Center Christo and Jeanne-Claude at the HEAT Fest Sofia! 

From June 4 to 6, the iconic Banski Square in front of the Regional History Museum of Sofia became a stage for ideas, art, urban solutions, and community energy. The first edition of HEAT FEST 2026 – Sofia Climate Festival, organized by the Sofia Development Association and the Sofia Municipality, with the support of Oborishte District, brought together citizens, scientists, artists, and international experts through a rich three-day program dedicated to the future of the capital.

The inaugural edition of the festival focused on one of the most important topics in adapting cities to climate change: the waters of Sofia. The area surrounding the Central Mineral Baths was chosen symbolically as a place where the city’s history, collective memory, and thermal heritage converge. At a time of increasingly frequent heat waves, water and green infrastructure are key to creating a cooler and healthier urban environment.

A special guest of the festival was Jessika Roswall, European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, who toured the festival grounds and explored the green solutions presented throughout the event.

The activities, sustainable strategies, and the architectural competition for the complete transformation of the former Gabrovo Textile Technical School into the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center were presented in a dedicated thematic area of the festival. The New European Bauhaus Zone provided a platform for discussions on sustainable design, architecture, and innovative urban solutions developed through active public participation.

It was emphasized that the Center exists not only as a future capital investment project. The building is already hosting artist residencies, workshops, exhibitions, and temporary events. Through these activities, the site is gradually opening itself to artists, local organizations, students, citizens, and partners from Bulgaria and abroad. This approach allows the future identity of the Center to be shaped long before the completion of the renovation works. The content, encounters, and participation of people are considered just as important as the physical transformation of the building itself. In this way, the Center is already establishing itself as a space for culture, education, contemporary ideas, and dialogue between industrial heritage and new creative practices.

Gabrovo’s presentation also highlighted two complementary European projects connected to the building and the future function of the Center. The Workwear Metamorphoses project, funded through the Creative Europe Programme, focuses on Gabrovo’s industrial history, textile heritage, contemporary design, and artistic exchange between European cities. Within the framework of the project, artists explore workwear as an element of industrial culture. Through creative residencies, meetings with experts, interviews with people connected to the textile industry, and a future traveling exhibition, the project links local memory to a broader European narrative about labor, production, and contemporary art.

The second project, AccesS, funded through the Horizon Europe Programme, focuses on accessibility, sustainability, and smart solutions for buildings and urban environments. The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center is one of the pilot sites where new approaches to universal accessibility, energy efficiency, digital tools, and more inclusive environments will be developed and tested. Together, these projects build upon the core investment and demonstrate how a building can evolve not only as infrastructure, but also as a place for knowledge, cultural memory, innovation, and participation. This was the central message presented by Gabrovo within the New European Bauhaus Zone: that sustainable urban development is not only a matter of construction, but also of content, people, accessibility, and long-term public value.

The participants of Curatorial School 2.0 complete their training with an unconventional exhibition at the Museum of Humor and Satire in Gabrovo!

The exhibition “Structures in Transition” (24 March – 25 July 2026) is the culmination of the two‑month Curatorial School – an educational and practical program aimed at developing curatorial skills, critical thinking, and professional preparation in the field of visual arts. 

Within the context of the Bulgarian art scene, curatorial work often remains ambiguous. The initiative of the Christo and Jeanne‑Claude Center in Gabrovo seeks to create a sustainable framework for learning, collective practice, and public presentation. The school gives its 18 participants an opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration – an approach inspired by the combination of different kinds of knowledge and experience characteristic of Christo and Jeanne‑Claude’s projects.  

Hosted by the Museum of Humor and Satire in Gabrovo, “Structures in Transition” is organized in three thematic sections, curated by three working groups mentored by Margarita Dorovska, Svetlana Kuyumjieva, and Vesela Nozharova. The participants also had the opportunity to consult with the lecturers Vasil Vidinski and Stanimir Stoyanov.

The exhibition includes works from the museum’s archive, brought into dialogue with the perspectives of young painters, contemporary artists, illustrators, and even photojournalists. The project explores the tension between the individual and society, revealing the many invisible ties and rules that connect them. 

Its three sub‑themes are “The Queue,” “The Game,” and “Taming the Monument.”

“The Queue” examines a familiar social phenomenon that speaks volumes about different historical periods – their shortages, needs, and aspirations. A line of people waiting for something is a democratic and self‑regulating structure, yet it can easily become a monument to passivity or a vicious circle. Group “The Queue”: Ivana Borisova, Maria Borisheva, Yoshka Mihaylova, Iva Rudnikova, Krastina Stefanova, Emilia Stoeva 

Taking as its starting point the local case of Chardafon in Gabrovo – a monument whose head was replaced by those in power more than once – “Taming the Monument” investigates the “beheading” of monuments both literally and metaphorically: as the end of an ideological narrative and as a process revealing public memory as a field of continual rewriting. Every monument has an ideological lifespan. Group “Taming the Monument”: Hristina Decheva, Martina Grueva, Ivelina Ivanova, Kalina Ivanova, Teodora Marinova, Marina Kisyova de Heus

The “Game” segment, inspired by Johan Huizinga’s concept of Homo Ludens (“the playing man”), looks at play not only as entertainment or an escape from reality but also as a fundamental principle through which a society understands, constructs, and resists the world. The works presented analyze the mechanisms of (dis)empowerment that shape our reality, leaving room for experimentation and a reconsideration of the rules by which we live. Group “The Game”: Paola Dimova, Aleksi Ivanov, Natalia Krisenko, Ekaterina Leondieva, Ralitsa Petkova, Ana Radkova, Elena Tsvyatkova 

“Structures in Transition” runs until 25 July 2026 at the Museum of Humor and Satire in Gabrovo. 

Participating artists: Zhenya Adamova, Velko Angelov, Zhivko Angelov, Ivo Bistrichki, Tsvetomira Borisova, Veselin Borishev, Lachezar Boyadjiev, Panayot Barnev, Anna Vasof, Alexander Valchev, Ivan Grigorov, Damyan Damyanov, Petra Dimitrova, Angelariy Dimitrov, Evgeni Dimitrov, Stefan Ikoga, Hristo Komarnitski, Veselin Kostadinov, Ivan Landzhev, Roxana Markova, Yoshka Mihaylova, Ivan Moudov, Stefan Nikolaev, Alina Papazova, Adrian Paci, Nia Pushkarova, Kamen Stoyanov, Isao Hashimoto, Veronika Tsekova, Valko Chobanov, Venelin Shurelov, Geri Georgieva

––

Curatorial School 2.0 is a project by the Christo and Jeanne‑Claude Center and Plakat Combinat Ltd., funded under procedure BG‑RRP‑11.021, Grant Scheme “New Generation of Local Cultural Policies for Major Municipalities,” Investment “Development of Cultural and Creative Sectors,” Component “Social Inclusion,” National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

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

PANOPTIKUM or the Memory of Objects: a performance by director Martina Novakova

⚡ In partnership with Racho Stoyanov Drama Theatre

🎫 Tickets: at the box office of Racho Stoyanov Drama Theatre or online here

On September 23 at 18:00, the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center in Gabrovo invites you on a theatrical journey through the house of L. and the stories of unusual objects that preserve her memories, with the original performance PANOPTIKUM* by Martina Novakova.

Behind every corner of this house-museum lurks something unexpected: conflicting voices from the past; the gaze of a painted all-seeing eye; a silent telephone bought at a flea market in Madrid; a half-forgotten melody; the workers of a house-clearing company.

Memory becomes a dangerous territory, where the fate of objects depends on the attention of the audience. Each viewer must choose their own place within the space and the story they wish to follow. The experience combines several disciplines: verbatim theatre, original live music, and installation art. A central source of inspiration for the performance is the work of Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

PANOPTIKUM is a story about the fear of losing memory, about the material world and the objects we choose to surround ourselves with, the value we attribute to them, and their influence on our relationships.

* panoptikum (noun, singular) — a museum where rare and valuable objects or wax figures are displayed.

❕ Duration: 80 minutes, during which the audience moves freely through the space. Please inform the organizers in advance if you require a seated place.

PANOPTIKUM is an original performance by Martina Novakova, adapted to various spaces – houses, museums, underground sites – and constantly evolving. It was created within the Master’s program in Theatre Arts at Carlos III University of Madrid, under the direction of Juan Mayorga. The premiere took place in June 2018 at Auditorio de Leganés in Madrid. In 2020, it was selected by EURODRAM Bulgaria and presented within the “ProText 10” festival at Goethe-Institut, Sofia. Its Bulgarian premiere was realized with the financial support of the National Culture Fund, Debuts program (2021), and took place in February 2024 at RCAC Toplocentrala.

The event in Gabrovo is carried out with the financial support of the National Culture Fund, Distribution program 2024, and in partnership with the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center – Gabrovo and Racho Stoyanov Drama Theatre – Gabrovo.

RadLab Studio and the largest festival for analog and experimental photography in Bulgaria

For the second year in a row, RadLab Studio is hosting an event dedicated to analog and experimental photography. De Vita Solitaria / On the Solitary Life is an independent festival – though the word hardly captures its essence – a three-day gathering of artists, enthusiasts, collectors, and researchers of photographic processes who are connected to, or in search of, a relationship with analog photography.

The theme of the 2025 edition is “Solitude” – not as alienation, but as a space for observation, inner dialogue, and conscious encounters with oneself. The festival explores solitude as a potential for creative imagination, while also building a bridge back to the time before social networks, when every image was an act of discovery – found through effort, patience, and silence.

The program of De Vita Solitaria unfolds through six workshops, three exhibitions, four discussions, interventions in public space, and challenges to our own understanding of photography. Events move between the darkroom and the street, between the intimate and the noisy. The atmosphere is participatory and encourages dialogue, combining personal experiences with the collective energy of sharing.

The events will take place at two locations in Gabrovo:

• RadLab Studio (9Zh Shipka St.)
• RadLab Residency @ Christo & Jeanne-Claude Center (72 Bryanska St. – former Textile High School)

Participation is free of charge. You don’t need to own a Mamiya RB67 or to have read Camera Lucida in French – all that’s required is to register in advance, so that materials and logistics can be prepared.

De Vita Solitaria – RadLab Community Gathering 2025 will be held from 20 to 22 September 2025 in Gabrovo. Full details of the program can be found here.

About RadLab Studio

RadLab Studio is a space for analog and alternative photography where like-minded people can learn, experiment, and inspire one another. The team believes that analog photography and noble photographic processes should be accessible to everyone. Its mission is to foster inclusion by providing open access to the studio, conducting research, and preserving and sharing both knowledge and practical skills.

RadLab believes the most meaningful processes happen together – and invites anyone who shares this vision to become part of its community.

Childhood Years: Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center presents an exhibition at the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Paris

On September 19, the exhibition “Childhood Years” by the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center for Contemporary Art – Gabrovo will open at the gallery of the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Paris. The occasion is twofold – 90 years since the birth of Christo Javacheff and 30 years since the emblematic Pont Neuf project, which left a lasting mark on the artistic history of Paris.

Childhood Years explores childhood as the first stage of imagination – a time when play and freedom outline the contours of future creative thought. The exhibition brings together rare photographs and documentary materials from Christo’s early years in Bulgaria with works by a new generation of contemporary artists currently working at the Center in Gabrovo. In this way, the exhibition creates a bridge between Christo’s personal history and the collective energy of young artists, between the memory of beginnings and the vision for the future.

Seven of them – Anton Ivanov, Gergana Lazarova-Runkel, Ivelin Penchev, Konstantin Zlatev, Nevena Ekimova, Pavel Tsarov, and Radoil Serafimov – will present their works in the French capital for the first time.

A special section is dedicated to Christo’s childhood – his family, schools and factories, favorite games, and first steps in art. These early experiences would later crystallize into the iconic elements of his work with Jeanne-Claude – fabrics, ropes, barrels.

Opened in 2023, the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center is located in the building of the former Textile High School in Gabrovo. It functions as an artist residency and space for contemporary art, inspired by the legacy of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Though still in development, the Center already attracts young creators from different countries and is steadily establishing itself as a place for experimentation, dialogue, and new artistic horizons.

The exhibition “Childhood Years” is organized by the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center – Gabrovo and the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Paris, with the support of the Museum of Humor and Satire, the Municipality of Gabrovo, and the America for Bulgaria Foundation.

“A Frame from the Textile” – A Theatrical Walk Through the Memory of a School

Alongside its artistic residency, the Metamorphosis of Workwear project also engages deeply with the local community in Gabrovo through the collection of oral histories. These stories – shared by individuals connected to the region’s industrial past – have been transformed into a work of art. Over the past month, the project team conducted a series of interviews that revived the memories of people whose lives were closely tied to the former Textile High School – now the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center.

In partnership with playwright and director Martina Novakova*, the collected stories were adapted into a script for a verbatim theatre performance – a form of “walking theatre” that took place on May 2 and 3 at the Center. Audiences were invited into the building, guided by the authentic voices of former students, teachers, local officials, neighbors, and tour guides – embodied by actresses from Gabrovo’s Racho Stoyanov Drama Theatre: Nadezhda Petkova, Magdalena Slavcheva, and Radostina Angelova. 

These performers became vessels for transforming these real-life testimonies into a moving, immersive experience, allowing the local community to reconnect with and reimagine its past through a contemporary lens. The audience was not merely passive – they were drawn into the architecture itself, discovering the building as a living heritage site from the peak of Gabrovo’s textile era. Memories of former students, teachers, and workers came alive before their eyes – familiar and deeply resonant.

With this work, the team set out to build a collective portrait of what the Textile School once was, and to inspire new visions for its future role – as the Regional Center for Contemporary Art Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

“A Frame from the Textile” is part of Metamorphosis of Workwear – a project funded by the Creative Europe programme. It brings together six cities with rich industrial histories – Chemnitz, Gabrovo, Łódź, Manchester, Mulhouse, and Tampere – around the idea of reimagining workwear through the lens of contemporary labor, design, and local memory. Gabrovo Municipality is the official project partner, and the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center is leading its local implementation.

Martina Novakova (Sofia, 1993) is a playwright, director, and educator whose work moves across borders – both geographic and emotional. She holds a degree in Theatre from New York University (2023), where she studied on a Fulbright and Tuk-Tam scholarship, as well as a BA in Theatre from Carlos III University in Madrid, which she completed with distinction. Among her mentors are renowned artists such as Anna Deavere Smith, André Lepecki, and Joe Salvatore.

Martina is the co-founder of Panoptikum Association, through which she develops projects in Bulgaria, Spain, France, and New York, blending documentary verbatim theatre, site-specific performance, and audio theatre. Her work is driven by themes such as memory, migration, war, and community engagement. Selected projects include the audio performance The Daughter of the Frame Maker (National Gallery Kvadrat 500), the documentary show Once You’ve Crossed the Ocean (toured in 11 cities across the US and Spain), the award-winning play A Lesson in Loneliness (First Prize, NBU, 2021), and The Wrapped Audioguide, created for the Sofia City Art Gallery. In 2020, her play Panoptikum was selected by EURODRAM and later realized with support from the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria.

Gergana Lazarova-Runkel isn’t one for simple categories.

Gergana Lazarova-Runkel isn’t one for simple categories. In her atelier at the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center, she is reshaping her role as an artist, blurring the line between stage and textile art, with a mix of ambition and grounded humility. Originally trained as a scenographer, Gergana has developed her craft around the visual and emotional impact of live storytelling. With a Bachelor’s in Scenography and a Master’s in Digital Arts, her work has crossed over from traditional theater into digital projection, staging productions like Arabian Night at Sfumato Theater Workshop and Under the Yoke – 1894 at Gabrovo Drama Theater. Yet in her stay at the Center, she’s finding herself pulled toward something closer to home – literally and figuratively: textile art.

Drawn to tufting, Gergana describes the process of working with fabric as “grounding,” a way to reconnect with the physicality of her craft and the history embedded in the walls of the former textile school. She speaks about this new direction as if it’s both a rebellion against, and a continuation of, her theatrical roots. “Working with textile offers a calm presence,” she says. The result is something intimate and tactile, a deliberate shift away from the monumental visuals of her scenographic work.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s influence is here in spirit, if not in form. Gergana admires their fearless approach, their way of transforming the public space with such bold gestures. “What they accomplished was incredibly brave,” she says, a sentiment she holds close even as her own work stays more introspective. Yet, the weight of self-doubt lingers. “I’m still caught up in how my work will be seen,” she admits, a vulnerable edge that keeps her tied to the present and its messiness, rather than soaring to monumental heights.

Life at the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center has been a journey of discovery, offering both freedom and moments of introspection. While the community is vibrant in bursts, the shared direction among artists feels like an evolving work in progress. “There’s room to grow here,” Gergana reflects, her words carrying a tone of optimism rather than critique. For her, genuine collaboration feels tantalizingly close, and the potential is undeniable. Despite the challenges, she believes the Center provides a unique and supportive environment for artists to explore and thrive.

Gergana Lazarova-Runkel’s work isn’t about polish or presentation. It’s about discovery, about rooting through the layers of fabric and memory, and piecing together something that feels honest and raw. Her art asks questions instead of delivering easy answers. Blending her theater experience with this newfound textile practice, Gergana is crafting something both beautiful and uneasy, the kind of art that’s grounded not only in skill but in the willingness to show what lies beneath. It’s a reflection of an artist finding her way, step by vulnerable step, in a world where honesty often takes a back seat to spectacle.

⚡️Find Gergana’s work on: https://www.behance.net/gingergery

For an intertwined artistic community: hosting Ivelina Ivanova (BrumBur)

The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center, following the artistic duo’s inspiring legacy of creation through vast public engagement, aims to build an intertwined artistic community to foster within it’s premises, turning this primarily tribute space into a dynamic, living platform for contemporary art production. The center currently hosts 7 artists, each connected by heart or practice with the values and work ethic of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, exploring creative possibilities and the resources of the former Textile Technical School of Gabrovo.

Ivelina Ivanova ’s path into the world of embroidery is anything but conventional, though it is deeply rooted in the craftsmanship of her family. Describing herself as a “craftswoman,” she brings an individual approach to the craft, blending tradition with contemporary aesthetics. Her journey began long before her formal training at the Textile Technical School, which she completed in 2001. Growing up in a household where her parents ran a small embroidery business, Iva was immersed in the depths of her craft from an early age. Her mother, a trained embroiderer, guided her through the art of handcrafting with a sewing machine, an essential tool she still uses today. “I am self-taught in many ways,” Iva reflects, yet her work is always intentional, deeply personal, and rich in history.

The transformation from a family-run business to Iva’s solo enterprise was not without challenges. After the sudden loss of her father during her university years, Iva and her mother faced financial and administrative struggles that ultimately led to the closure of their family business. However, the seeds of creativity were already planted. After raising her two children, Iva’s desire to return to her roots in embroidery grew stronger. In 2017, she registered as a freelance designer, and her creative practice began to take shape.

Iva’s work today is a reflection of her dual commitment to preserving traditional techniques while questioning the consumption-driven demands of modern fashion. Her embroidery is deeply connected to the idea of reusing and recycling materials, contributing to a slower, more mindful approach to creation. She explains, “Every material I work with—be it fabric or denim—is an opportunity to give something old a new life.” Her platform, which she refers to as “BrumBur” (a name inspired by the sound of the sewing machine and sometimes the one in her head), is a space where discarded materials are transformed into heartfelt, handcrafted products, including accessories, personalised items, clothes and bags.

Iva’s journey is a testament to the power of art in reinterpreting the past while creating something timeless. Through her work, she continues to honor the legacy of craft while embracing the possibilities of contemporary practice. At her atelier in the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center, she finds not only a space for creative experimentation but also a community that supports and encourages the evolution of her work. As Iva looks toward the future, she sees her practice continuing to evolve, with a commitment to producing work that speaks to the importance of sustainability and the preservation of craft in an increasingly disposable world.

Through embroidery, Iva reimagines the possibilities of forgotten textiles, turning them into objects that are both beautiful and meaningful—offering new life to materials that might otherwise be discarded. Her story is a reminder that art is not just about creating for the sake of creation, but about transforming what already exists into something new and full of purpose.