On 16 August 2025, an exhibition opened showing works from the second, 2025 ‘Threads of Time’ Plein-air Event, organised by the ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ National Endowment Fund, jointly with the Municipality of Samokov and the Retro Art Gallery in Samokov. The plein-air event took place from 12 to 16 August, at the Sarafs’ House, the Fund’s regional centre.
This year’s event featured Bulgarian artists—including: Mimi Dobreva, Galab Galabov, Georgi Georgiev, Ivan Milushev, Bozhidar Gonchev and Rumen Atanasov—all working in the field of painting and aquarelle.
The concept of the ‘Threads of Time’ Plein-air Event corresponds fully with the donative mission of NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’, as the Fund will purchase one work by each artist to donate to the Prof. Vasil Zahariev Art Gallery in Samokov, thereby enriching its collection of contemporary Bulgarian art.
The ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ National Endowment Fund envisages the plein-air event to be held annually in Samokov, and to become an essential element of the cultural programme of Samokov Municipality.
We should like to stress that the 2024 ‘Threads of Time’ was made possible with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture. The artists’ works were displayed in the restored Bayrakli Mosque, a cultural monument of national importance.