Migration. Diversity. Empathy. Peace. Youth. That is what our project is about. We believe in the power of constructive dialogue and the capability of young people to shape the world they want to live in. That’s why we invite a diverse group of youngsters to tackle challenges of polarization in society and to design their own solutions to the challenges they face.

If you are:

• 18 to 26 years of age
• Refugee or with refugee background living in Bulgaria OR local Bulgarian
• Interested in the topics of migration and tolerance
• Open to share your thoughts and ideas, play and work in a team
• Curious about interactive methods that boost dialogue and social change

… feel welcome to join “PeaceCraft 2.0 – Let’s craft Peace together” in Bulgaria!
This is an Erasmus+ project that takes place in Belgium, Slovenia, Turkey, and Bulgaria, where it is implemented by Ideas Factory Association.

Here’s how it goes:

• In the first step of the process you’ll get to know other youngsters through sharing meals and stories, playing games and taking part in an interactive play called “polarised theatre”. We’ll have a shared dinner on 22nd October in Sofia, and then work together 2 full days, 24-25th October in a place near Sofia (transport, food and accommodation are covered).
• In the second step you’ll work in teams to co-create your solution to a challenge you selected. We’ll spend 2 full days together, 14 and 15 November, in Sofia to choose, design and prototype your idea, and you’ll have 2 more weeks to implement it with your team. You will present your solutions in a local event that will take place in Sofia in the beginning of December.
• In February 2021 an international conference will take place in Brussels, in which 3 younsters per partner country will meet and present the results from the project.

The official language for all activities will be English.

All needed protective measures related to the spread of Coronavirus will be taken care of. Depending on the epidemic situation activities might be postponed or implemented online.

What’s in it for you?

A great opportunity to:

• Meet new friends and learn more about different cultures
• Expand your knowledge on the topic of migration
• Train your empathy ‘muscle’
• Work in a team and learn how to design and implement a solution to a social issue
• Become part of an international community of active youth

To register, please fill in THE FORM!

If you have any questions, please contact: zbazlyankova@ideasfactorybg.org 

This is an Erasmus + project funded under: Round 3 KA2 – Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices KA205 – Strategic Partnerships for youth KA205-7502C11A 

Schedule of the microevents

11:00 OPENING of the exhibition at the abandoned school with the art pieces of all participants

11:00 – 23:45 POP-UP exhibition of the painter Elena Nazarova in Deleyna’s public spaces

13:00 – 14:30 SHARED MEAL with the culinary specialties of Deleyna village – at the school’s yard

19:00 – 20:30 DOCUMENTARY PERFORMANCE – at the theatre hall of the community center

21:00 DANCING at the village square

Get in contact in case you would like to stay over at the village. The artists are ready to help by organising your stay at local hosts in need, for a symbolic fee. They have also discovered a suitable camping space in the village.

What are we searching for through this residence and what issues does it outline?

During the last 3 weeks in Deleyna, seven Bulgarian and four foreign artists (through online participation) were searching for a working formula for a contemporary living village, nurtured by an access to culture and art. They were trying to “rehabilitate the muscle of public imagination, which nowadays is not able to imagine the village in a modern way ,” as Yanina Taneva from the Factory summarizes.

“We cannot substitute for public policy, which, sadly, is absent – adds Yanina Taneva. – The trends in the villages are irreversible and this is clear from а well known national strategy, written in 2007. Therefore, in order to stop or at least slow down the ones that still can be reversed, lots of common effort is needed. In the villages, there are several main problems: lack of democracy, because people cannot vote for their mayor, in case there are less than 250 people in the village; lack of public health services, no access to education or culture. We believe that education and culture are the foundation that is needed for change. And when the traditional Bulgarian village comes together with the young people from the city, who are carrying a different type of knowledge and culture with them, new solutions and new ways can be born. Welcome to the village of Deleyna this Saturday to experience the results of the artists and the Northwestern Bulgarian village, which exists in the bubble of social and cultural monotony.

IDEAS FACTORY Association invited 11 international artist to co-create and rediscover a new vision of a contemporary Bulgarian village through the means of art and community-specific experience

The first open call for artists in Radical Imagination residency project of Ideas Factory (Sofia, Bulgaria), part of Democracy Needs Imagination programme of European Cultural Foundation, was originally designed to bring 10 artists from Bulgaria and countries throughout Europe for 1 month in a Bulgarian Northwestern village called Deleyna.

The virus outbreak changed the possible dynamics of the initial idea and the team of Ideas Factory decided to make an online – offline version of the residency, including the artists, who don’t live in Bulgaria, as online creators and contributors.

The second round of the call resulted in 11 selected artists, 7 of which will be local residents, living in the village for 3 weeks, from 23rd of August until 13th of September 2020.

The topic of Radical Imagination Artist Residency

The village of Deleyna in Bulgaria, like most of the villages in South-eastern Europe, is situated in a social, cultural and geographical periphery and is strongly affected by contemporary political and economic processes. The direct consequences of this are poverty, depopulation, lack of access to culture (as well as health care, education and economic progress), and last but not least, the broken connection between the generations.

Some of the topical questions we would like to ask you to reflect on during the residency, are: Is it possible and how can we “think about the village in the future tense”? How is the public imagination born – the one that would allow us to “think about the village in the future tense”?

During the search for an answer to the question, how can we, through the means of culture, “rehabilitate” the muscle of public imagination, which nowadays fails at leaving room for imagination regarding the village. What can bring it back to life – empathy or provocation? Which fragments of the past still hold value today, and which are the ones of the present, that can add value nowadays?  

We will look, together with the participating artists, for bold, unexplored until now, but also necessary for the community approaches, which engage the artistic imagination and the means of art as driving forces for positive change.

The participating artists

Their creative disciplines vary widely and the online international artists will collaborate with the local artist residents who will do the field work and communication with the local people, mapping of needs and resources, documentation of the intangible and tangible cultural heritage.

All participants met during a Zoom meeting and will have regular online meetings and knowledge and ideas exchange before and during the residency.

The groups consists of Anna Dantchev (Finnland/ Bulgaria) – a professional singer and ethnomusicologist; Dimitra Kaneva (Bulgaria) – actress and theater maker; Sarah Craycraft (Bulgaria/ USA) ethnographer and handicraft researcher; Elena Stoycheva (Bulgaria/ Austria) – architect and video artist; Yonko Dimitrov (Bulgaria) – an actor and video maker; Pavel Ruzyak (Czech Republic) – video artist; Kathryn Mitchell (Bulgaria/ USA) – singer and photographer; Sonya Pencheva (Bulgaria) – photographer; Xiaoji Song (China/ Germany) – actress and theater maker, Elena Nazarova (Bulgaria) – illustrator; and Mo Sirra (Netherlands) – researcher and installation and performance artist.

The residency’s end will be marked by a community event, organized by the local residents and Ideas Factory, during which the artistic results of the participating residents will be exhibited – in whichever stage of realization they are at.

More Information 

Website article <-

Open call <- 

Facebook event as an open call <- 

5 BULGARIAN and 5 INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS WILL EXPLORE AND SHAPE A VISION FOR A CONTEMPORARY LIVELY VILLAGE

Radical imagination in rural realities

We invite artists to participate in an art residency in the village of DELEYNA near Vidin from the 24^th of August to the 13^th of September 2020.

The unexpected state of emergency caused by the Covid-19 pandemic led to some changes in our initial plan regarding the format of the art residency for Bulgarian and foreign artists to live together with the locals in the village of Deleyna (near Vidin) and create in cooperation with each other.

After talking to the locals and discussing the possible scenarios within the frame of this new situation, our team adapted the format so that it best addresses the current conditions and needs. It is of highest priority to keep the elderly in the villages safe, while simultaneously trying to bring more diversity to their lives after the period of social isolation, and lastly, to search for a shared vision regarding the contemporary model of the dynamic village. 

The Residence has focused on the connection between the generations, as well as between the rural and the urban culture. The recent need for physical distance made it more challenging.

At the same time, this current situation brought more light to the injustice and the unequal distribution of resources, both cultural and economic, and inspired new forms of solidarity and compassion, which bring hope for more empathetic interactions. 

TOPIC

The village of Deleyna in Bulgaria, like most of the villages in South-eastern Europe, are situated in a social, cultural and geographical periphery and are strongly affected by contemporary political and economic processes (happening in the rest of Europe?). The direct consequences of this are poverty, depopulation, lack of access to culture (as well as health care, education and economic progress), and last but not least, the broken connection between the generations.

Some questions based on the topic, we would like to ask you to reflect on during the residency, are: Is it possible and how can we “think about the village in the future tense”? How is the public imagination born – the one that would allow us to “think about the village in the future tense”?

During the search for an answer to the question, how can we, through the means of culture, “rehabilitate” the muscle of public imagination, which nowadays fails at leaving room for imagination regarding the village. What can bring it back to life – empathy or provocation? Which fragments of the past still hold value today, and which are the ones of the present, that can add value nowadays?  

We depend on bold, unexplored until now, but also necessary for the community approaches, which engage the artistic imagination and the means of art as driving forces for positive change.

PARTICIPATION

All 10 participants will be artists from different disciplines, who have strong interest in the topic and previous experience related to socially engaged artistic practices and community work.

The participation will unfold in teams of two or more artists – one Bulgarian and one international artist. The Bulgarian artist will be living in the village and his/ her partner artist will contribute with his/ her own knowledge and ideas online.

The artist living in the village will be responsible for the on-field research and communication with local people while the international partner will have a reflective and conceptualizing role. Both of them will develop an artistic project, which will reflect the specifics of the place and the inspiration drawn from the sincere conversations with the locals. The results may take the form of an audio-visual work, a documentary, installation, comics, interactive intervention, illustrations or some other artistic medium.

The participants will be given a compilation of diverse resources and data bases, gathered during the last 5 years of realizing Baba Residence initiative in different Bulgarian villages. The artists who will be living in the village could use the local cultural hub (chitalishte) in Deleyna village as a creative studio.

RESULTS

Artistic results, depending on each of the participant’s specific discipline of creation, will have the chance to be exposed during a final community event in the village – an exhibition. After the residency, the artistic materials will become part of a travelling exhibition in Bulgarian cities as well.

LODGING, TRAVEL AND OTHER COSTS

Residents who will live in the village will be provided free of charge:

* accommodation and food during their stay at the homes of local people;

* work space at local community centers;

* travel costs.

All the 10 artists will recieve a honorarium for their research and work in the village.

They will have a small production budget for materials (up to 200 BGN) as use of local resources is strongly encouraged. Any kind of assistance from the curator and project team will be provided to the artists during the residency period.

Available residency vacancies: 10

Application deadline: 17 JULY 2020

Announcement of selected artists: 20 JULY 2020

Residency Duration: 21 days 

The residency is part of the European Cultural Foundation‘s endorsed cultural and social-entrepreneurial initiatives across Europe in the Democracy Needs Imagination program.

Our trustworthy local partner is Vidin Fund Chitalishte.

* * *

For questions -> write to us at info@ideasfactorybg.org

In this weird period of social distancing and panic which is hard to have a complete control of, it’s once again art’s duty to raise our spirits higher. Art has the capacity and innate property to bring inspiration and resilience, to bring people closer to each other and pave way to solidarity.

The emergency state which led to the closing of all cultural centers and institutions and make people stay at their homes cannot stop the urge and need of connection between artists and audiences.

Thus we give a brave beginning of our Homestage calendar with online artistic events, in which you can participate straight from your homes.

Concerts, performances, readings, screenings, fine and applied art, workshops will give us new spring fuel, ideas, meanings and joy. A home festival to attend in slippers for immunoprotective emotions :)

We invite all artists who feel the urge to be part of this, to invite us in their homes at http://bit.ly/domashenkalendar.

Facebook live will be our way to stream all of the content.

The audience is invited to support the artists will voluntary donations at their personal online platforms, Revolut or at their bank account.

Let’s jump on the wings of art together! While staying at home :)