The story of the traveling photo exhibit project “Ukraine: War and Resistance” by Fulbright Ukraine and Institute of International Education (IIE) Kyiv Office has found its latest edition in Bulgaria, February 20 – March 1, 2024.
Thanks to the support, solidarity, and professionalism of the entire team at Fulbright Bulgaria, we had an excellent opening in Sofia on February 20, 2024. Our Bulgarian colleagues managed to involve such high-level co-organizers as the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, which provided the “Sredets” Gallery space for the exhibition; and the U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria, whose generous input helped to realize this project.
The opening ceremony featured speeches in support of Ukraine by Angela Rodel, Executive Director of the Bulgarian-American Fulbright Commission; Viktor Stoyanov, Deputy Minister of Culture; H.E. Olesya Ilashchuk, Ukrainian Ambassador to Bulgaria; and Mariia Kravchenko, Program Officer at Fulbright Ukraine & IIE Kyiv Office. Special welcoming words were delivered via video recording by Jessica Zychowicz, Director of Fulbright Ukraine & IIE Kyiv Office; and by the photographers J.T. Blatty, Brendan Hoffman and Serhii Korovayny, whose works were presented in Sofia together with the photographs by Oleksii Furman, Joseph Sywenkyj, and Emine Ziyatdinova.
Among guests of the “Ukraine: War and Resistance” exhibit opening were: H.E. Kenneth Merten, U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria; Justice Kalin Kalpakchiev from the Supreme Court of Cassation; Georgi Gospodinov, Bulgarian writer; and Manol Peykov, Member of Parliament in Bulgaria, who has collected more than 1.5 million leva in donations for Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion. Together with other representatives from the academic, cultural, and civic sectors in Bulgaria, these leaders enriched the opening with their insights.
Except for the opening ceremony, our partners from Fulbright Bulgaria organized many follow-up projects and activities including the creation of a special website about the photo exhibition “Ukraine: War and Resistance.” They also printed a brochure about 7 photographers and 2 curators: Marian Luniv, Communication Coordinator at Fulbright Ukraine & IIE Kyiv Office; Milena Berbenkova, Bulgarian arts management professional and Fulbright alumna. Fulbright Bulgaria also conducted a promotional campaign for this project, and as result, Bulgarian National Television (BNT) and Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) have released several reports and interviews about the photo exhibition and life in Ukraine more generally:
- „Украйна – война и съпротива“– изложба на американски и украински фотографи
- Анджела Родел в “ДЕНЯТ с В.Дремджиев”, 15.2.2024
- Мария Кравченко, Фулбрайт Украйна — участие в “Аларма” по БНР
Last, but not least, our Bulgarian colleagues continue their promotional work and recently informed us that the next display of the photo exhibition “Ukraine: War and Resistance” is scheduled for March, 2024, in Burgas.
We are grateful to all partners, institutions and individuals, who support Ukraine and this traveling photo exhibit in Bulgaria. We extend our special thanks to Angela Rodel, Iliana Dimitrova, Diana Milkova, Maria Kostova, Milena Berbenkova and the entire team at the Bulgarian-American Fulbright Commission for their high level of professionalism, talent, and ongoing partnership.
