Commissioner: Alexander Staynov
Curator: Boris Tikvarski
Exhibitors: Alexander Dumarey, Bojidara Valkova, Mariya Gyaurova, Mike Fritsch and Kostadin Kokalanov
Bulgaria
Education is the movement from darkness to light
Album
Description
Bulgaria is experiencing the fastest population decline on a global scale. As the population dwindles there are fewer and fewer children to fill the schools. Every year dozens of schools close their doors. Some of the buildings have been renovated and are back in use as housing or as hotels. Most of them are abandoned.
The exhibition focuses on the traces of existence, depopulation, and the abandoned schools of Bulgaria. It is an exploration of a different future, marked by urban decline and rural flight.
Based on the work of photographer Alexander Dumarey, the pavilion becomes a platform for debate and speculation for the future.
How do we cope with shrinking regions? How to address preservation? How to adapt to change?
