We met with Kaloyan Ratchev from Vangavis just hours before the official opening of the exhibition "Realities: How AR, VR, and MR collide with our RR?".
On March 14th at 19:00 at MOVE.BG will be the official opening of "Realities: How AR, VR, and MR collide with our RR?" The exhibition explores the feelings and knowledge taken from our reality (RR) and brought to "another" - augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), or mixed reality (MR). What happens if we merge the realities and they overlap?
"Realities" showcases AR artworks by 20 artists from around the world. The exhibition, which was presented during the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK 2018, will be launched for the first time in Bulgaria thanks to the collaboration between the innovation company Vangavis, Artivive.com and MOVE.BG. By downloading the free Artivive App, visitors will be able to "see" both the RR horizon and the extra dimension - AR.
Hours before the opening we met Kaloyan Ratchev, the founder of Vangavis and the main initiator of "Realities" to be presented to a Bulgarian audience to find out more about the exhibition.
Why have you decided to organize "Realities" in Bulgaria?
In Bulgaria, the ecosystem of creative industries, entrepreneurship, start-ups, and investors has been developing very dynamically and positively in recent years. While organizing the exhibition, I met so many interesting and creative people and communities, which makes me believe that this type of exhibitions can be done easily with artists and examples from Bulgaria, too.
I’ve been working with the Artivive team since the company was founded. I was impressed by the speed of their growth and their focus on art through augmented reality. In just one year they managed to launch projects from China to the US. So far, they’ve been avoiding working with big brands, especially if the project is just commercial and not related to art. That’s why I thought it would be interesting to show these new possibilities to the Bulgarian audience. And then to include Bulgarian artists in this international community as well.
Can AR attract more people to art?
Definitely. On the one hand, it has the potential to connect artists who haven’t worked together until now. On the other hand, the AR can open the door to an audience that hasn’t been interested in art and let it get a new type of access through technology. Also, artists have the opportunity to tell more about their work, and museums and galleries get new ideas and impulses to be innovative. Artivive's technology is also used for street art like graffiti, which also attracts other people to consume art and connects their different realities.
Picture: ArtiviveWhat makes this type of art - the Augmented reality (AR) - innovative?
The augmented reality gives new possibilities and spaces - both to the artists and to the audience. For example, it adds the "time" factor to the painting, as well as new audio-visual aspects that can be used in a variety of creative ways by artist and galleries.
In addition, a direct link between the analogue and the digital world is made. But at the same time, you are still able to view the art piece without having to use any additional device.
That aspect is very interesting to me because I see good opportunities for artists from the analogue and digital world to work together. This form of displaying art will be a part of my next project in this area.
Which method do you prefer - the virtual reality (VR), mixed (MR) or augmented reality (AR), and why?
I am personally a fan of true reality (if there is any), but I like to experiment with the others as well. I believe that in the future the topic of “realities” will become even more popular and exciting to society. Not only in the world of games and art.
In the augmented reality, the good thing is that we need a tech tool, which almost all of us always carry - a smartphone. While, for example, virtual reality currently requires other additional devices. VR, however, is also a method for more-in-depth reading of specific topics.
At the end of the day, everything is happening in the human brain, which will be the goal of the technology in the future, I think. Creative people who have rich fantasy know the most about different realities, as well as the children.
Picture: ArtiviveAre you planning similar initiatives like "Realities"?
Yes. "Realities" is the first exhibition of this type in Bulgaria. My next goal is to organize a second exhibition until the end of this year, which would include only Bulgarian artists and creative people from the digital sphere. We’re also thinking of showing this exhibition at the Bulgarian cultural centers across other European capitals.
We’re already recruiting and contacting creative people from Bulgaria who are willing to participate in the project. They can contact us directly by email at office@vangavis.com or MOVE.BG at co-working@move.bg
Who is Kaloyan Ratchev?
Kaloyan Ratchev was born in Bulgaria but grew up in Austria, where he currently lives. He graduated in Sociology and Economics in Vienna. He’s been working in the field of innovation for 15 years. Kaloyan strives to promote Bulgaria through his work at Vangavis, by helping Bulgarian entrepreneurs to expand their business - mainly to the German-speaking countries. He also directs international partners, investors, and projects to Bulgaria.
Kaloyan is the founder of the innovation company Vangavis.com In addition, he participates in Trending Topics, the leading online media in the field of business and technology in Austria, which also expanded to the Bulgarian market this year. Kaloyan is one of the founders of the Bulgarian Fintech Association, as well as a representative of the Bulgarian Start-up Association (BESCO) in Austria.
You can come around and see the exhibition till 10th May 2019 at MOVE.BG (Serdika 20 street, 1st floor).
