For those of us who do not have the opportunity to visit the French capital to get acquainted with the unique art installation "L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped", Sofia Municipality is preparing a series of meetings with the art of the creative tandem Christo and Jean-Claude.

From September 8 to November 7, the Sofia City Gallery will host a large-scale exhibition "Christo and Jean-Claude. Life = Works = Projects” by Wolfgang Volz, who has been their official photographer since 1971. Through 47 colour and black-and-white wide-format photographs, the audience will once again encounter various projects by artists over the decades and will take a peek into their studio in order to feel their inspiration and the tremendous energy and hard work they invested in it.  A catalog, film screenings, lectures and tours with the curators will accompany the exhibition.

VivacomArtHall Oborishte 5 Gallery will present a retrospective exhibition of Christo and Jean-Claude, dedicated to the project "Wrapping of the Arc de Triomphe" in Paris. It will open on September 9 and run until October 6.

And more - until September 15 in the City Garden and until September 24 in the garden in front of "Crystal" posters from the Museum Collection of the National Academy of Arts will be presented, which trace the chronological creative growth of world-famous conceptualists Christo and Jean-Claude.

Special emphasis in the programme will be the lectures of Sophie Dupleix - chief curator of the Georges Pompidou Centre, Matthias Koddenberg - a long-time friend of Christo and Jean-Claude and a researcher of their work, as well as the Bulgarian artist Lachezar Boyadzhiev. The initiative is entitled "Observing with understanding" and is organized by the “Art - Affairs and Documents” Foundation in partnership with the Goethe Institute and the Children's Architectural Workshop.

In the month dedicated to Christo, the Bulgarian graffiti artist Nasimo will create a memorial mural on the facade of the Sofia Mathematical High School, dedicated to the creative tandem, famous for "wrapping" in various fabrics monumental structures and natural sites around the world.

The Master of Art Festival will also take part in the events, with one of the highlights of the programme on September 10 being the screening of the documentary "Christo in Paris" (1990), about the wrapping project of Pont Neuf in the French capital.

Compiled by Veneta Nikolova

English version Rositsa Petkova