site.btaIglika Festival Invites Submissions for Creative Contest Amid Historic Kilim Display

A photo contest with prizes will take place during the Iglika Kilim Fest, the organizers from the Nevena Kokanova 2011 Community Centre, in cooperation with the Bulgarian Kilim Foundation, announced Wednesday.

Participants are asked to send up to three photographs and (or) videos for the contest’s two competitive categories: photo and video. Both professionals and amateurs are eligible to enter the competition.

August 1 through 3, the northern village of Iglika near Gabrovo hosts the Iglika Kilim Fest featuring nearly 900 authentic Bulgarian handwoven kilims from the 18th, 19th and 20th century. The festival will showcase the antique kilims outdoors on a 1-ha site, alongside around 100 more displayed within the village’s unique Revival architecture. The exceptional collection of carpets, which will be displayed for the first time in its entirety, belongs to Jacob van Beelen, a Dutch collector and passionate advocate for preserving Bulgarian intangible cultural heritage, who lives and works in Bulgaria.

Organized by the Nevena Kokanova 2011 Community Centre with support from the Gabrovo Municipality’s 2025 Culture Fund, the event is part of Gabrovo’s bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2032.

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) is the official media partner of the event.