Plovdiv Bulgaria

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Festivals programme

Express yourself through art. Push the creative thoughts into a new dimension of alternative thinking while exploring the ancient spirit of Plovdiv.

During the Cultart programme of Festivals management the international group of 25 young cultural managers will meet up to 10 key speakers, experts and practitioners, who will mentor the 10 specified modules of the Cultart programme – Cultural Innovations, Business & Entrepreneurship, Management & Administration, Project Development, Fundraising, Leadership, Conflict Management, Media & Communication.

What is essential to the Cultart programmes is the Cultart Case Study Challenge when the group will have the chance to participate in the real working process of a cultural organization in the field of festival management in Plovdiv. The Case Study Organization will outline its main tools and models, the current work and projects, and will give a specific ‘challenge’ to the group. The Case Study Challenge is the final exercise where the group can present its new skills of giving cultural management solutions.

Manage locally, art globally

Plovdiv is the first Bulgarian city chosen to be the ‘European Capital of Culture’ (ECoC) in 2019 then the Plovdiv 2019 Foundation was established to organize and implement the most important EU project for art and culture! Now Plovdiv has its active place on the local, national and European cultural map!
The team successfully realized more than 800 events with artists and organizations from more than 50 countries. Plovdiv 2019 maintains a broad network of local and international partners operating in the creative industries and with more than 40 European youth organizations. It also collaborates with educational institutions in Bulgaria and abroad, and organizes various training courses and workshops through its platform Forum 2019 focused on the education of young people through culture, volunteering, and non-formal education.
After the year of the title, Plovdiv 2019 Foundation initiated a Legacy Programme of three open calls to ensure the preservation of the intensity of cultural life in Plovdiv by supporting the holding of some of the most successful music, dance festivals, and theatrical events as well as smaller projects related to community art, youth cultures and educational activities. The Legacy Programmes aim to offer a sustainable development of cultural initiatives and events in the city of Plovdiv, a continuation of the intensive cultural programme of ECoC 2019 and enable the expansion of established partnerships and the validation and upgrading of the acquired and accumulated cultural capacity.

The open calls are a natural extension of the main goals in the work of the Plovdiv 2019 Foundation, namely the creation of diverse cultural events, the long-term improvement of the cultural climate in Plovdiv, and the achievement of positive change among its inhabitants. What’s more is the expansion of the cultural perimeter both of the city and the country through the opening to the European and international scene, and not, at last, an obligation to continue its support to the local institutions, cultural operators and artists during the Covid-19 crisis. You can find here all 21 projects of The Legacy Programme in 2020-2021, and 52 in the Legacy Programme of 2021-2022.
Another reaction of Plovdiv 2019 to the situation in the creative cultural sector affected by the Covid-19 is the ‘Crisis fund for Artists‘, initiated right after the first restrictions in the country in 2020 in cooperation with the Plovdiv Municipality’s Culture. The fund supported the independent Plovdiv artists from all fields with a one-time grant of BGN 1,000 to cover their basic expenses and needs in the months of emergency. The fund was active from 2020 to 2021.
The Legacy of Plovdiv 2019 is highly embedded in all the Cultart mission, steps and results. Plovdiv 2019 is driven to develop this practical academy programme as part of its ongoing strategy to promote a greater correlation between culture, education and the private sector on a European level.

Team Plovdiv

After 10 years of experience, the Foundation affirmed its position as an active and reliable actor that supports the creative and cultural scene. The ‘Together’ programme moto has been and still is a significantly important aspect of the development of the cultural and social life in the city and a foundation for the whole team. In 2019 the foundation structure was into several departments according to the field of activity and mastery of its 40 members, thus covering artistic and production management and development, marketing and promotion, international and public relations, administrative, legal, and financial teams. After the year of the title in 2020 and 2022, the foundation reorganizes a team of 15 cultural managers and financial experts. You can meet them all here.

The city of Plovdiv