Head of BTA Says Bulgaria Has Always Been Part of Common European Cultural Space

Nikolay Zabov, Yanitsa Hristova

BTA Director General Kiril Valchev speaking in Berlin, December 8, 2025 (BTA Photo/Emil Granicharov)

Berlin,

08.12.2025 23:47

(BTA)

Tags

about BTA

Speaking at the presentation of the German-language edition of BTA's LIK magazine dedicated to Christo and Jeanne-Claude here on Monday, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said that Bulgaria has always been a part of the common European cultural space of free people, while Bulgarians and Germans are linked by a common cultural tradition. The presentation, hosted by the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Berlin, marked Christo and Jeanne-Claude's 90th birth anniversaries and the 30th anniversary of the wrapping of the Reichstag done by the two artists.

Other guests at the event included Culture Minister Marian Bachev, National Art Gallery Director Aneliya Nikolaeva, the Ambassador of Bulgaria to Germany Grigor Porozhanov, and German-Bulgarian Forum Chair Volker Berresheim. More than 100 guests attended the event, mainly Germans as well as representatives of the Bulgarian community in Berlin, including Union of Composers Chair Tsenko Minkin, choreographer Eleonora Aleksandrova, jazz musician Vladimir Karparov, artists Vesela Grigorieva and Ivan Kostolov, writer Veso Portarski, Deutsche Welle journalist Marinela Lipcheva and others.

Valchev pointed out that this edition of LIK will also be published in French and in English, as it has been 40 years since the wrapping of Pont Neuf in Paris and 20 years since The Gates installation in New York.

The head of BTA said that a suitable commemorative plaque should be considered for Christo in Berlin. He stated: "A square or street could be named after him, as a square near Pont Neuf in Paris was named, or a plaque could be placed on the Reichstag. Thanks to Christo, this is also one of the Bulgarian places around the world."

He added that this memory proves that even in times of totalitarian rule, division and isolation, the Bulgarian people created free individuals. "The importance of this should be understood best in Germany, which went through both fascism and communism, and above all here in Berlin, which was divided by a physical wall," the BTA Director General said.

The head of BTA expressed his gratitude to the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Berlin, the Ministry of Culture, and to the Bulgarian Embassy in Berlin for making the event possible. The publication of LIK magazine in German is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Lidl and Kyashif EOOD.

Since January 2024 LIK magazine has been freely accessible. All issues including the German-language issue entitled Christo und Jeanne-Claude mit 90 Jahren in der Ewigkeit can be downloaded from BTA's website.

/NZ/