Important Announcement is an exhibition showing works of contemporary Bulgarian art based on the use of text. The text first appeared in art in the late 60ies of the 20th century and is still actively implemented as a contextual and visual element even today. It is an essential part or an important emphasis in a number of works which highlight the historical development of Bulgarian art during the past fifteen years.

The exhibition presents 33 authors from several generations: Adelina Popnedeleva, Alla Georgieva, Boryana Dragoeva (Boryana Rossa), Valentin Stefanoff, Ventsislav Zankov, Veronika Tsekova, Georgi Rouzhev, Georgi Toushev, Dimitar Traichev, Elena Panayotova, Ivan Kiuranov, Ilian lalev, Ioan Kirilov, Kalin Plugchiev, Kalin Serapionov, Kiril Prashkov, Krasimir Dobrev, Krasimir Terziev, Kosta Tonev, Luchezar Boyadjiev, Maria Zafirkova, Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova, Nedko Solakov, Nikolai Chakarov, Nina Kovacheva, Pravdoliub Ivanov, Samuil Stoyanov, Sasho Stoitsov, Silvia Lazarova, Stefan Nikolaev, Houben Cherkelov, Yuri Staikov. The common thing about their works is that they all incorporate the text into the image, the difference being in the ways it is used and the means of expression: painting, drawing, textile, object, photography, video, installation etc. The exhibits have been created during the last fifteen years and reveal the stages the use of the text has gone through as well as the various ways it has been applied in visual arts.

For some of the works this is the first time they have been publicly displayed in Bulgaria. Some lost or destroyed works have been specially restored for the exhibition while others have been created for this particular occasion. The same space hosts considerable works of art like Nedko Solakov’s Announcement, which took part in the Venice Biennial in 1999, Georgi Rouzhev’s Self-portrait over the German Anarchist’s Manifest Concerning the East-European Issues, Istanbul, 1992, Kiril Prashkov’s Speaking Cobblestones, which was shown at the In the Gorges of the Balkans exhibition in Kassel, 2003 and others. New works exploiting the text have been created by young artists Kosta Tonev, Samouil Stoyanov and Yuri Staikov.

A special catalogue including 150 works by 35 artists created between 1987 and 2006 has been printed for the occasion. The edition contains exhaustive information about all published works and represents an important document on the history of Bulgarian contemporary art.

The exhibition and the catalogue have been made possible through the kind support and co-operation of the Debut Projects in the Field of Contemporary Art Fund, Interspace Media Art Centre, Petko Churchuliev Art Gallery, Dimitrovgrad, Xella Bulgaria Ltd., Obitech, Sign Café.