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Bulgaria / Bulgarije

1. Cultural policy

Cultural policy profile

Government – Ministry of Culture

2. Official representations

Representation of Bulgaria in Belgium

3. About funding, cooperation and information centers

– Funding and cooperation

  • National Culture Fund is a Bulgarian funding organisation supported by the Ministry of Culture, which supports at the national level the creation, development and dissemination of Bulgarian culture and art in the country and abroad. It is the IFACCA National Member.

– Information

  • Bulgarian State Institute for Culture: is part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is an integrated part of international cultural relations and aims to support the successful implementation of the priorities of Bulgaria’s foreign affairs through cultural diplomacy. The Institute is a EUNIC member, together with the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture.

  • Information overview via On the Move: On the Move is the cultural mobility information network, providing information and knowledge for artists and cultural professionals active across borders. On this page, you can find all current calls related to the country as well as the latest version of the Cultural Mobility Funding Guide – and more.

4. Other information portals and platforms

– All disciplines

  • The Red House: a debate centre focused on arts and culture in Bulgaria. A good way to keep in touch with current cultural affairs in Sofia and more generally in Bulgaria.
  • Open Space Foundation: founded in 2006 in Bulgaria, with the aim of supporting and promoting the cultural dialogue and relationships through different means of arts and communication. It seeks and creates bridges between tradition and modernity, between cultures, between generations.
  • Barok: Bulgarian Association of Employers in Culture (member of PEARLE).
  • Bulgarian Festival Association (BFA): a non-governmental organization that aims to create and maintain a favorable environment for the development of festivals in Bulgaria. 
  • Festivals: Open media for festivals in Bulgaria, lists over 500 events per year.
  • National Civil Forum for Culture (the Forum): a non-governmental and informal organisation. The forum is a broad coalition of more than 50 civic organisations and NGOs active in all fields of culture, united by their common interest in influencing and participating in cultural policy in Bulgaria. Interesting list of members across all disciplines.
  • Open Society Institute Bulgaria: Open Society Institute – Sofia is a non-governmental organisation, acting for the public benefit, defending the values of the open society in Bulgaria and supporting the integration of the country to the European Union. The Institute was founded in 1990, thanks to a donation of George Soros.

– Visual arts

Union of Bulgarian Artists (UBA): a professional union of artists and art critics, member of IAA/AIAP as well as AICA. The union currently has more than 3,000 artists and critics from all creative generations. Membership is individual and is structured in 17 sections. In its activity UBA supports the realisation of the creative projects of its members; provides them with information on important events and forums of national and international character; assists in making creative contacts.

– Performing arts

  • ONE Dance week: Started in 2008, this festival is dedicated to dance and open to national and international choreographers. It is run by One Foundation, a platform for contemporary culture that also produces the festivals ONE DESIGN WEEK and ONE ARCHITECTURE WEEK. 
  • Derida Dance Center: A member of EDN – European Dancehouse Network, Derida Dance is a relevant Bulgarian organisation for contemporary dance, providing residencies, training (dance PORT Derida), festivals, and taking part in European projects.
  • National Palace of Culture – Congress Centre Sofia (NDK): the largest multifunctional complex in Southeastern Europe. Opened in 1981, it hosts 3 theatres, multiple festivals and multiple large scale projects.

– Music

  • PRS for Music: PRS for Music is the home of the Performing Right Society (PRS) and the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS). 
  • Musicautor: an organisation of authors and music publishers for the management of copyrights. It’s a member of GESAC, BIEM and CISAC.
  • Prophon: a society for collective management of neighbouring rights in music and for 20 years now it has sustained productive partnership between performing artists and producers and all business users of their recordings. Prophon’s team administers the rights of works from the Bulgarian and international repertoire. As member of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and of the Societies’ Council for the Collective Management of Performers’ Rights (SCAPR), PROPHON has access to the best practices in music licencing globally.
  • Bulgarian Music Association: Bulgarian Music Association is the biggest representative music organisation in Bulgaria. Its main goal is to create the appropriate and efficient cultural environment the Bulgarian performing artists deserve. Its aim is to unite professional musicians, to express their position, to represent their position to the authorities, to participate in international projects and to be their representative in legislative procedures.

5. Regional organisations

  • Easttopics: a non-profit initiative dedicated to the promotion of the Eastern European contemporary art field. This cross-border project takes form as an expanding on-line website and database focusing on the following countries: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
  1. The Central European Initiative (CEI): a regional intergovernmental forum which gathers 17 Member States in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. It supports a united Europe with shared values embracing all countries, regions, peoples and citizens; and fosters good governance, rule of law and sustainable economic development for stability, social cohesion, environmental sustainability, security and prosperity. CEI also supports cultural cooperation.
  1. CEC ArtsLink: advocates and supports transnational cultural mobility and collaboration, empowering artists and arts leaders to engage communities in dialogue and creative projects for a more equitable, compassionate, and sustainable world. In many of its funding programmes, it connects the USA with European and Asian countries.
  1. Organisation internationale of la Francophonie (OIF): The Francophonie is also an institution, dedicated since 1970 to promoting the French language and political, educational, economic and cultural cooperation among the 88 member countries of the OIF, among which support for Cultural Diversity

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