Negotiation is a key process in shaping the world we live in. It is grounded in the understanding of democracy as inherently agonistic—marked by the coexistence of multiple perspectives and subjectivities. These arise not only from individuals, communities, and belief systems, but are also shaped by science, technology, ecological processes, and politics. The balance that can emerge is fragile and temporary—a sensitive state resulting from a specific constellation of elements. It is only through negotiation that care and responsibility can be cultivated.
The role of art and its institutions in this process is crucial—not only in sensing and making visible the entanglements between materials, organisms, humans and non-humans, but in doing so without final naming or closure. Art has the potential to connect different worlds and ways of knowing, while also allowing them to exist freely, in their own right. From April to June, we invite you to join Negotiation—a series of open discussions, exhibition projects, workshops, and lectures. The program is a collective action by those involved in the Center for Social Vision, and a response to the tense and shifting social, political, and ecological context—both locally and globally.
The projects were structured in four modules: 1. How we think and do the social; 2. A common vision for the city; 3. New approaches to cultural heritage; 4. Future perspectives.
Center for Social Vision was initiated by Viktoria Draganova in 2021 as a spin-off of Swimming Pool. In its first year, it brought together: Ivan Bonev, Filip Boyadjiev, Vasil Vladimirov, Ivelina Gadjeva, Emanuele Guidi, Dessislava Dimova, Polona Dolzan, Stefan Ivanov, Rumena Kalcheva, Valentinas Klimašauskas, Rizaki Labrini, Dima Stefanova, Andrea Popjordanova, Slava Savova, and Dessislava Terzieva.
In 2021/22, the program was coordinated by Galena Sardarova, Rosena Ivanova, and Zheni Decheva, with graphic design by Viktoria Staykova.
EVENTS
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On new artists’ roles
Valentinas Klimašauskas will raise the question of what remains of the social dimension in a time of data excess, disinformation, polarization, surveillance capitalism and the surveillance state, thinking machines, and other concepts involving both new and old…
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Neither Mountains, nor Malls
In response to the title Negotiation, Emanuele Guidi looks at the centrality of the figure/role of the “mediator” as emphasized by the environmentalist, activist and translator Alexander Langer in his “Tentative decalogue for inter-ethnic coexistence”.
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Communist-era Cultural Heritage
A workshop led by Vasil Vladimirov and Yana Abrasheva that will use live action role-playing (LARP) as a research method to explore the cultural heritage of the communist period.
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Measured Drawings
A project by Slava Savova exploring the methods of documenting architectural heritage—specifically mineral baths—and how these methods influence heritage preservation policies.
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The Orchards of Mladost
A research project by Andrea Popjordanova exploring why there are fruit trees in a Sofia neighborhood where they were not intentionally planted as part of urban greening plans. Often considered “inconvenient” for the urban environment, these trees…
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How we negotiate the city –public discussion
A discussion on how we negotiate the right to the city—among ourselves and with the institutions that represent us—and how art, architecture, design, and literature take part in this process.
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Prima Materia World
Prima Materia World by artist Dessislava Terzieva is an interdisciplinary laboratory exploring textile possibilities through private research and public interventions.
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Il Bügl Public / The Public Fountain
Lecture by Curdin Tones on situational and social projects at Somalgors 74