Public presentation of the Plan for Attraction of Audiences

FestivitIN’ the Neighbourhood project ended with a public presentation of the Plan for Attraction of Audiences. The activity is a joint collaboration with the partner Oslo International Hub from Norway and aims to provide guidance for future actions and the use of innovative approaches to attract audiences that would enable local cultural operators to develop their art in an environment of continuous transformation and changing expectations and demands. Ilia Devedzhiev – actor, script writer, director of a children’s theater, or in short, an artist with many incarnations, entered the role of an expert from the Bulgarian side in the process. At the basis of his attempt to take a snapshot of the situation of the Gabrovo cultural scene, exposed thanks to the results of the project, are the complex relations between the Audience and the Provider of a cultural product. The dynamics of cultural processes and finding effective ways to attract an audience turns out to be vital for the development, survival and general existence of state and municipal formations, NGOs and the free sector.

The merit of FestivitIN’ the Neighbourhood in the most general aspect is decentralization, because the project gave the people of the neighborhoods the opportunity to discover the cultural players in the city and the path to them. It proved that the saying “If Muhammad does not go to the mountain, the mountain goes to Muhammad” still applies. And that the socialization of non-traditional spaces in the periphery and turning them into a scene of cultural events can be an effective way to attract audiences.

“This project touched the senses of the people of Gabrovo and the feelings of those who are related to culture in general. It showed that we can boldly experiment and the experience was relatively successful. Now we have another challenge – after we have already understood that we can, that this model works and that people need and have the right for different cultural formats to be accessible for them, FestivitIN’ the Neighbourhood’2 follows, which I believe will be realized thanks to “Culture” program of the Municipality of Gabrovo, where one of the priorities was formulated with the idea of continuing this approach,” said the mayor of Gabrovo, Tanya Hristova, during the event.

This publication was created within the project BGCULTURE-2.002-006-C01 “FestivitIN’ the Neighbourhood “, contract No. РА14-Р2-2.2-РД-3/05.10.2022, Program PA 14 “Cultural entrepreneurship, heritage and cooperation”, financed under the FM of the EEA 2014-2021.