101 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria
Stamp, Ink pad, Postcards, Wooden box, Aludibond sign, Wood from Tsarino
2022

The renowned initiative "100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria" is a national movement established in 1966 to promote tourism among Bulgaria's most significant cultural, historic and natural landmarks, during a time when Bulgarians themselves were not allowed to travel freely.
Travelers are encouraged to visit selected attractions throughout Bulgaria and have their membership booklets stamped. Depending on the number of stamps collected, participants may receive bronze, silver or gold badges.

The original list of these monuments included several communist landmarks, which were replaced by a new list after 1989 (removing sites such as the now-disgraced Buzludzha Memorial House). The monuments are now selected by a variety of organizations and institutions, among them "The Union of Bulgarian Motorists" and "The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church“.

Bianca Pedrina introduces Razklon Gallery as the 101st tourist site, guarded by a grumpy cat from Plovdiv who greets the brave travelers who have made it to this remote art gallery. A custom designed stamp  and postcard can be collected here as a reward.

"The phenomenon of rural exodus and the resulting mass of abandoned villages in many European countries are leading to curious initiatives such as the sale of 1-euro houses in Italy to preserve old village centers. Alternatively, there are creative projects, such as that of the Tsarino Foundation, that are breathing new life into villages thought to be dead. As positive and rewarding as such a cultural undertaking is for all involved, it also has the potential, as we all know, to gentrify streets, neighborhoods and communities over the long term.
However, the chances that Razklon Gallery will contribute to the gentrification of Tsarino are certainly small, but I would nevertheless like to play with this idea here."

 

Razklon Gallery is a project by the Tsarino Foundation:
The Tsarino Foundation is an international collective of artists and an architect. While restoring a formerly abandoned village in the Bulgarian Rhodope Mountains, their primary purpose is to function as an art platform.

"Razklon Gallery / Pазклон Галерия is a showcase we constructed by the road to Tsarino, providing 1m3 of exhibition space. It is named after its location by a fork in the road: ‘razklon’ is Bulgarian for ‘split’. The Razklon Gallery presents a new artwork several times a year, made by artists from anywhere in the world. The showcase is located in the midst of nature with the local community, cows and other animals as its primary audience."

 

Special thanks to Terry Vreeburg, Johanna Pichlbauer, Vasilena Gankovska