Viktor Petrov, 2023

Sofia City Art Gallery, Institute for Contemporary Art – Sofia, Edmond Demirdjian Foundation
and Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation in partnership with:
The Foundation for a Civil Society, New York, and the Young Visual Artists Awards international network
present:
                            An exhibition of the nominated artists for the
                                BAZA 2024 Award for Contemporary Art:
             Alexander Lazarkov, Diana Bunkin, Kristina Nenova, Nevelin Ivanov,
               rawlab (Radina Yotova and Roslana Yotova), Tsvetomira Borisova

                                                 Curator: Marina Slavova

                 23 July – 8 September 2024, opening on 23 July, Tuesday, 6 pm

The Young Artist Award was first established in 1990 in the Czech Republic by the founder of the Civil Society Foundation (USA), Wendy Luers, on the initiative of Vaclav Havel. Today, it exists in twelve Central and Eastern European countries, united in the YVAA International Young Visual Artist Awards Network (www.yvaawards.org). The award consists of a two-month artist residency at Residency Unlimited, New York, and a solo exhibition at the ICA-Sofia Gallery. The award is sponsored by the Trust for Mutual Understanding, New York.

The BAZA Award in Bulgaria was founded on the initiative of Maria Vassileva in 2008 and is administered by the Institute of Contemporary Art – Sofia and the Edmond Demirdjian Foundation. From 2021, the Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation supports the nominated artists with funding for their projects.

The competition is open to artists up to 35 years of age. The jury, whose members are replaced every two years, selects between four and eight nominees. The exhibition of works by the selected artists is hosted by Sofia City Art Gallery. The winner is announced during the exhibition opening.

BAZA Award winners thus far include: Rada Boukova (2008), Samuil Stoyanov (2009), Anton Terziev (2010), Vikenti Komitski (2011), Leda Ekimova (2012), Kiril Kuzmanov (2013), Zoran Georgiev (2014), Aleksandra Chaushova (2015), Dimitar Shopov (2016), Martina Vacheva (2017), Martin Penev (2018), Valko Chobanov (2019), Maria Nalbantova (2020), Marta Djourina (2021), Krasimira Butseva (2022), Viktor Petrov (2023).

Members of the BAZA 2024 jury are: Aliza Edelman, Vasil Vladimirov, Dimitar Bojkov, Kalina Tsoneva and Maria Nalbantova

Alexander Lazarkov (b. 1999, Sofia) graduated from the National School of Fine Arts in Sofia in 2018. He then continued his studies at the National Academy of Arts in Sofia. In 2021, he participated in the Erasmus program in Bilbao, Spain. In 2022, he received a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. From 2017 to 2022, he participated in over 30 group exhibitions in Bulgaria and abroad. In 2021, he was nominated for the BAZA Award. The same year was his first solo exhibition in Sofia. Since then, he has had seven solo exhibitions in Sofia. In 2022, he was nominated for the Stoyan Kambarev Award. He works in the field of installation, object, painting, etc., and his works are often inspired by nature.

Diana Bunkin (b. 1999, Sofia) is a visual artist and graphic designer. She graduated in wood carving at the National School of Applied Arts “St. Luke”, Sofia, and in 2022 – graphic design and illustration at De Montfort, Leicester. Her art focuses on personal and generational trauma, female experience, childhood, and emotional crises. She creates installations, digital painting, and photography. Since 2022 she has been a core part of Synaesthesia Collective, as a designer, artist and organizer. Since 2023 she is part of the organizing team of Sofia Underground International Performance Art Festival.

Kristina Nenova (b. 2001, Sofia) is an interdisciplinary artist concerned with the appropriation and transmission of traditions, stories, objects, and ideas across generations. Her interests stem from her personal experience of migration from Bulgaria to England and the balance of identities in an ever-changing political and social context. Nenova works with sound, archival materials, textiles, and moving images, often combining media to tell stories.

Nevelin Ivanov (b. 2002, Burgas) is a student of Fashion at the National Academy of Arts. He is a visual artist who is experimenting in the field of drawing and conceptual fashion. His first solo exhibition, “If I had a pig, I would name it Nevo” (2023), was a pop-up event at Little Bird Place Gallery, Sofia. His second solo exhibition, “Nevo’s Bedroom”, was presented in January 2024 at the same gallery and then at the BUNA Contemporary Art Festival. He has participated in several group exhibitions and fashion performances, some of which are: ‘Играчка-плачка’, ICA Gallery, Sofia (2023); ‘Defy The Status Quo’, Æther Haga, The Hague, The Netherlands (2023)/ DOZA, Sofia (2023); Art Fashion Performance, Academy Gallery, Sofia (2023).

rawlab (Radina Yotova – b. 1998, Sofia and Roslana Yotova – b. 1996, Sofia) is a research-based duo operating of visual artists working in the intersection of art and technology. In their practice, they aim to incite introspection on the complexities of language, perception, and the evolving relationship between humans and technology. Taking a critical and analytical approach towards technology, new media, and artificial intelligence, the collective explores their political dimensions and their effects on the development of social norms.

Tsvetomira Borisova (b. 1991, Sofia) graduated from the New Bulgarian University with a degree in Ceramics in 2016. She has interned at the Union Of Bulgarian Artists (2016) and Swimming Pool, Sofia (2018); she has participated in educational projects and programs, including New Creative Academy (2021) and School of Kindness (2021). In 2022, she was a resident at Sarieva Gallery and realized her first solo exhibition, ‘Cool S’. Her other solo projects include ‘A Place to Rest’ (2022), Dupka Contemporary – Plovdiv; ‘Death at the Dinner Table: An Exploration of the Case of Johann Schobert and the Poisonous Mushrooms’ (2023), ГАРА – Sofia; ‘Changes’ (2023), Charta Gallery, Sofia. She has participated in group exhibitions, including ‘Market of Desire’ (2021), ‘Sofia Underground’ (2023), ‘View With a Room’ (2023), and а pop-up of POSTA Gallery in Berlin.

Source: Sofia City Art Gallery