Before and After — Reflections on the History of Museums and Communism in Bulgaria

Abstract

On 19 September 2011 the Museum of Socialist Art opened its doors in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Previously, the only attempt at exhibiting the communist period in a Bulgarian museum was a short-lived exhibition at the National Art Gallery in 2009, which had provoked enormous interest. In considering the reasons why it took the country 22 years to introduce this controversial period in a museum, this paper concentrates on context, outlining the more recent changes that have occurred in Bulgarian culture and facilitated a renewed attitude and approach.