Krasimir Terziev's installation is placed on the site of the former Mausoleum, which "hides" the old facilities for maintaining the body of Georgi Dimitrov underneath. It speaks of the visible and the hidden, of the depth of the past, "pregnant" with the unfulfilled utopia for a bright future.
Do we still carry the past within us? Does it determine our present? Are we carrying outdated attitudes into the future? Where are we today as people and society?
These are just some of the questions that every passerby, guest or citizen of Sofia can ask themselves, sitting on the letters of this horizontal and human monument in the public space.
The place is designed as a city center, similar to the agora in the cities of Ancient Greece, where both markets and conversations between citizens took place, common decisions and visions were discussed.
The series of conversations within the installation aims to engage the citizens of Sofia in a dialogue about the state of contemporary Bulgarian society. About its current concerns, memories and hopes.
The specific questions about the growth and overdevelopment of the city, about heavy traffic, about polluted air, about the boundaries between the center and the periphery, about the reduction of green spaces, about cultural heritage and architecture, about the shortage of organized, accessible public spaces, about mineral water, baths and the mountains, about garbage, etc. are starting points for a more comprehensive conversation. They are signs. In them we see the reflection of processes that concern the common good and private interests, the individual, selfish absorption of resources and the state of the community, everyday stress, anxiety and care, the upbringing of new generations, values, ideas about quality of life and rights of citizens, (impossible) unifications, plans and visions for the future.
→ Curated by Vladiya Mihaylova
Main Programme
The aim of the discussion programme is to turn the site of the mausoleum into a kind of agora - a common place that focuses public interest on three larger themes arising from the work itself.
- LIVING TOGETHER
The discussion puts the theme of the contemporary city at the centre. Its different faces, the individuality of its neighbourhoods, the communities in its different parts, its multicultural face. How does the city become ours? - THE PAST REMEMBERED AND UNREMEMBERED
Places of memory in the city. The active cultural layers, the forgotten heritage, the hidden places, the spaces of conflict. - FUTURE AND CITY
Our imagination of the city in / of the future. Architectural and urban perspectives. The possible community. Reflecting on the past and reframing shared memory.
Collateral Events
The installation is a work in public space - open to and defined by the community, a common place. That is why in the periods between the main discussions we give space to different initiatives, coming from partners, collaborators, the community. These initiatives, of course, are logically related to the spirit of the work and the context. The most general criteria for the collateral events are:
- Do not interfere with the accessibility, visibility and integrity of the work (it is not desirable to have events associated with heavy and varied scenography, ....)
- Be related to and/or provoked by the idea and meaning of the work
- Meet public safety criteria
- Be free from discrimination and hate speech, be public, accessible and open
We invite everyone who has ideas for the site to get in touch with us through the form below, or to the address: events@[no spam please]mausoleum.site.
A Walk within the KOI conference "Contested heritage, troubled future"
Visit of the class of Prof. Olaf Nicolai from the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich
