PROGRAM:
From Commonalities to Urban Commons
Lecture by Ivan Bonev
14 May, 17:00–18:00
There has been an aspiration for new urban common spaces since the beginning of the 21st century. The new urban commons have filled a gap between the extremes of public and private space in the city. The origin of this phenomenon could be traced back to the ideas of intellectuals like Bruno Latour, Henry Lefevbre, Elinor Ostrom, and Ivan Illich, through the practice of architects and engineers like Atelier Bow-Wow, Raumlabor, StudioBasar, and Onkruid, to numerous spontaneous spaces of like-minded urban dwellers. The de-institutionalization of social and spatial practices recognizable in them has proved to be one of the most sincere ways to express common values in the contemporary city. Thus, “de-institutional” art and architecture allow for reflection and contemplation of a new common social vision.
Il Bügl Public / The Public Fountain
Lecture by Curdin Tones on situational and social projects at Somalgors74 in Tschlin (Switzerland)
14 May, 18:00–19:00
Participation can be understood as the making and unmaking of connections between things and people, allowing for ruptures and conflict. It does not necessarily need to operate from an assumed harmonic unity, but can make different roles transparent and as such can lead to the forming of a temporary active, social body “around” a project. The lecture will address this aspect of Tones’s ongoing artistic project Il Bügl Public/The Public Fountain and other examples from his situational practice in a small mountain village in Switzerland.
Read our interview with Curdin Tomes as continuation of the lecture on Journal for Social Vision
How We Negotiate the City
Discussion
14 May, 19:00–21:00
A discussion on how we negotiate the right to the city between ourselves and the institutions which represent us, and how art, architecture, design and literature participate in this process.
With the participation of:
Luchezar Boyadjiev (artist), Filip Boyadjiev (designer and consultant of the Commission for Culture at Sofia Municipality), Ivan Bonev (architect and researcher), Vera Mlechevska (Sofia Art Projects), Boyana Djikova and Vikenti Komitski (POSTA), Mihaela Dobreva (Sapromat), Dessislava Terzieva (artist)
Moderators:
Viktoria Draganova, Rumena Kalcheva and participants in Center
The Orchards of Mladost
A walk and conversation with Andrea Popyordanova
15 May, 12:00–14:00
The Orchards of Mladost investigates why there are fruit trees in a Sofia residential area where they haven’t been planned to be planted by the city’s official urban planners and landscape architects. Although they are considered to be inappropriate/unsuitable for the urban space, these trees have an interesting bond with local residents. The Orchards of Mladost, part of a larger research on the city’s orchards, is an attempt to learn more about the history of the place and the processes that have shaped it, by talking with local residents, walking around the district, mapping, and studying plant species and their fruits over the course of a year. Is there a connection between people and the fruit trees, and is anyone caring for them?
The walk in Sofia’s Mladost district will last about two hours along a pre-designed route and will include stories about several trees and the people caring for them, as well as a conversation about this type of trees in an urban environment. Starting on April 16, materials on the research are available at Swimming Pool, which Andrea Popyordanova is adding to over time.
Prima Materia World
Interdisciplinary laboratory by Dessislava Terzieva
various locations around Sofia
Prima Materia World is an interdisciplinary laboratory exploring textile possibilities through private research and public interventions. This project utilizes garments sourced from the immediate environment – such as clothing from flea markets, second-hand shops, and community donations – to engage the general public through a series of subtle spatial installations. The familiarity of the materials juxtaposed with their uncanny use seeks to elicit curiosity and discourse in those who stumble upon them. The audience’s reaction to this anonymous human touch is just as much part of the research as the intervention itself.
Prima Materia World will take place during the public program and will appear at several locations in the city. This project is implemented with the support of the Fidana Foundation, a non-profit organization facilitating contemporary art in public spaces using pre-existing infrastructure.
