We stand in awe of their untainted beauty, but never stop to think whose hands it was that restored their original splendour. And gazing at them in the artificial light we tend to forget that time and time only can make any work immortal and that we humans can only preserve for all time what has been created by human hands.

Twenty paintings by foremost Bulgarian artists which have never been shown to the public are leaving the vaults of the Ethnographic Museum in Plovdiv to be taken to the restoration studio. Whether we will be able to see them displayed in a gallery is something that is up to us all. Instead of looking on from the sidelines, the Open Arts Foundation has come up with an original way we can all play a part in saving many a work from oblivion. With the help of the first crowdfunding campaign of its kind - “Bring the paintings back to the museum” – it urges the public to raise 3,800 Leva for the restoration of the paintings.

“We have special occasion this year to be turning pour attention to the Ethnographic Museum because it has a triple jubilee – marking 100 years since its creation, 80 years since the death of its founder Stoyu Shishkov and 170 years since the construction of the Kuyumdjioglu house in the old town,” says curator Vladia Mihailova. “Coming here to see the museum’s expositions, the public never stop to think what happens when its doors close and the everyday, invisible work begins in the restoration studio. Because these huge collections have to be kept in good condition, and that takes resources, and frequently, cultural institutions see themselves torn between their wish to preserve their own, inner lives and what they display to the public. This crowdfunding campaign aims to throw open the doors and say: “take a look at what is going on there”, but also to give people a chance to be a part of the inner workings of the museum and by making a donation, to lend personal meaning to this cultural heritage.”

The paintings which are to be restored with the help of the campaign are by prominent artists Encho Pironkov, Anastas Staykov, Darena Georgieva, Petko Vladov, Elza Goeva, Kolyu Vitkovski. The canvases depict 20th century life in Bulgaria, in work and in play – the music, the marketplaces and the festivals, rose picking, harvesting, hay-making, different trades like coppersmithery, saddle making.

“Most of the paintings show everyday life from different angles,” Vladia Mihailova says. “And that is a fascinating thing, especially here, in Plovdiv, a city packed with history, to be able to see this traditional way of life and how much it has changed in our day.”

The campaign will be open until the 5th of September and the restored paintings will be put on display at the Ethnographic Museum on the 15th of September. The exhibition will be a highlight in the Night/Plovdiv annual festival which opens in mid-September for the 13th time.

“On the first day of the festival museums and galleries will throw open their doors, there will also be artists’ studios that will be open to the public, like the studio of painter Atanas Hranov - as well student exhibitions in the old town,” says Vladia Mihailova. “On the second day the “Open Arts” foundation will mark its 10th anniversary with the participation of artists from America, France, Spain, Finland, Bulgaria, among them prominent names like Isaac Cordal from Spain and a Finnish studio of architects who study utopian spaces. The public will be able to take a virtual spin around the city with the help of French author Adelin Schweitzer. Using a VR headset, anyone will be able to use their mobile phones to see the world in a very different way, with the guidance of a film director. The programme also includes lectures – Prof. Vladimir Gradev will be giving his lecture about religious art, the Vatican collections and their bond with modernity in the catholic cathedral. There will also be lots of open-air surprises, as one of the highlights this year will be public urban spaces.”

English version: Milena Daynova