site.bta21st OIDFA World Lace Congress to be Held in Bulgaria in August, to Feature Buffaloes and Lace Exhibition

The Buffaloes and Lace exhibition will be part of the 21st OIDFA World Lace Congress of the International Bobbin and Needle Lace Organization (OIDFA, L’Organisation Internationale de la Dentelle au Fuseau et à l’Aiguille), which will be held in August in Bulgaria, the curator of the exhibition Assoc. Prof. Iva Kyurkchieva told to BTA.

The exhibition can be viewed until September 3 at the  Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at BAS (IEFSEM – BAS). It will present five paintings by artist Evgeni Serafimov and five lace transformations, the work of Bistra Pisancheva, which are based on the artist's paintings.

Kyurkchieva said that during the exhibition there will also be demonstrations, probably every Saturday and Sunday in July and August. Lacemakers will be able to see the shuttle lace technique itself. “For people who are more open-minded, it is quite impressive, attractive and intriguing to the eye," she added.

Kyurkchieva noted that the 21st OIDFA World Lace Congress will be held in Bulgaria for the first time, hosted by the municipality of Karlovo. With the Buffaloes and Laces exhibition, attending lacemakers from all over the world will have another place where an interpretation of shuttle lace can reach them. “We decided that it would be nice to have events related to lace in different places in the country,” explained the curator.

Kyurkchieva said that her cooperation with lacemakers is long-standing. “In 2011, we had our first exhibition here with the Sedyankata studio and Bistra Pisancheva. Since then, we have had series of long-term collaborations with this informal community of lacemakers every two years,” she explained.

The two authors of the works featured in the exhibitions have known each other for a long time, and they clearly inspire each other with their work, Kyurkchieva pointed out.

Evgeni Serafimov is from Kyustendil, he is engaged in teaching and has participated in many international exhibitions, he is also involved in land art. He is known in Bulgaria and abroad. "His technique is very interesting, a combination of cement, glue, paper and coloured pigment," noted the curator.

Bistra Pisancheva uses a technique of shuttle lace, also known in this country as Kalofer lace. "She works on a huge scale, she tries to show that this traditional technique can find its place in modern times, i.e. everything can be made with it, from paintings, jewelry, martenitsas, and now in our exhibition you will be able to enjoy her transformations of Evgeni Serafimov's buffaloes. The texture, the contrast, the natural materials that she uses, wool, thicker, thinner threads, to achieve contrast within her works, are impressive," Kyurkchieva also noted.

She pointed out that Bistra Pisancheva's long-term pursuits are highly valued in Europe and Latin America. She participated in a series of trainings, and completed a doctorate at Sofia University, specifically on the social practices and cultural technologies of shuttle and stitched lace.