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NEEDLES IN A HAYSTACK
The Palace
Artists: Boryana Petkova & Iskra Blagoeva, Boryana Rossa, Katya Dimova, Krasimira Butseva, Monika Popova, nada ree, Natalia Jordanova, Neda Milanova, Oksana Kazmina, Rayna Teneva, Sophia Grancharova, Zelikha Shoja.
Curator: Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva
Design: Viktoriya Staykova
The exhibition presents the results from the BFW’s open call for the Fund for art projects by women artists in 2022. The female authors and their concepts were chosen among over 200 candidates in the competition. The expert jury consists of the curators Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva, Daniela Radeva, Stefka Tsaneva, Margarita Dorovska, as well as Gergana Kutseva, Dobromira Terpesheva, and Rosena Ivanova from the BFW team. Invited to respond to the state of emergency, challenges, and urgency in this day and age, the women artists react with varied intensity, character, style, and a great amount of sincerity. Contrasts and similarities between them, in the choice of media, their candor, turning towards their inner selves, and sharing personal stories, experiences, and memories all create a common environment of empathy and reciprocation. What inevitably connects them is exposing stereotypes about women’s social role and position. They are also connected by the needle as a tool chosen by most of them, but also as a byword for that patriarchal image of the woman holding her needlework. An image rooted in the consciousness of generations on end, which all these women defy.
The story of the needle resembles a woman’s story, as confirmed by many feminist theorists. However, it does not follow a specific linearity, but is ambiguous and controversial, simultaneously a story about isolation, reassurance, and seclusion, but also about interacting with the world and opposition. The needle is the symbol of the skill passed on in the family, over generations, from grandmothers and mothers, knowing what it is to be a woman, the natural attraction towards the warmth of the fabric, and intimate interaction. The process of embroidery and sewing is story-telling. It encompasses the whole patience for bringing the threads together and passing on memories and messages. The needle as a means to create and to mend, as one of the symbols of coziness, of childhood memories, is fragile, but sharp.
The project of the Fund for Artistic Projects by Women was made possible thanks to the trust and financial support of Veronika Puncheva, Lachezar Tsotzorkov Foundation, Legrand, Ubisoft, ALD Automative, as well as with the logistical support of the Institute for Contemporary Art – Sofia and Credo Bonum Gallery. The opening event is hosted by Freixenet.
Artists: Boryana Petkova & Iskra Blagoeva, Boryana Rossa, Katya Dimova, Krasimira Butseva, Monika Popova, nada ree, Natalia Jordanova, Neda Milanova, Oksana Kazmina, Rayna Teneva, Sophia Grancharova, Zelikha Shoja.
Curator: Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva
Design: Viktoriya Staykova
The exhibition presents the results from the BFW’s open call for the Fund for art projects by women artists in 2022. The female authors and their concepts were chosen among over 200 candidates in the competition. The expert jury consists of the curators Svetlana Kuyumdzhieva, Daniela Radeva, Stefka Tsaneva, Margarita Dorovska, as well as Gergana Kutseva, Dobromira Terpesheva, and Rosena Ivanova from the BFW team. Invited to respond to the state of emergency, challenges, and urgency in this day and age, the women artists react with varied intensity, character, style, and a great amount of sincerity. Contrasts and similarities between them, in the choice of media, their candor, turning towards their inner selves, and sharing personal stories, experiences, and memories all create a common environment of empathy and reciprocation. What inevitably connects them is exposing stereotypes about women’s social role and position. They are also connected by the needle as a tool chosen by most of them, but also as a byword for that patriarchal image of the woman holding her needlework. An image rooted in the consciousness of generations on end, which all these women defy.
The story of the needle resembles a woman’s story, as confirmed by many feminist theorists. However, it does not follow a specific linearity, but is ambiguous and controversial, simultaneously a story about isolation, reassurance, and seclusion, but also about interacting with the world and opposition. The needle is the symbol of the skill passed on in the family, over generations, from grandmothers and mothers, knowing what it is to be a woman, the natural attraction towards the warmth of the fabric, and intimate interaction. The process of embroidery and sewing is story-telling. It encompasses the whole patience for bringing the threads together and passing on memories and messages. The needle as a means to create and to mend, as one of the symbols of coziness, of childhood memories, is fragile, but sharp.
The project of the Fund for Artistic Projects by Women was made possible thanks to the trust and financial support of Veronika Puncheva, Lachezar Tsotzorkov Foundation, Legrand, Ubisoft, ALD Automative, as well as with the logistical support of the Institute for Contemporary Art – Sofia and Credo Bonum Gallery. The opening event is hosted by Freixenet.