Year two of the Center for Social Vision is about to begin!
Center for Social Vision enters its second year and once again brings together organizations, artists and activists to explore topics about the role of art in society. This year we are working under the title “Constitutions” and will explore what we are made of, but also what we aspire to as a community.
What is the role of art in social processes and how can it not only make sense of but also create relationships? How does art identify the complex connections between individual and collective histories? How do people use the language of art to discover commonalities with others? In order to answer these questions, we worked together with four partner organizations that have different access and approach in working with communities: Foundation “Art, Affairs and Documents” and their project Sofia Art Projects, POSTA, Association “Ideas Factory”, Association “Sapromat”. In turn, every organization invited an artist or a collective – Stefan Prohorov, Sophia Grancharova, Konstantin Georgiev, Mira Vladimirova and Inna Pavlova.
Center for Social Vision has become an informal place for exchange, but also a driving force for conversation, setting the frame and rhythm of a shared process. In our work together, we have identified the need to abandon the notion of public space as a harmonious environment and work with the awareness that a community will always be fraught with differences and disagreements, with conviction as well as confusion, and that civic participation will often happens in an unexpected way.
The title "Constitutions", not by chance in plural, points us to the fact that different communities exist side by side, each with its own dynamics, with visible and invisible laws, with a more or less shared vision of the future. Their states are fluid, adaptive, seeking, but also often driven by the need to guarantee its existence.
The public program of Constitutions will open on 29 and 30 September with the workshop “Imaginary Script for a Place”, led by the performance artist Zhana Ivanova at Swimming Pool. Throughout October, we will be presenting the artistic projects of our partner organizations as well as of invited artists. Between October 13 and 15, join us for a three-day symposium featuring local and international professionals and guest speakers – representatives of various organizations and platforms working in the fields of socially engaged art, performance and artistic interventions in public spaces.
Partner organizations 2023: Art Affairs and Documents Foundation / Sofia Art Projects, POSTA. Ideas Factory Association, Sapromat Association
Artists: Stefan Prohorov, Sophia Grancharova, Konstantin Georgiev, Mira Vladimirova and Inna Pavlova
Special projects: Zhana Ivanova and Christoph Szalay
Concept: Viktoria Draganova
Coordinators: Jenny Decheva, Margarita Kaloyanova
Visual identity: Viktoriya Staykova
Media partner: Journal for Social Vision
The Center for Social Vision was initiated by Viktoria Draganova in 2021 as a spin-off of Swimming Pool, Sofia.