By Raluca Neamu, project manager
The touring exhibition “Fake for Real” opened on the second stop of its journey in Sofia on the 12th of July 2024, in the beautiful, hot and bustling capital city of Bulgaria. The National Ethnographic Museum welcomed the history exhibition about fakes and forgeries with a fresh perspective and location. The magnificent former royal palace has housed the museum since 1954 in the very centre of Sofia, though the museum was originally founded in 1892, and presents the traditional Bulgarian way of life and culture. As an interdisciplinary field in its own right, the ethnological museum fits perfectly with the transdisciplinary approach of the Fake for Real touring exhibition.
A wide audience participated in the opening: colleagues and friends of the museum, the Vice President of Bulgaria Iliyana Yotova, the Minister of Culture Nayden Todorov, the Chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Science Julian Revalski, President of the America for Bulgaria Foundation Nancy Schiller, and representatives of diplomatic missions in Bulgaria. The hosts were represented by the Director of Ethnology and Folklore at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Professor Vladimir Penchev, and Dr. Iglika Mishkova, the Museum Director.
The opening speeches illustrated the importance of the topic of the exhibition and the need for Bulgarian society to deal with the current wave of disinformation, noting that history teaches people how to better identify the lies they are exposed to on a frequent basis.
A new part of the touring exhibition included an interactive mirrored installation on Bulgarian case-studies about fake news in media, as well as disinformation related to the Belene labour camp in Communist Bulgaria. This added a keen sense of relevance to the whole exhibition for the local audience.
The exhibition is open until the 20th of October 2024 and is ready to welcome curious visitors from 12 years old, during normal visits or special educational programs. Following this, the exhibition will then move to the Open Society Archive in Budapest, Hungary.
Gallery
Exhibition and opening event photos taken by Toni Tonchev.
