This is the first joint project of the Sofia City Art Gallery (SCAG) and the University of Sofia in the common effort to promote contemporary art and encourage communication with it. The artworks featured in the exhibition leave SCAG storerooms to find opportunities for a dialogue in a lively dynamic environment.

The exhibition views the aquarium as a replica of the world, a cultivated space, where life exists with its joys and dramas. The idea of the aquarium was suggested by exhibition venues themselves, which look like aquariums with their glass display cases. The aquarium does also refer to the seat of learning as an incubator of life processes.

The exhibition features works from the SCAGcollection by some of the most prominent contemporary Bulgarian artists, including Sasho Stoitsov, Mariela Gemisheva, Krassimir Terziev, Mihaela Vlasseva, Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova, Ivan Kostolov, Rassim, Ivan Moudov, etc. The exhibition features paintings, photographs, objects and installations.

The works selected for the exhibition explore the interaction between humans and their surrounding environment. In this case this is a specific city in a specific country in a specific time frame, namely Sofia, Bulgaria at the turn of the century. What is happening to the contemporary human here and now? Has his/her idea of the world and ways of communicating with other people changed? Can we spot the changes having occurred in the world relying on the works of contemporary artists?

The exhibition presents the most popular trends in contemporary art with original works demonstrating social commitment.

The Sofia City Art Gallery works with young artists and art critics, developing special programs aiming to integrate the latter into the contemporary art scene. Therefore, cooperation with the “St. Kliment of Ohrid” University of Sofia provides a good opportunity to attract new audiences.

Project curator: Maria Vassileva, chief SCAG curator.