Under the conditions of physical distancing and closed cultural and educational institutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists at the Institute of Art Studies (IAS) provide temporary on-line access to their rare and expensive editions on the site: http://artstudies.bg/?page_id=12195 These editions are dedicated to up-to-date studies on the culture and art of Bulgaria and the world and are in small circulation, intended primarily for experts, richly illustrated and representative, but scientists believe that in a state of crisis and limited communication such books would contribute to easier tolerance of forced self-isolation. Certain editions of IAS are also dedicated to Christian art, and the on-line access to them is related to the upcoming Easter holidays. In this regard, the director of the Institute, Prof. Dr. Emmanuel [...]

Exhibits of the National Ethnographic Museum are in Wittgenstein House on the occasion of the National Day of Bulgaria On the eve and on the occasion of the National Day of Bulgaria, on 3 March 2020, the exhibition "First impression is from your clothes..." was opened in Wittgenstein House in Vienna. It was part of the program to mark 142 years since the Liberation of Bulgaria. A special guest of the event was our country's ambassador to Austria, H.E. Dr. Ivan Sirakov. The National Ethnographic Museum - Sofia presented costumes and jewelry from its collection and aquarelles of the artist Evgenia Lepavtsova. The story of the Bulgarians' clothing will be in Vienna until 28 March 2020. The curators of the exhibition are Vasil Baltadzhiev and [...]

Two digitalization laboratories will be set up at the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum of BAS which participates in the “Heritage BG” Center of Excellence. The “Digital Ethnographic Archive” laboratory will digitize photographs, sketches, drawings and documents collected in the Institute’s descriptive anthropology archive since 1906. Their digitization will provide easy and quick access to them by scientists and society. At the same time, valuable historical and ethnographic artifacts will be stored under the necessary conditions to preserve them, without difficulty in handling the information contained therein. The Laboratory for the Digitization of Intangible Cultural Heritage will be situated in the National Center of Intangible Cultural Heritage (NCICH) at IEFSEM - BAS. It will aim to document, preserve and promote the [...]

The University of Södertörn in Stockholm, Sweden, has conferred the honorary title of Doctor Honoris Causa on Prof. Dr. Elena Marushiakova. The title is awarded in connection with her contribution to the development of Romani studies and their inclusion as an academic discipline. Elena Marushiakova is an associate professor at the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum of BAS and a professor at St. Andrews University in the UK, where she is currently working on a study of the civil emancipation of the Roma in the periods between the two world wars. She is one of the world's leading scientists in this field. Prof. Dr. Elena Marushiakova is the President of the Gypsy Lore Society, the oldest and most respected international organization [...]

On 17 January 2020, a scientific round table was held at the Central Military Club organized by the Institute for Historical Studies of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Independent Historical Society on "Jewish labor service during World War II - rescue plan or repressive measure". The round table was attended by the Deputy Minister of Education and Science Petar Nikolov, the Deputy Minister of Culture Rumen Dimitrov, the Member of Parliament Assoc. Prof. Milen Mihov, the Vice-President of BAS Prof. Vassil Nikolov, the Director of the Office of the American Jewish Committee in Bulgaria, representatives of the organization Shalom, the Bulgarian-Jewish Research Institute, the Archives State Agency and other public and scientific organizations. The results of a scientific project of the Institute for [...]