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Anka IGNATOVA: The Museum of Socialist Art in Bulgaria and its Public Response 385
are depicted, and also post cards, books, films etc. Plaques and badges from the socialist
epoch with antiquarian value could also be bought in the shop, as well as copies of
curious posters from the same period.
The greater part of the art works included in the museum exhibition belong to the
collection of the National Museum of Bulgarian Fine Art while others have been placed
at the museum’s disposal by municipalities and other galleries. Some of the exhibits are
shown to the public for the first time.
With a view to the future development of the museum its governing body makes plans
for the sculpture park to be complemented and enriched, and the exposition in the interior
part to be periodically changed and thus other curators and authors to be given the
opportunity to present their idea of the period 6 .
Do the today’s rulers manage to “bring socialism in the museum” as the Minister of
culture has declared even before the opening of the Museum of Socialist Art 7 and does
the transition to democracy of Bulgaria end with the starting of this museum symbolizing
the long and painful parting of the country with communism as the Associated Press
correspondent Veselin Toshkov notes 8 ?
This is a controversial issue. Anyway, it is certain that though the museum has found its
fans, it has also managed to provoke a wave of discontent among various layers of the
Bulgarian society. One of the reasons for this is the substitution of its name.
According to the initial idea this new museum institution should be devoted to the
totalitarian and not to the socialist art which in the opinion of many specialists does not
exist. The so called “Concept of the leading museums in the capital city” of the Ministry
of culture, adopted by the Council of ministers on 10 th of February 2010 and aiming at
improving of the existing structure of the museum network in Sofia and changing the
town into an attractive centre of international cultural tourism, provides for the
establishing of four museum complexes among which a museum of totalitarian art. It is
pointed out in the document that Bulgaria is one of the last countries from the former
Eastern bloc in Europe to have such a museum connected with the totalitarian period and
that such a museum would fill in “a gap in our museum network by creating a museum
environment in which representative specimens of the art created in our recent past to be
exhibited”. A concept was promoted that this museum should be “part of the network of
traces of that time, which can be found in all areas of Sofia: from the suburbs (monument
“Flag of Peace”, Boyana Residence) to the city centre (the Largo complex, the
undergrounds of the former mausoleum, the Monument to the Soviet Army, the Common
Grave, etc.) 9 .
An area was fixed for the building of the museum in immediate proximity of its today’s
site. According to the authors of the mentioned Concept the situating of the museum out
of the historical centre of the capital city is a priority since the specified place is not
burdened with other historical signification and allows impartial apprehension of the
exposition, and besides it is easily accessible by convenient transport connections. It was
planned that the museum to consist of two parts – indoor and outdoor one where art
works from the socialist epoch to be exhibited 10 . In a communique for the press of the
Ministry of culture from 17.09.2010 on the occasion of journalist questions about the idea
of its establishing, the museum is not mentioned by a concrete name but is defined as “a
museum for works of art by outstanding Bulgarian authors that have lived and worked in
the period after the World War II until 10 th of November 1989”. The document makes
public the proposals that have been received to be discussed at an expert level. One of