In its previous phases, the art project FUTURE UNFORGETTABLE identified and dealt with topics such as political opposition, institutional deficiencies, individualism, the body as instrument and political entity, the fragility of borders (Phase I), along with topics concerned with researching the local artistic ecosystems, the formation of informal collectives, the transmission of knowledge and memory, the practices of dialogizing, the manifestations outside the “center” (Phase II). In its third phase, FUTURE UNFORGETTABLE will bring out through its own focus and analysis specific features of Bulgarian contemporary art. 

Observing the canon of today’s Bulgarian contemporary art and attempting to optimally synthesize the subject matter, we could well assume that the narrative in the works of established authors lends a generalizing character to what is specifically Bulgarian in art. It is that little narrative composed of little stories or non-stories that emerges as a murmur or spam in relation to reality – speculations or even tales that build up a particular world or environment. It manifests itself as dialogue, argument, conversation, chatter and, generally, as a dynamically woven narrative. It emerges as a text within the body of the work, but also subsists in the dynamism beneath the surface of the work. 

Most recognizable in those underlying or manifest narratives are the vital textual styles, the irony, the humor, the paradox, the reversals of meaning, form and material. They serve to reveal human, yet also local topics, ethnopsychological models and world views. In Bulgarian art, as well as in Bulgarian reality, very often the “yes but no” sneaks in – it is both an expression of disappointment and a smiling attitude, a particular lifestyle, a melancholic fit and a display of vitality or temper. In a sense, the work attempts to establish an identity, to establish itself, but it also seems to waver within the scope of mischief, of play, of incompleteness as open end.  

Borrowing its title from Stefan Nikolaev’s work Under Deconstruction, the base exhibition of FUTURE UNFORGETTABLE Phase III will be physically represented in precisely such a place of transition as the building DOT that is currently under construction nearby the motely and saturated with diverse characters “Zhenski Pazar” (“Women’s Market”) in Sofia. It is a mixed-use building whose artistic dynamics and conception have also been developed by Sarieva Gallery; in parallel with its own functions, it will become one of the gallery’s exhibition sites in 2022. The framework of the exhibition Under Deconstruction will feature artworks by authors Luchezar Boyadjiev, Stela Vasileva, Zoran Georgiev, Pravdoliub Ivanov, Nina Kovacheva, Michail Michailov, Ivan Mоudov, Stefan Nikolaev, Nedko Solakov, Kamen Stoyanov and Samuil Stoyanov. 

As in Phase I, FUTURE UNFORGETTABLE will further incorporate other spaces by realizing a collaborative exhibition effort with Structura Gallery (Sofia) in presenting the work of Daniela Kostova.   

The works to be presented at the exhibitions are mainly owned by private collections in Plovdiv and Sofia, while a small portion of them belong to the authors and the galleries themselves.  

Phase III traces the line of thought from Section III of the overall concept of the six-phase multi-genre situation that is FUTURE UNFORGETTABLE. The entire conception is developed in a program text by Vesselina Sarieva, available on: www.futureunforgettable.com.