site.btaArt Matters: Sofia Hosts International Fair of Contemporary Art

Art Matters is the slogan of an international fair of contemporary art which is taking place in Sofia. Taking place at Sofia Tech Park, it features galleries and art collectives presenting 70 artists who work in a variety of artistic styles, aiming to provoke thought and the senses, educate, and contribute to the European cultural image of Sofia.

"I hope that Sofia will play an increasingly important part in the development of contemporary art and be a place where more and more artists will exhibit their artwork," Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev, who is the patron of the event, said in his opening address.

"We are opening a new chapter for contemporary art in Bulgaria," the organizer of Sofia Art Fair, Radoslav Mehandzhiyski, said.

Todor Mladenov of Sofia Tech Park (STP) said that he was glad the organizers had picked STP as the venue for the fair. "I look forward to the next edition," he added.

Suni Danadzha, the initiator of Sofia Art Fair, thanked the event’s entire team, partners, sponsors, and supporters of the project.

All the artworks are spread over 4,500 square meters. All participants were selected by a five-member international jury of curators and art historians comprising Johan Gustavsson (The Netherlands), Nina Gscheider (Austria), Martina Yordanova, Radoslav Mehandzhiyski, and Teodora Konstantinova (Bulgaria). Sofia Art Fair will be on until October 6.

The programme features a workshop for young contemporary artists with renowned Dutch curator Johan Gustavsson. Bratislava’s Steinhauser Gallery founder Patrick Steinhauser will be a guest at a discussion on tapping into new art markets. Later in the day, there will be a presentation on valuable objects and art by Franz Ihm of Colnaghi Tectus Insurance. The panel is themed: The International Art Market: Truths and Myths.

Among the highlights of the programme is "The Importance of Christo's Paris Projects: The Iron Curtain (1962), The Pont Neuf Wrapped (1975-1985), and L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped (1961-2021)” - a lecture by Laure Martin-Poulet, head of the L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped project. Poulet also worked on the Pont Neuf Wrapped project from 1981 to 1984, the Sofia Art Fair team said.