Sunday 5 August 2012

Georgi Stankov at Psychodrama festival 2012

by: Georgi Stankov

 From 20th to 22th of January 2012 in Plovdiv was held Psychodrama festival, organized by "Centaur Art Foundation" and the Bulgarian Society for Psychodrama and Group Therapy

The festival's main aim was to assure a creative space where psychodrama practitioners could share their experience and ideas. The fest was open not only for the psychotherapeutic community, but for wide circles of people: students, artists, professionals in various types of training practices, communication areas, management, business, and others. 

For years I believe that the most meaningful thing we can make as a community is to go beyond the therapeutic model of psychodrama. There are many people "outside" who need support, but would not enter into a therapeutic center - Psychodrama should think of them and should sought to work with them. Psychodrama is able to heal even in a non-thrapeutic setting, says my experience.

So I decided to participate at Psychodrama festival Plovdiv'2012 with the workshop "The Encounter".

I set three goals of the workshop:
  • To present different models of "encounter"; 
  • To explore the roles in which people come in different social interactions; 
  • To give an insight to the participants about what psychodrama does. 
I defined the workshop's target group precisely in the spirit of "open" psychodrama in which I believe: "people looking for new experiences and new knowledge, no matter if they are accountants, engineers, graphic designers and students from vocational school..."

The desired end result was: "participants to look at everyday reality in different way".

In my opinion, the workshop was well done. The participants (film director, a student of psychology, two philosophers, a tv professional, psychiatrist, etc.) gave me positive feedback and some of them sent me friend requests on Facebook, through which I judge they really liked the workshop. 

I don't have photos from my workshop, but I share a photo form Desislava Daskalova's workshop "One Art - the art of losing", which I attended. 


Saturday 4 August 2012

City identities, 12th May 2012

by: Georgi Stankov

"City identities" is my seminar about the links between psychology and architecture. This year the seminar has  had three editions until now, and on the last one luckily we had a photographer with us. The seminar is based in Haskovo but its design and know-how are applicable everywhere.

The hypothesis of "City identities" is simple: as one person has his own personal identity, the city has a unique identity too. Identity is not static - it is dynamic and it is influenced by political, social, economic and cultural events, trends and processes. The seminar's concept is to show how city's identity appears and develops, and to explore the possible futures of the city.

And since I am a huge fan of Jane Jacobs, this seminar was a humble tribute to her and a reflection of Jane's Walk principles.

Follow us with this photo-reportage :)  
May 12th, 2012, Saturday morning: meeting at the City garden.




In the yard of the Orthodox church "Sveta Bogoroditza" (or "Holy Mother" - another name for Virgin Mary).

The old part of Haskovo.



The tobacco warehouses played a major role for the economic development of Haskovo in 20th century. 










The center of  Haskovo is so rich of identities. Monuments and buildings from different historical periods have a date here: Armenian church, Muslim mosques, bourgeois, communist and modern time buildings.  






The headquarter of the Mayor and the local government in Haskovo. The architectural style is mixed because the building was rebuilt again three times (so far).

The legendary Haskovo cinema "Klokotnitza": here in the late 1980's I had watched "The Wall". Great architecture!
The seminar continued with indoor training and practical work about the "Possible futures of Haskovo."
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Note: our partner in the organization and implementation of the seminar was European Integration Agency - Haskovo.