The sessions of the Old Art Module of Art Readings 2025, Arts and Archives, 3 – 5 April, Sofia, ended at the Institute of Art Studies – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

This year’s edition of the international scientific conference Art Readings, Old Art Module, once again brought together scholars from various European scientific institutions, especially from the Balkans. With a focus on cultural heritage archives, art researchers of the Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Pre-modern Age presented their studies on sculptural, painting, architectural, and other monuments in their context of museum collections, written materials, personal archives, sources from field studies, evidence of movements of masters and works, etc. The scientific forum was organised in chronologically and thematically structured units – scientific sessions ending with open discussions on issues of collection, storage, access, and use of archives in research work. All these problems logically led to another important issue that concerns all researchers: how will the next generations inherit these testimonies? The future of archives was an integral part of the thematic sessions of the last day, with the shared experience in digitising archives, the use of digital resources, their sustainability in developing digital technologies, and especially in the context of artificial intelligence.
The sessions of the Old Art module were broadcast directly on the Internet; anyone interested can watch them on the IAS YouTube channel. For another year, the forum was implemented with the support of the Scientific Research Fund of the Ministry of Education and Science (contract No. КП-06-МНФ/46/16.12.2024). The organisers also thank the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum – BAS; the National Archaeological Institute with Museum – BAS; and the National Gallery and the Regional History Museum – Sofia, which supported the event.

 

Photo credit: Julia Staneva ©