An Archaeology of Memory - Preserving Heritage as a Landscape of Learning in Bulgaria

Acute village depopulation and severe aging society in Bulgaria cause a devastating loss of cultural traditions and identity all over the country. Villages become ghosts of neglected houses, churches and all kind of trivia as quasi-objects reflecting the community spirit of once notorious Bulgarian Renaissance identity. The exhibition brings to the fore the scope of memory loss in cultural heritage traditions and highlights the efforts of few enthusiasts without borders to dig and revive tiny particles of Bulgarian Renaissance spirit.

Darren Barker from Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust in the UK recreates a room from an old house in Karpachevo, lifting some of the objects scattered on the floor to expose key moments from the life of a woman as weaved by the left over photographs, postcards and other quasi-objects spanning a bridge between visible and invisible.

Milena Metalkova-Markova - an associate professor in the department of history and theory of architecture at the UACEG shows the activities of summer workshops during last 5 years in Karpachevo where cultural heritage is taught by means of exploration of the links between art, architecture and crafts with students from Bulgaria, UK, Taiwan and Estonia in collaboration with Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust.