The programme was organised by the representative of the partner university in Svishtov, Assoc. Prof. Marusya Smokova-Stefanov. The face-to-face part of the programme took place in Plovdiv: Bulgaria’s second-largest city, designated European Capital of Culture in 2019, offered participants the opportunity to explore cultural heritage sites of the ancient city of Philippopolis as part of a walking seminar, including the Ancient Roman Theatre, the Roman Forum and the remains of the Roman Stadium.
As an artist residency programme will be a key component of the Incubator, the group visited the ‘Boris Hristov’ House of Culture to hear experts present an impressive example of good practice. Plamen Panov, Deputy Mayor of Plovdiv, began by giving participants an introduction to his day-to-day work and the wider context; curator Dr Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva and Dr Magdalena Gereva from the Ministry of Culture, Archaeology and Tourism then shared their experiences and answered participants’ questions. Furthermore, the incubator’s future offerings and strategy were developed during numerous co-creation sessions, and plans for the digital platform were drawn up.
The virtual part of the BIP took place on 30 June: at the official kick-off of the ‘H&Art Incubator’, the acceptance of the first mentors and incubatees was finally announced. The Chair of the incubator’s Transnational Managing Board, Tijs van Es, presented the selection to the working group. The next step is to prepare for the onboarding of the mentors and incubatees.
You can find more information about the incubator here: