concrete technical requirements, material needed for its implementation
— sketches (if applicable) describing its specifics
— or photographs

Selection committee:
Artists and curators have been invited to be part of the selection committee, amongst which:

Yovo Panchev — art and cultural manager, founder of “Studio Dauhaus”

Nia Pushkarova — organizer of festival

More artist and curators pending invitation

Application fee (for processing the applications): 5 Euros by bank transfer to:

Sdrujenie IME
Bank Account: FIB
IBAN BG56FINV915010BGN094XS
BIC code: FINVBGSF

Deadline: 15th of April 2012

Send to: watertowerartfest@gmail.com
Or on address:
Nia Pushkarova
9 Bogatica Street, app. 12
Sofia 1421
Bulgaria
(please send recommended postal packages due to high percentage of lost parcels in the past)

Your proposal should be accompanied with a short CV or resume (stating Name, gender and current country of residence), and transaction number of application fee.

Artists are responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses, unless otherwise arranged, under third parties relations made in advance. What we can do is issue an invitation to be used for applying to available findings and grants at selected artist’s countries of residence.

What you can expect from us during WTAF:
— Extended coverage in media and official catalogue of the fest
— Assistance in finding cheap accommodation – hostel or private based
— Recommendations and invitations for travel funding
— Technical and other assistance during the festival
— Overall guidance and assisting in production of work by volunteers and technical team
— Possible meeting at airport and accompanying to hotel or accommodation
— In case your artwork requires special equipment hire, please state this in your application, so further arrangements can be made
— Great time interacting with different artists, both local and international, a chance to get valuable contacts for your professional and personal life
— Generally meeting great people and experiencing festival’s frenzy in its full

Distribute at your discretion

Water Tower Art Fest Team

27.02.2012, Sofia

partners 2012

This project is realized with the financial support of the Sofia Municipality and supports Sofia’s application for European capital of culture 2019.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Organizer

Institutional Partners

 

 

 

 

 

 

Partners

 
 
 
 
 
Laboratory Bulgarian Rose

 

 

Media Partners

Team 2012

Nia Pushkarova – Organizer
Polina Pankova – Coordinator
Denitsa Toneva – Design
Georgi Kambourov – Technical Coordinator
Neda Yonkova – Project assistant
Sofia Hussein – Assistant
Ivona Hristova – PR
Vessela Vencheva – PR
Rossyana Sotirova – PR
Gregor Schatz – Consultant
Lyubomira Kolcheva – Project assistant
Aleksandrina Ivanova – Translator