THE SESSIONS OF THE OLD ART MODULE OF THE “ART READINGS 2023. METAMORPHOSES” INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE END

Between 20 and 22 April at the Institute of Art Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the scientific sessions of the traditional Art Readings international conference, Old Art module, implemented with the support of the Scientific Research Fund – Ministry of Education and Science, were held. The theme of this year's conference was "Metamorphoses". The event was dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Institute of Art Studies (IAS). Prof. Joanna Spassova-Dikova, PhD, Director of the IAS, emphasized in her welcoming speech that the scientists from the Institute have been studying cultural heritage for decades and care for the preservation of traditions and national memory. She expressed the conviction that in these times of the pandemic just past, of war and crises, arts and science could at least a little change the world and people and make them better.

More than 40 scholars from different scientific organizations and universities from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Greece, Albania, North Macedonia, Poland, Russia, and Germany took part in the meetings and discussions of the Old Art module, which took place within the framework of the three-day program. They presented their latest studies with new interpretations, and often unpublished materials, united around the problem of the transformations of the artistic image and the specific historical and ideological reasons that drive the changes. The focus of the program was the plenary reports “The Charisma of Troy: the Art of Success, Strategy and War” by Prof. Elena Beck of DePaul University of Chicago, USA, "Metamorphoses of the Decorated Letter" by Prof. Elisaveta Musakova and “Nine Centuries of Art Reflected in the Bilateral Lithium Icons from Nessebar” by Assoc. Prof. Ralitsa Ruseva. For another year, the proceedings from the conference will be united in a thematic collection that will undoubtedly take a worthy place in the series published so far and which we hope will also be successfully indexed and referenced in Web of Science. The sessions of the Old Art module were broadcasted directly on the Internet and, if interested, can be viewed on the IAS YouTube channel. The organisers of the forum express their gratitude to all participants in the conference.
 
Photos: Ivan Vanev