A ruined lot stands next to the former royal palace in Sofia, Bulgaria's main square. The space poses as a martyr, a testament to Bulgaria’s emergence from centuries of Ottoman and the Soviet autocratic rule. In 1999 the leading party, the United Democratic Forces, blew up the lot’s occupant, the neo-Classical Georgi Dimitrov Mausoleum where the founder of Bulgarian Communism had been interred. They insisted that the building was simply too oppressive a symbol of the Communist era. A national outcry preceded the demolition with all sorts of uses proposed for the imposing structure -- rumored to be able to withstand a nuclear attack. Incredibly, it had been constructed in just 6 days in 1949. it took multiple explosions to bring it down.
The post-Communist generation is reenergizing Bulgaria and they are eager to join the global contemporary culture party. In particular, the country’s art world is infuriated over Bulgaria’s erratic, and sometimes guerrilla, participation in the Venice Biennale. Curators Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva and Dessislava Dimova propose to bring the symbolic importance of Venice right into the center of Sofia by transforming the ruined Mausoleum grounds into a Bulgarian Pavilion hosting exhibitions. Contemporary art would clearly triumph by supplanting this symbol of derelict power and oppression.
Bulgaria is rising. They’ve joined NATO and the EU. The prices and amount of development are just right for this otherwise forgotten country to be on the list of more adventurous travellers' desired destinations. Meanwhile, much of Bulgaria’s younger generation is committed to building a world that lies somewhere in between multinational corporations and a more communal sensibility that maintains cultural traditions. Sofia’s Water Tower Art Fest, for example, in its 5th year of showcasing emerging artists, has grown from a small local showing into an international festival. Videos are screened in archaeological sites, and abandoned but gentrifying historical buildings throughout Sofia. One organizer, Nia Pushkarova, says, “Art has a function in the society and we intend to delegate it back.” The do-it-yourself ethos of the festival’s creators is but one example in a growing, national scene just waiting to be discovered by the rest of us.
