site.btaExhibition Exploring Border Regions between Bulgaria, Greece, Turkiye Opens at National History Museum

An exhibition titled "Through the Prism of Borders - Episode 2: Artistic Journeys in-Between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey" opened at the National History Museum in Sofia on Tuesday. It explores the multiple perceptions of borders, engaging with political, spatial and personal narratives of Europe's southeasternmost border.

The exhibition is on until August 29. It is curated by Katia Anguelova, Angelika Burtscher and Marion Oberhofer. The producer is Lungomare, the platform for design and cultural production.

Anguelova said: "Since all participants in the project are university lecturers, we as curators suggested to invite artists to help us interpret what is happening along the borders between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkiye." Many of the artworks on display blend academic research with the artists' interpretation.

The exhibition features four new site-specific artworks by Esra Ersen, Boris Missirkov & Georgi Bogdanov, Ivan Moudov and ZimmerFrei (Anna de Manincor) as part of the EU-funded B-SHAPES project, which focuses on the role of borders shaping perceptions of European societies in the 21st century. The exhibition presents the border not just as a dividing line, but as a space for dialogue and connection, where history, culture and dreams converge.

Petranka Nedelcheva, Head of the Museum's Exhibition and International Department, said that such an exhibition had never been put on at the National History Museum before, which makes the presence of contemporary art there all the more significant. She stressed that, due to the unconventional nature of the exhibition, there were challenges in realizing it within the museum space, but the result is a success.

B-SHAPES is a part of the EU's research programme Horizon Europe and is coordinated by the Centre of Border Region Studies at the University of Southern Denmark. The duration of the project is 36 months, between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2026.