TRAVEL | ART | CULTURE

Bulgaria Has Lots Of Art

Even though the locals don’t think so.

We had just arrived in Plovdiv, coming on an overnight bus from Istanbul. It was about 6:30 am and we were trying to find a hotel to stay in. We happened upon a quaint area of town, and I saw a young man opening up a coffee shop for the day. Across the way was a beautiful building, and we couldn’t help but stop and stare at it, plus take some photos.

We loved it!

“I don’t understand the purpose of that. Bulgaria doesn’t have art.” This man told us as we analyzed it.

We had stopped to ask him if he knew if there were any hotels in the area and we ended up using his wifi connection to do some research.

We were shocked by his statement.

We had already been to Bulgaria back in 2015 and we had stayed at the Art Hostel in Sofia, so we knew that he was wrong. In fact, we had already seen our share of art in the country, even back then.

As we walked away I couldn't help but comment. “What does he mean that Bulgaria doesn’t have art?” I asked Chris.

“No kidding.” He said.

We thought that maybe Plovdiv didn’t have much art and maybe this man hadn’t been that far out of it.

But after spending 3 days in the city, we can attest that that is utterly wrong as well.

We saw numerous large-scale murals that decorated the walls around the city.

After visiting a few different Roman Ruins in the city, we then saw other remnants of art. Does he not realize that these carvings are art?

Plus we visited numerous art galleries and artists studios while there.

We can certainly say that Plovdiv has its share of art and it even earned the distinction of the European Culture Capital in 2019!

We left Plovdiv by train and saw many representations of art from the train as well. Of course, they are hard to catch as we were moving along, but after getting off the train I realized that the train itself was a traveling piece of art.

The next community we arrived in was Gabrovo. One thing that I believe is overlooked as art is the carvings that are everywhere in the country.

Gabrovo has numerous carvings in the city center. Don’t these count as art as well?

We also saw a bit of street art, but not a lot. I will agree that as far as art shops and paintings are concerned, Gabrovo did not seem to have a lot of art.

We then moved on to Veliko Tarnovo. We didn’t realize that this city is a pretty big tourist destination for Romanians, Ukrainians and Russians. Because of this, there were numerous high-end clothing shops, plus tons of shops selling art. It also had a large share of art on the walls, plus many statues and monuments throughout the city.

Many of the parks were full of various art projects. These dandelion sculptures were in 3 or 4 different locations that we noticed. I’m sure they are all done by the same artist.

We also found some large wall murals that were in the center of town. They are meant to celebrate the history of the area. They were viewed by many people and were surrounded by benches and a fabulous view below of a large monument.

The piece below represents some horsemen which are also depicted on the Monument to the Asen Dynasty (thanks to Tim Ward for that link) which is viewed from the right hand side of this platform.

As we made our way around the city, we came across the cutest shops. In them were all sorts of handmade crafts and creations plus many art galleries. Some unique items are these ones.

Chris loved this furry guy!

We also saw our share of wall art and murals. Some may call them graffiti. We don’t mind.

But no matter what, you can not deny the beauty of this building that was covered in bright yellow flowers. I fell in love with it! (Anne Bonfert I know you will too!)

As mural artists ourselves, we are constantly on the lookout for art and creations while we travel, and no matter where we go, art and creativity is a constant. Whether it is displayed in the clothing, the jewellery, in carvings or on walls, art connects people in ways that many of us will never understand.

Today, as we rode back to a town with our friend Ahmed in his car, he expressed how happy he is that there are now artists in the country.

Because according to him also, Bulgaria doesn’t have artists.

I wonder if we can convince him otherwise?

Thanks for joining me on a small art tour of Bulgaria. This is just a glimpse of what is here. I didn’t photograph everything that we have seen, and we also remember from the last time that we were here, there is much more in other towns and locations around the country.

Stay tuned for more!

Thank you so much to JoAnn Ryan for publishing this in her publication In Living Color!

Hi there, we are 2 Canadians, Jill and Chris from Artistic Voyages. We have been nomadic since 2017 living in numerous different countries, and experiencing the life and diversity of our planet on the ground and firsthand. We paint FREE murals in exchange for accommodation. Consider tipping us on Ko-fi!

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