The Award for contemporary art BAZA is unique for Bulgaria. It is a grant for travel and residency in New York City for one and a half months. Each year one Bulgarian artist aged under 35 becomes the BAZA winner. He or she is chosen after a two-stage competition.

The award winner’s stay in New York comprises a programme of meetings with curators, visiting galleries and art institutions, collaborations with artists from other countries as well as the opportunity for an exhibition or presentation of the artist’s own work. The widening of the professional contacts is also due to the fact, that BAZA is part of an awards-network in more than 10 countries in Central and Eastern Europe (YVAA), which function on a similar principle.

In Bulgaria BAZA exists since 2008, when it was initiated by Maria Vassileva and founded by the Institute of Contemporary Art – Sofia. The award winners get the opportunity for a solo exhibition at the ICA Gallery in Sofia after finishing their residencies. Partner of the project is the Sofia City Art Gallery which provides the space and support for the exhibition of the nominees. Curator of the exhibition is Daniela Radeva.

Members of the 2014 jury are: Iara Boubnova, Maria Vassileva, Galina Dimitrova-Dimova, Kalin Serapionov and Sasho Stoitsov. For the second year in a row in the jury take part also an international curator, who is Vilcek Foundation Fellow. In 2014 this is Lumi Tan, critic and curator, currently working for one of the oldest and most prestigious art spaces in New York – The Kitchen.

The BAZA award winner for 2014 is Zoran Georgiev.

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THE COLLECTION. NEW ACQUISITIONS 2012-2013

05 June 2014 - 31 August 2014

Sofia City Art Gallery presents the most recent acquisitions in its Painting, Graphics, Sculpture and Contemporary Art and Photography collections, received in the past two years, either as donations or as purchases, with the financial support of the Sofia Municipality.

The enrichment of the collections is a matter of historical responsibility. The gallery’s policy is to try and fill some of the gaps with respect to the classics of Bulgarian painting, graphics and sculpture. Among the best known names in the current selection are: Assen Belkovski, Preslav Karshovski, Tsvetana Karshovska, Vaska Balareva, Ivan Georgiev-Rembrandt, Todor Panayotov, Snezhana Popgencheva, Vladimir Ivanov, Nadezhda Kouteva, Svilen Blazhev, Angel Stanev, Nina Kovacheva, Valentin Stefanoff.

A priority is the rediscovery of forgotten authors or of little known Bulgarian artists living and working abroad: Nikolay Boyadzhiev, Evgenia Vodenitcharova, Alexander Georgiev, Dimitar Batoev, Krasimira Drenska, Mariana Vassileva, etc.

Special attention is given to the young generations of artists: Ivan Moudov, Kamen Starchev, Peter Mintchev, Ivo Bistrichki, Kamen Stoyanov, Kaliya Kalacheva, Minko Yovchev, Leda Starcheva, Miná Minov, Leda Ekimova, Maximilian Pramatarov, Samuil Stoyanov, Lyben Petrov.

2012 saw the beginning of the long-term partnership between the Vaska Emanouilova Gallery, a branch of Sofia City Art Gallery and Societe General Expressbank. The financial support received has made possible the acquisition of works by some young artists: Mihail Novakov, Vitto Valentinov, Georgi Georgiev-Jojo, Boris Pramatarov, Iskra Blagoeva, HR-Stamenov and others.

In 2013 Sofia Art Gallery launched a long-term project in support of contemporary Bulgarian photography. In partnership with photographers Nikola Mihov and Ivaylo Stoyanov the museum collection expanded with more than 40 works by Dimitri Stefanov, Elena Geroska, Eugenia Maximova, Babak Salari, Georgi Kozhuharov, Vassil Iliev, Yasena Popova, Milen Radev, Ivaylo Stoyanov, Nikola Mihov. The collection includes all free photography forms with a focus on works created after the year 2000. A website, Bulgarian Photography Now, has been launched too. It showcases selected works of Bulgarian photographers as well as projects of foreign artists who have worked in Bulgaria. http://www.bulgarianphotographynow.com