site.btaExhibition "Living Human Treasures - Bulgaria" Unveiled in Sofia

The Living Human Treasures - Bulgaria exhibition was unveiled in Sofia's Largo public space on Tuesday. The display is organized by the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore with the Ethnographic Museum (IEFEM) at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) and consists of 44 pieces of intangible cultural heritage included in Bulgaria’s National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage between 2008 and 2024.

Exhibition curators are BAS Corresponding Member, Doctor of Art Studies, Prof. Mila Santova and architect Mirella Kafkova (IEFEM-BAS).

Prof. Santova said the exhibition aims to present what has been included in Bulgaria’s national list of intangible cultural treasures in recent years.

Dr. Silva Hacheryan, Head of the Culture Ministry’s International Cooperation and Regional Activities Department explained that Bulgaria’s national list of intangible cultural heritage, part of UNESCO's Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage, has been in the works since 2008. "We needed our efforts to be successful and, with an exhibition like this, to give larger amount of publicity to what we are doing," Hacheryan said, adding that the list is updated every two years.

Zornitza Grekova, Secretary General of Bulgaria's National Commission to UNESCO, said that preserving and promoting intangible cultural heritage is "a romantic and complex task because it requires love, dedication and patience so that future generations can be taught how to embroider, paint, [and] sing the spirituality that defines national identity".

Veneta Hadzhiyska, Director of the Regional History Museum in Sofia, said that museums are perceived as institutions that mainly present material heritage. She stressed that her team tries to support any initiatives related to intangible heritage, which reshapes tangible heritage.