The National Academy of Art (NHA) has opened the seventh "Deep Blue Sea" festival for young artists at its branch in Burgas, the academy said. The festival runs for six days, until 17 October, under the motto "The Eurovision emotion in Burgas".

The NHA and Burgas Municipality organise the festival. Young painters, writers, musicians and video creators will meet at open-air workshops, studios and master classes. The academy says the aim is to give people from different arts a place to talk, swap ideas and work on joint projects.

The open-air workshops take place at Magaziya 1, where the NHA branch is based, and on St Anastasia island. On 14 October, Kiril Todorov will lead a master class on short videos at the Sea Casino cultural centre, and on 15 October participants will show their results. The literary programme includes workshops for young authors, meetings and readings.

On 16 October, pupils and teachers from the Prof. Pancho Vladigerov National School of Music and Stage Arts in Burgas will give a concert at the Sea Casino. The festival will end with a literary matinee at the DAS Marina Burgas hotel.

The idea for the festival was born 8 years ago, Burgas deputy mayor Diana Savateva recalled at the opening. One of those years was marked by restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said hardships do not stop the creative process and can even spur it on.

The festival covers visual arts, literature, music, digital content and film, Savateva said. She thinks it gives young authors one more place to show their work. She said Burgas is becoming a better place for art because the city now has several higher schools and institutions in the field. This lets artists work together and join forces.

On 9 October we reported that the exhibition "With Burgas in My Heart", with works by 11 artists including Svetozar Benchev, will open on 28 October at the Atelier gallery.

Prof. Svetozar Benchev, director of the NHA branch in Burgas, thinks young people in art and culture should talk to each other and look for shared themes and places to work. Meetings between different fields can bring interesting results and new ideas, he added. Benchev hopes the festival will build an active creative community in Burgas and bring together young, educated and thoughtful people with new ideas and different views.