At midnight the moon lights up a city wide awake, as colours stream down its streets and human speech merges with a river of music. The vigil banishes sleep, because this is the Night of Museums & Galleries in Plovdiv and magical routes take visitors to unexpected spots where arts disclose their secrets. On 11 and 12 September the City under the Hills will welcome the guests of the eleventh edition of the festival in a bid to offer a new outlook on the world - with the assistance of Bulgarian and foreign men of art and with more than a hundred events arranged in five programs. More details, from the Night Plovdiv CEO Victor Yankov:

“The festival programs include Museums & Galleries, Culture & Club that covers cultural institutions such as the Opera House, the Drama Theater and the Stage at Crossroads Festival, plus the concerts in most bars and clubs with a year-round program. City & Public Spaces is targeted at open spaces where spectators will be watching theater, contemporary dance and opera. We have a program for kids too - The Small Night scheduled for the earlier hours. Our Curator Program focuses on contemporary art and features projects from the embassies of Austria and the United States, as well as of the French Cultural Institute."

Deep War is a project of French artist Maxime Bondu. Using a computer experiment in which a chessboard sees the clash between two artificial intellects he raises the issue of the awakening of conscience and the spirit of the machine. An exhibition arranged like a conspiracy theory - this is what Americanaesoterica is about. It uses rituals, superstition, alchemy and magic to explore esoteric trends in contemporary art.

“Americanaesoterica is the traditional American appearance during the Night”, Victor Yankov goes on to say. “Curator Aaron Moulton from Los Angeles presents six big names in contemporary art including Mike Bouchet, Sterling Ruby and Jason Metcalf. The project is arranged in several spots of the city including the former Cosmos Movie Theater where a screening is planned. Exhibitions will open at Sariev Contemporary Gallery. In fact, this is one of the achievements of this year's festival - attracting big names able to place Plovdiv on the map of contemporary art.”

Eyal Rob, political scientist by education, but a DJ by vocation will deliver a lecture entitled From King Solomon to the Heart of 21 c. Clubbing - the Evolution of a Music Motif. He will use a verse from The Song of Songs to demonstrate a uniquely transformed mix that has triumphed on stage in Israel.

Classical music too will be on during the Night. The Plovdiv Opera House comes up with a surprise with a show of Graffiti Opera - arias and duets from famous musicals and operas performed in the open space of Kapana neighbourhood. The ballet show Pulse unites dance studies by contemporary Bulgarian choreographers.

National autumn exhibitions have become a tradition in the Old Town. With En passant par la vieille ville (Passing through the Old Town) curator Galina Lardeva strives to visualize the ways we look at objects that surround us. For the purpose she uses a term from chess and the messages of nine artists.

The Small Night program for kids is packed with workshops, readings, exhibitions plus a training catapult launch at a height of 50 m and other surprises. More from Victor Yankov:

“It is important that we have a special program for children during the Night and that we manage to engage the attention of kids and focus it on culture in an intelligent, attractive and communicative way. In fact this is one of the most important aspects of the festival, so I would ask families to look at the program and choose events for their kids: some jazz and rock music in the Old Town or a Hebrew lesson at Shalom Alleyhem cultural center.”

For the first time the Night of Museums & Galleries in Plovdiv has provided tourist guides who should lead guests into the festival labyrinth. The journey could very well start from the Small Basilica - there magnificent mosaics from the Large Basilica aged more than 1600 years will be featured in a multimedia show. They are currently in a process of restoration.

English Daniela Konstantinova