CULTURAMA Festival Birds – Paradise on Earth

CULTURAMA is here again to change our surroundings through provocation, to give pleasure and to offer a shared experience. CULTURAMA is a democratic stage, open to everyone who “has ears to hear and eyes to see”.

Through artistic provocation, the festival aims to turn the perspective around, to turn the square from a place of protest into a place of fiesta, and to build a community through shared experience. It is no accident that birds were the main ambassadors of the organisers’ ideas in 2023.

Ambassadors, nomads, symbols of freedom and constant movement, birds have inspired authors and performers for centuries. Since ancient times poets have given birds the symbolism of emotional states and human characters, and birds have accompanied religious rites and rituals. Thanks to music, this symbolism lives on today. Birds are all around us – the magical soundtrack of the city. The music programme follows this allegory, with provocative projects where classical music meets popular music and flights of fancy create a new reality – the project “Birds – Paradise on Earth”, the concert “Rammstein on Two Pianos”, the musical fiesta of Roda do Cavaco and more.

This edition was a special collaboration with the French Institute in Bulgaria (opens in a new tab), celebrating Fête de la Musique with free entry to most events.

CULTURAMA landed on Slaveykov Square, at the Toplocentrala Regional Centre for Contemporary Arts, Pavazh bar, the French Institute in Bulgaria, the Polish Institute in Sofia and the Episcopal Basilica in Plovdiv. The artists included the French duo Jean Boucault & Johnny Rasse, flautist Claire Marchal, the Paris-based Ardeo quartet, the pianists of Duo Jatekok, the Brazilian band Roda do Cavaco and well-known Bulgarian musicians – soprano Ina Kancheva and percussionists Vassilena Serafimova, Nikolay Ivanov, Gabriel Michaud, Demetra Andzhalika and Georgi Budinov.