Exhibition: “Linear Encounters: Bulgarian Traces in Abu Dhabi’s Modern Architectural Heritage”

The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Centre, Gabrovo is delighted to invite you on 26 September to an exhibition that unfolds a little-known yet significant story – the role of Bulgarian architects and engineers in shaping the modern face of the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

“Linear Encounters: Bulgarian Traces in Abu Dhabi’s Modern Architectural Heritage” brings together archival documents, photography, audiovisual installations, and films to reveal how European modernist ideas intertwined with Arab cultural identity and the specific climate of the region.

Hosted at the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Centre, the exhibition enters into a natural dialogue with the legacy of the artist duo who fearlessly transformed the world into their canvas. The former Textile Technical School, today alive as a home of experiment and creative energy, amplifies the sense of fragile balance between heritage and contemporaneity, between the local and the global.

Linear Encounters is not only a journey into Abu Dhabi’s architectural memory but also an invitation to reflect on our own cities — their layers, vulnerabilities, and possible futures. Through discussion panels, workshops, and conversations with architects and heirs of this story, the exhibition transforms memory into a shared field of imagination.

🌃 PROGRAMME:

🗣️ Discussion panels (3rd floor, before the opening)

17:00–17:50 | Panel 1: Preserving Modern Architectural Heritage

18:00–18:50 | Panel 2: Contemporary Models for Displaying Modern Architectural Heritage

🥂 Official opening: 19:00