Sofia Paper Art Fest 2023 - Ether & Might

SOFIA PAPER ART FEST 2023 /SHAF/ presents its thirteenth edition in the period
May 23 – October 30 with the motto AIR AND POWER. In the last editions, the overall program of the festival was built on a cascade principle, in accordance with the new conditions of social distancing during the COVID-19 epidemic.
The program began with an announcement on May 2 with the jubilee exhibition "Ethereal" by Daniela Todorova - curator and co-founder of ХАФ and an exhibition at the European Court in Luxembourg.

The official opening of the SCAF is on May 23 at the NDK with the exhibitions:
• ETHER - presenting the selected works in the long-standing AMATERAS competition
• MOST – presenting large-format works by Bulgarian authors, selected on a competitive basis

In this edition, the program continues the trend of hybrid content - real and digital. It includes both real and virtual exhibitions, online events, workshops, experimental events for the urban environment, an online lecture, a competition for teenagers, film screenings, presentations, and traveling formats.

Over the years, thousands of works by more than 3,000 authors have been displayed at the ХАФ. The forum has gained exceptional international popularity with its traveling formats. In the upcoming edition, live guest exhibitions are again being prepared in new destinations at the invitation of new partners. In the period May - July, the most large-scale sections of the program will be shown in Sofia. An important place in it is the annual competition AMATERAS and the section on art in the urban environment. The rich program of accompanying events also brings new elements such as experimental paper music and light and projection installations for open spaces.

SPAF continues to be a phenomenon in visual arts festival formats and is still unparalleled globally. It is a two-time recipient of the European Innovation Label from the European Commission.

The presentation of the AMATERAS Collection in unknown countries with new partners is a priority in this edition. It was collected in the last 14 years of the foundation's activity and is a great rarity, having collected in itself from miniature works to large-scale installations in various media. Digitization of the collection and traveling formats are a priority in the public appearances of the SCAF. Social networks, virtual platforms, and the unfolding of much greater creative exchange are inscribed in the motto AIR AND POWER.

Many new partners and artists have been attracted from new countries with which the SCAF has not yet been in contacts, such as the United Arab Emirates and Serbia. Relations with partners from Argentina, Japan, Korea, Germany, France, Brazil, etc. continue. Most locations belong to long-standing partners of SOFIA PAPER ART FEST - a sign of the festival's establishment as well-recognizable by the Bulgarian and foreign public. All events within the framework of the SCAF will also be published with their digital versions, in order to have greater access to the cultural content. Internet channels - YOUTUBE, Vimeo, Instagram, Facebook, and various partner networks are also key to the current format.

The festival remains true to the beautiful, ecological art of PAPER ART, but some of the important events are with an emphasis on digital arts, educational formats, and discussion forms. Contemporary art increasingly recognizes avant-garde solutions with new technologies in installation formats of paper objects.

The program envisages traveling exhibitions outside the country, which were postponed in previous editions and will now be shown at different times of the year.

LOCATIONS

• MUSEUM OF HISTORY OF SOFIA - Triangular Tower of Serdika

• NDK – West lobby and Marble lobby

• RCSI Thermal Power Plant

• Gallery MAZDA

• THE MISSION Gallery

• SREDETS Gallery

• FINES Gallery

• SERDIKA Gallery

Abroad

• European Court in Luxembourg

• MOMA Museum - Dubai, UAE

• Center for Visual Arts "Krug", Čačak, Serbia

• Museum of Contemporary Art, Dresden, IAPMA Congress

STRUCTURE

Includes 6 sections

 AMATERAS ANNUAL COMPETITION - Fourteenth edition

 ART FOR THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT

 GREEN ARCHITECTURE

 INDEPENDENT EXHIBITIONS

 PAPER ART ACADEMY - lectures, discussion, virtual formats

 ACCOMPANYING EVENTS - workshops, competitions for children and adolescents