Cultural habits

Stefka Tsaneva's work focuses on culture and organizing cultural events. Although this has always included a wide range of events and genres, her personal passion is contemporary art – looking at it, thinking and writing about it, curating and organizing exhibitions. She has also been working in radio since high school, and between 2014 and 2019 she was one of the founders and hosts of the program Moleskin on BNR Radio Plovdiv. Until recently, she was also supporting creative processes as part of the Goethe Institute in Bulgaria team. In her current work as a curator, she is particularly interested in political art, the global climate crisis, sound art, and sound sculpture. Something few people know about her is that she has a degree in Scandinavian studies, which is why she speaks Swedish, a little Danish and of course adores Ingmar Bergman.

How did you end up in the art world?

I come from a family that was never interested in art, museums were just another item on the standard list of sights to see as a tourist. I became interested in art much later, when I was already living in Berlin. It happened gradually. I have always regretted the fact that I did not become interested in art earlier, and maybe that is why I am especially interested in the topic of art mediation and education.

Why is cultural management still a poorly-understood profession in Bulgaria?

Yes, "cultural manager" sounds quite exotic. Although I have taken part in and also organized the Academy of Cultural Management, calling it a "profession" still sounds strange to me. Maybe it's because it's quite a lonely job, not very well-paid, and involves a constant struggle for or against something. However, cultural management is important for professionalization within the field of culture more generally. I think it is high time to part with the cliché that there is no place for management, marketing, etc. in the world of high art. There are people whose talent lies in painting, writing or directing. But that doesn't make them good managers.

How would you explain to a child the contribution that a curator, critic or cultural manager can make?

I would say that the curator tells a big story (the exhibition), made up of smaller stories (the works shown). A critic is someone who shares his thoughts on a certain topic or event with an audience, readers, listeners, who in this way can learn something new or compare their own impressions to the critic's. The cultural manager is the one who organizes events, projects and processes, and thus helps the artistic team realize their ideas in the best possible way. I personally perceive my role – as manager or curator – as creating favorable conditions for art to happen. I like to think of this as a kind of care (this is literally the origin of the word "curator") - for artists and art.

What are the main "tools" and qualities you rely on in your work?

I personally rely on organization and accuracy, which are sometimes lacking in creative environments. It may sound absurd, but my personal secret is spreadsheets. Most people can't stand Excel, but I find comfort in putting everything in tables and charts.

Working with so many artists can probably get quite emotional. Is there a special psychological trick you have developed over the years?

I don't know where I would draw the line between psychological trick and manipulation (laughs). I don't have a particular trick, rather I try to be honest and direct. But the truth is that often the care I mentioned above includes psychological support. To support someone, to encourage them, to show them that you appreciate their work.

Why is cultural criticism still a largely absent genre in Bulgaria?

This is a very complicated question and I have discussed it so many times with friends and colleagues that I am a little tired of it. I don't think anyone in particular is to blame for anything (but I can't help noting we often forget the role played by media when we discuss this). Just because we are used to criticism in the form of articles, columns, reports or programs, does not mean that this is the only possible form of criticism. Maybe it will find new channels and forms of expression. Or maybe in a year or two it will be revived in the same familiar formats. But in any case, this will happen when there is a need for it. Maybe there is no need for it right now - maybe critics don't feel like writing it, audiences don't feel like reading it, and media doesn't feel like publishing it.

What topics do you find exciting as a curator right now?

At the moment, I am particularly interested in political art, the global climate crisis and sound art, sound and sound sculpture.

Tell us about the project with which you applied to represent Bulgaria at this year's Venice Biennale of Arts.

The project title was "Science of Imagination" and it included works by Tekla Aleksieva, who is well known for her designs for the book covers in the Biblioteka Galaktika science fiction series, Antoni Rayzhekov with an installation of objects, sound and video, created using artificial intelligence that analyzed tens of thousands of news articles, two video pieces by Kalin Serapionov, one of which is my favorite – “Blond woman with bright lipstick smokes a cigarette and talks on the phone,” and a performance on roller skates and a sound sculpture by Valentina Trayanova. It was a very interesting challenge and experience for me as a young curator. The topic of Venice is extremely broad and important, and I think that more and more young artists and curators should be actively involved in it. I hope that next time there will be more entries from younger colleagues. As for the chosen project by Mihail Mihailov and Irina Batkova – I am extremely glad that they will represent Bulgaria and, in a sense, those of us who work in the field of art. I personally identify with this choice and I imagine that I would be proud of our national entry if someone I know from abroad asked me about it.

What would make you go back to an audio format similar to Moleskin, and what are you listening to these days? 

Oh, radio is such a passion of mine… I have been involved in radio since I was sixteen, when I was on the student team for the show Fire on the air on Radio Stara Zagora. Then I was part of  the show Insomnia. Then came Moleskin on Radio Plovdiv, later on Radio Sofia, where we asked people we admired to present their favorite music. I have been asked many times if I am an avid music lover, but I realized that my passion is not music, but meeting people whose work I really appreciate and talking to them about the things they like. Music is just the pretext for a more casual and honest conversation. So, yes, I'm constantly thinking about going back to audio formats. Maybe that's why I'm so excited about sound art and artists like Lawrence Abu Hamdan, who do research on acoustic memory and perception, and the political effects of listening. If I was to return to that, it would likely be in the form of podcasts.

How do you relax?

The darkness of the theater or cinema calms me down. And usually going to DNK or a good dance performance not only calms me down, but also energizes me. But the most important things for my mental health are sweets and coffee, so my place of escape and salvation is a good pastry shop.

The last thing that made you pause and think?

The article "The women in the fur coats. How to collect photographs from the repressions against Muslims" (published in Svobodna Evropa) by Diana Ivanova, whom I admire very much.

Where can a person run into you?

Until recently, it was the Goethe Institute. In the future, maybe you're more likely to find me outside – at the opening of an exhibition, for example. Or at a pastry shop on a late weekday afternoon.

When do you find it easiest and therefore most difficult to follow yourself?

It's easiest for me to follow myself when I'm not alone. When I am surrounded by people who support me and whom I would like to follow. It is most difficult for me to follow myself when there is hatred and pettiness around me. That is why following yourself in Bulgaria can sometimes be really difficult.

This interview is part of the #followmyself series, which is supported by Fashion Days.