Bulgaria’s culture is our most delicate social fabric. Elaborately crafted, diligently nurtured, quietly mastered on one hand; vulnerable and hence easily susceptible to pressure, change, and habitual barbarism on the other. Nevertheless, culture refuses to abandon us so easily to banalities, rampant herd consumerism, and oblivion. While, until recently, it was mainly the residents and guests of the capital who were regularly graced by it, in more recent times, it once again "sprouts" in some of its most natural environments – the Bulgarian Revival cities of Veliko Tarnovo, Ruse... and Gabrovo. Even for the unacquainаted, a brief stroll is enough to clearly understand that Gabrovo knows very well what cultural fabric is, brimming with the tradition of threads wondеrously woven into magical inspiration. The only thing it needs is new weavers.
Detail from the former Textile Professional School in Gabrovo, 2021 © Rosina Pencheva
New Weavers is a musical experience with a culturally adventurous character, which will take the audience to the Non-hazardous Waste Landfill and the former Textile Technical School in Gabrovo, as well as to other exciting places on September 30th. Through music, this one-day micro-festival will resonate within the spaces of the abandoned tech school in three original ways.
The choice of the two seemingly out-of-the-box locations – a landfill and an abandoned building – is in line with the priority of the local government for urban space socialization. The Gabrovo landfill, in addition to excelling in separation and composting, is also an experienced host of cultural events and will give the public special access to its many interconnected processes. The former textile school, in which we once again get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look, is also a space in an exciting process - a part of our dormant architectural heritage, which after a long sleep is waking up to a new life as the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Center.
The special bus pilgrimage will be soundtracked by the music of the electroacoustic avant-gardist Mirian Kolev, currently based in Tryavna, whose original projects present music with an intellectual, meditative, but also modern character.
Weaving machine in the former Textile Professional School in Gabrovo, 2023 © Rosina Pencheva
The second part of our weaving along the notes awakens the looms (or at least their spirits) in the building of the former Textile Technical School. The program will kick off with a performance by pianist and composer Teodor Petkov-Toto – a magical piano-and-internal-dialogues set by a true local maestro. Following him, one of the newest Bulgarian ethno-jazz projects – the duo Beleva and Hajigrudev – will vividly demonstrate how the gadulka and the double bass can magically weave together. The climax – staying true to the concept of continuity and sustainability – features the magnificent Balkanton Vinyl Party by DJ Skill himself – a hip-hop and vinyl culture legend, as well as a proven favorite on the national club scene.
This one-day adventurous endeavor in sustainability, continuity, and newfound inspiration breathes life into Gabrovo's alternative cultural scene, provoking the necessity for diverse forms of artistic expression. New Weavers intertwines the themes of art, architectural heritage, and ecology into the natural fabric of life in Gabrovo.
Тhe duo Beleva & Hadzhigrudev, photo © Darina Zlatkova
Fabric (fæbrɪk)
Word forms: plural fabrics
1. (variable noun)
Fabric is cloth or other material produced by weaving together cotton, nylon, wool, silk, or other threads. Fabrics are used for making things such as clothes, curtains, and sheets.
Synonyms: cloth, material, stuff, textile
2. (singular noun)
The fabric of a society or system is its basic structure, with all the customs and beliefs that make it work successfully.
Synonyms: framework, structure, make-up, organization
3. (singular noun)
The fabric of a building is its walls, roof, and the materials with which it is built.
Synonyms: structure, foundations, construction, framework
What is fabric? It's certainly something tangible and something relatable. Can we use this word to describe our culture? The answer – on 30th September in Gabrovo.
Event’s identity: Ivaylo Nikolov and Ivan Hadzhivelikov for Stretch
New Weavers for Gabrovo is a cultural program, produced and curated by Rosina Pencheva for Capturing Creativity
with the financial support of the Gabrovo Municipality, "Culture" 2023 program, priority "Creative Experience and Socialization of Spaces"
Ministry of Culture, Bulgaria, "Distribution of performances and concerts in the field of musical art" program, 2023
and National Culture Fund, "Recovery and Development of Private Cultural Organizations" program, 2022
