Projects and programs

In 2016, the team of the museum made a decision on creating a new website of the organization. In the process of drafting the assignment, the need was identified of a new logo, color code and typography. The leadership of Museum Etar opted for a comprehensive and systematic solution related to a distinct visual identity of both the museum itself, and its range of events and activities.

In 2017, a contest was held for a new visual identity of Museum Etar. Its organization was entrusted to Boril Karaivanov, and three of the leading design studios in Bulgaria: FourPlus, ImageContext и Punkt were invited to take part.

The winner in the contest was Krassen Krestev, Principal of ImageContext—a visual communication studio. Krassen Krestev graduated the National Academy of Art in Sofia with an MFA in Book & Graphic Design in 1997. This was followed by an MDes in Graphic Design in Breda, the Netherlands (2003), and an MDes in Type and Media at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague (2004). He is professor of Graphic Design at the American University in Dubai, UAE.

The Municipality of Gabrovo has transformed the process of creating a new visual identity of Museum Etar into a model used to develop the identity of the city. The initiative is part of the campaign Gabrovo, a creative city of crafts and folk art of UNESCO for the development of the city and the open-air museum as attractive international centers for culture and art.

Strannopriemnitsa (The Inn) Hotel opened in 1981 and had not undergone major reconstruction since then. Present-day reality though has necessitated the transformation of some of its premises into multifunctional halls for events and exhibitions, on the one hand, and dedicating some of its rooms to serve residential programs, on the other.

The main purpose of the contest was an expert, transparent and motivated choice of a conceptual architectural project matching the contest's motives and aimed at the reconstruction and transformation of Strannopriemnitsa Hotel at Museum Etar.

The organization of the contest as well as its assignment was the work of the team of Urbanistas—a platform for urban culture and projects. To find out more about the contest look up the contest's website. All entry projects for the contest were published there, as well as the winners. The No. 1 ranked project received a cash bonus of BGN 10,000 and a contract for direct assignment for the development of a technical design project.

The transformation of Strannopriemnitsa Hotel benefits the improvement of functional connections at Etar Museum, space optimization and adding new functions which will enrich and popularize the museum's work.

In 2016, Museum Etar jointly with Meshtr —traditional knowledge and crafts Association received financing under the program Culture of the Ministry of Culture for the execution of the project In the world of Balkan Range architecture. As part of it, a one-day educational program was developed and tested, comprising three modules: a lecture, presentation of an interactive digital exposition of the Bulgarian Revival Era house and a practical workshop. The program's goal is to popularize the features of Balkan Range Revival architecture and preserved knowledge and technologies in vernacular building construction with natural materials. The practical module focused on making wooden fittings.

The profile of the people who joined the first edition of the program was remarkably diverse – from architects and construction engineers, through artists and restorers, to computer specialists keen on renovation of old houses as a hobby. Three French nationals with interests in Bulgarian Revival Era architecture joined the trainings.

The successful implementation of the project motivated the team of Etar Museum to launch a two-day paid educational program in 2017 under the same motto, In the world of Balkan Range architecture, and with the participation of guest speaker Arpad Roman from the Hungarian open-air museum in the city of Szentendre. He is an engineer specialized in the preservation of historical buildings. The second edition of the educational program was again held jointly with Meshtra Association and was financially supported by the Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria. The trainings were organized in two modules—a lecture course with a variety of topics devoted to vernacular architecture and its preservation, and practical activities with vernacular building technologies and materials.

The third edition of the educational program was already a three-day event carried out jointly again with Meshtra Association and The Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria. Many students from the University of Architecture, Construction and Geodesy in Sofia showed interest in it, and the guest speaker in the theoretical module was Darren Barker from UK who shared his experience in the preservation and restoration of old houses. The practical module focused on work with stone, more notably on dry construction.

The program's fourth edition in 2019 was the most successful one so far and had more than 40 participants. By an established tradition it was organized jointly with Meshtra Association and the Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria. The lecture module offered a variety of topics with special attention given to wood—type of timber used in construction; treatment and ways of processing for the conservation of wooden elements. Guest speaker was architect Damla Acar from Turkey with a presentation of the types of traditional wooden constructive systems in Western Anatolia during the 19^th century. The workshops in the program had a highlight too—practical work with wood.

On the Museum's grounds visitors can see display panels from all editions of the educational program and the works of participants created during the workshops.

KEVIS is a creative initiative of artists ready to experiment in the sphere of land art and kinetic art. Its organizers are the ALOS и Center for Informal Education and Regional Ethnographic Open Air Museum Etar. Partners in the symposium include the Visual Arts chair of St Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia and Art in Action Association.

The symposium's name—KEVIS—derives from writing conversely the name of the River SIVEK that runs across Museum Etar territory. It is a symbolic reference to the mirror properties of the river's water surface and to the importance of water, the beginning of everything.

KEVIS began in 2015 as a youth symposium for kinetic art powered by water which was held with the financial support of America for Bulgaria Foundation as part of the project Parallel steps, parallel spaces. Since 2017, it has targeted professional visual artists and starting in 2018, it claimed an international status. So far KEVIS had had four editions and has emerged as a get-together of different generations of contemporary artists.

The symposium is on the lookout for concurrence of natural givens, local traditions related to the use of water power and contemporary forms of art. It accentuates the river as a source of life and income. Its purpose is to find out how bygone practices of using the power of water in traditional crafts can directly impact the work of artists.
Etar Museum is the logical choice for venue where such ideas would be successfully put into practice. The specific landscape of the region combined with the location of one of Bulgaria's most visited museums provide the ideal conditions and audiences of creative challenges in land art.
Some of the installations made during the symposium's latest two editions are currently on display on Etar Museum's grounds.

The Training aids for little visitors at the open-air museum project was implemented in the period November 2018—July 2019 with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture in connection with the declared competitive session on the theme of The museum as an educational environment. As part of the project, an educational guidebook for children aged from 6 to 13 was created featuring simple and clear descriptions and illustrations of all sites at Etar Museum and an interactive application for learning and fun. By means of various creative activities and games the application allows children to broaden their knowledge about the Bulgarian Revival Era, modern Bulgarian history, traditional crafts, holidays and customs.

The children's guidebook and the application to it address children of pre-school age, primary and secondary school pupils, teachers, families with children willing to gain basic knowledge about the museum, users of services in centers for work with children, authors of textbooks and handbooks for pre-school and school education, persons with special educational needs and minority groups.

Students from the major in Advertising Design at the National Academy of Art joined the project by creating part of the illustrations in the application and the design of the game-map.

With the execution of the Training aids for little visitors at the open-air museum project the team of Etar Museum has created a product which complements and facilitates better understanding of lessons taught in primary school; develops practical skills of pupils by the inclusion of constructive games in the application, riddles, a paper model of a Revival Era house, folk costumes and embroideries for application; supports the work of teachers on the subjects Surrounding World, The Man & Society, History & Civilization, Literature, Technology & Entrepreneurship, Home Occupations & Appliances and Music.

Visual artist Rosina Pencheva has created a digital photo diary which captures moments from her visits to the workshops of Bulgarian masters of rare crafts. The goal of "Crafted by Hand. Photo Diary" is to rekindle interest in rare crafts in Bulgaria, preserve them via photography and inspire new opportunities for their development. The project raises questions about the reasons why a great many crafts in the country have been disappearing and why the continuity between generations of craftspeople has been broken. It seeks to answer what the ways are for the preservation of traditional crafts, and what kind of motivation drives young artisans to make headway in the area they choose. "Crafted by Hand" also explores the connection between crafts and sustainable living, as well as the trend of taking a journey back to the handmade. Rosina Pencheva is a photographer with a remarkable flair and passion for capturing the creative processes in handicrafts and art. Her professional experience in this area began back in 2013. For over four years during that period, she worked as a state photographer at the Etar Museum. "Crafted by Hand. Photo Diary" (rosinapencheva.com/crafted-by-hand ) is carried out with the partnership of the Etar Regional Open-Air Museum, Michelangelo Foundation and Osem magazine. The project strengthens Gabrovo's position as a Creative City of Crafts and Folk Arts in the UNESCO network and is implemented with the financial support of Gabrovo Municipality's program Culture 2022.

Crafted by Hand. Photo Diary