The Night of Museums and Galleries, also known as Plovdiv Night or simply the NIGHT, featured more than 140 events in 75 different locations and was visited by about 45,000 people this year. It is supported by America for Bulgaria Foundation and Plovdiv Municipality.
The festival was first held in Plovdiv in 2005 on the initiative of Vesselina and Catherine Sariev, founders of the SARIEV Gallery. Later they created the Open Arts Foundation, the main organizer of the Night. Like other “white nights” the world over, the concept of the event is based on meeting artists and experiencing art and culture at “unconventional” hours – namely the evening and at night. The program included 20 events in 2005, and around 3,000 people took part. That was a record even back then – the number of visits to major museums and galleries in Bulgaria’s second-biggest city increased threefold.
The Night has become one of the most popular events not only in Plovdiv – it is highly anticipated and visited by people from all over the country. This not only positively impacts the local economy, but also makes Plovdiv a modern city with great cultural potential. The longest Plovdiv Night actually ran over three nights – on September 15, 16 and 17. The wide variety of activities included a children’s program, a number of workshops (for graphic print exercises and icon-painting techniques and making booklets from recycled paper with inspirational quotes), exhibitions, plays, intellectual “games” and lots of fun in general. This year the Open Arts Foundation organizers included a special exhibition on the occasion of the Foundation’s anniversary, curated by cultural studies expert Vladia Mihailova. It was held under the slogan “HERE AND EVERYWHERE.” The renovated Detmag Snezhanka store in the main street is now a modern venue for artistic performances.
