Embroidery from the history of the Zhenski Pazar Market

Art Gallery Serdica opens its doors to fans of Bulgarian traditions and folklore with a non-traditional exhibition that will show the history of the Zhenski Pazar Market through Bulgarian embroidery. From July 23 to August 29, 2020, the guests of Art Gallery Serdica will see for the first time 27 embroidered sleeves, typical for the women’s costume of the Sofia region, which are part of Margarita Georgieva’s personal collection. The sleeves were created by her grandmother Sevda and sold here at the Zhenski Pazar Market in the period between 1924 and 1948. The curator of the Embroidery from the history of the Zhenski Pazar Market exhibition is the young Stefania Ilieva, great-granddaughter of grandmother Sevda.

The Embroidery from the history of the Zhenski Pazar Market exhibition will tell about the importance of the sleeve in the Bulgarian costume. In the past, the Sofia sleeve was called svilenitsa and was one of the most saturated with embroidery, ornament and color in our folklore embroidery tradition. The 27 embroidered sleeves that will be displayed in Art Gallery Serdica are authentic samples from the beginning of the 20th century with approximate dimensions of 30×52 cm and are exhibited in frames.

The guests of Art Gallery Serdica will also be able to enjoy a reproduction of Anton Mitov’s painting “Market in Sofia” from 1899, provided by the Sofia City Art Gallery, as well as documents, archival facts about the trade on the Zhenski Pazar Market. Art cards, which are part of Zdravko Petrov’s personal collection from the “Historical Routes” of Sofia, will also be exhibited.

Stefania Ilieva was born in 2002 in Sofia. This year she will graduate from the Xaverian College in Manchester, England and continue her studies at the Central Saint Martents, UAL, London, specialty Exhibition Curation. Embroidery from the history of the Zhenski Pazar Market is her first exhibition as a curator.

Margarita Georgieva was born in 1948 in Sofia and has been engaged in embroidery since she was a child. She has been a member of the Masters Association since 2004. She has encyclopedic knowledge of Bulgarian national embroidery and ornament. In her long practice as a craftsman and master she has been the author of costumes and embroidery for exhibitions, films, theater, music and dance performances in the country and abroad. She is one of the founders of “Vezba Workshop” – embroidery school and a demonstration center of embroidery techniques and ornaments.

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