Dr. MARIA VASSILEVA
112, Strandja Street, apt. 8
Sofia 1303
Bulgaria
maria_vassileva@yahoo.com
BORN: 1961 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Lives and works in Sofia
EDUCATION, FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS, RESIDENCIES:
2006 - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Art Studies, Sofia, PhD in Art History and Fine Arts
2002-2002 - ISCP (International Studio and Curatorial Program), New York
2002 - Budapest, “From Art History to Visual Culture: Studying the Visual After the Cultural Turn”
2002 - Rave Scholarship, Manifesta 4: European Biennial of Contemporary Art, Frankfurt, Germany
2001 - Museums in the 21st Century, Salzburg Seminar, Salzburg, Austria
1999 - Summer Institute in Art History and Visual Studies, Rochester, USA, Getty Grant Program
- ADF Training Workshops, British Council, Sofia
1998 - ArtsLink fellow, New York
1998 - "Contemporary Art in the International Context of Museums and Exhibitions", seminar and workshop, organized by Institut für Kulturwissenschaft and KulturKontakt Austria, Vienna
1996/97 - Research Fellowship for Scholars from Central and Eastern Europe, The Getty Grant Program for the project: "Jules Pascin and the Art Process from the Beginning of the 20th Century"
1996 - Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris, France
1983 - National Academy for Fine Arts, Sofia, M.A. from the Department of History of Art
EMPLOYEMENT:
Since 1998 - Sofia Art Gallery, chief curator, Department of Contemporary Art, http://sghg.cult.bg
2003-2005 – coordinator of the Visual Seminar – a project of the Institute of Contemporary Art in partnership with The Institute of Advanced Studies and the Federal Cultural Foundation of Germany
Since 1995- founding member of the Institute of Contemporary Art - Sofia, http://ica.cult.bg
CURATORIAL EXPERIENCE:
2012
- LOVE, Rayko Alexiev Gallery, part of the project Idea for a Home of the Union of Bulgarian Artists (by the idea of Maria Vasisleva)
- A Possible History. Bulgarian art through the Sofia City Art Gallery Collection, Sofia City Art Gallery (c)
- Why Duchamp? From Object to Museum and Back (125 Years), Sofia Arsenal - : Museum of Contemporary Art
2011
- Kontakt Sofia. Works from the Kontakt Art Collection, Sofia City Art Gallery, Curators: Maria Vassileva, Walter Seidl (catalog)
- The Choice. 43 art historian-43 artworks, Sofia City Art Gallery (catalog)
- Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova. eco stories. Sklada, Sofia
2010
- Aquarium. Artworks from the Contemporary Art Collection of the Sofia City Art Gallery, Alma Mater Gallery, Sofia University
- The Big Wave, 8th Biennial of Contemporary Art “August in Art”, Varna, Bulgaria
(catalog)
- Beyond Credit. Contemporary Art and Mutual Trust, Antrepo, Istanbul (together with Iara Boubnova and Luchezar Boyadjiev), (catalog)
2009
- Edmond Demirdjian. Sofia City Art Gallery
- Gender Check, MUMOK, Vienna; Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw – researcher for Bulgaria, (catalog)
- Flowers & Roses, Bulgarian Cultural Institute, Hamburg, Germany
- From Ideology to Economy. Contemporary Bulgarian Art 20 Years Later, State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia, Moscow (together with Iara Boubnova), (catalog)
- Nedko Solakov, Sofia City Art Gallery (together with Iara Boubnova), (catalog)
- From Yesterday till Tomorrow. Monuments of Sofia, Sofia City Art Gallery, Sofia, (catalog)
- Value Point, Hilger Contemporary, Vienna (together with Alenka Gregorič), (catalog)
2008
- Flying People. Boriana Pandova & Ivan Nikolov, Siemens_artLab, Viena
- Moderate Optimism. Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova, 9, 6th of September Str., Sofia
2007
- European re-Union. Participants: Daniela Sergieva (Pernik, Bulgaria / Paris), Ivan Moudov (Sofia), Kosta Tonev (Plovdiv, Bulgaria / Vienna), Vladimir Mitrev (Sofia / Berlin), Galerie ArtPoint, Vienna (catalog)
- Samuil Stoyanov. Kick the Time, Siemens_artLab, Viena
2006
- Ivan Moudov. MUSIZ, Studio Tommaseo, Trieste, Italy (catalog)
- Neither a White Cube, nor a Black Box. History in Present Tense (together with Iara Boubnova) (leaflet)
- Important Announcement (together with Daniela Radeva), Sofia Art Gallery, Sofia (catalog)
- Inner Conscience, in the frames of the international festival August in Art, City Art Gallery, Varna, Bulgaria (brochure)
- Urban Legends, Sofia Art Gallery, Sofia (brochure)
- Reflections Multiplied, Sofia Art Gallery, Sofia (leaflet)
2004
- Cosmopolis1. MicrocosmosXMacrocosmos,Southeast European Visual Arts Biennial, Thessaloniki State Museum of Contemporary Art (SMCA); curator of the Bulgarian section; participants: Alla Georgieva, Boriana Dragoeva, Boris Missirkov / Georgi Bogdanov, Luchezar Boyadjiev, Pravdoliub Ivanov(catalog)
- New Ground, group exhibition in the frames of The Landscape, Shipka 6 Gallery Sofia. Participants: Pravdoliub Ivanov, Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova, Boris Missirkov & Georgi
Bogdanov, Ivan Moudov, Kiril Prashkov, Krassimir Terziev (catalog)
- Four Rooms, exhibition of the 8th of March group, ADS gallery, Sofia; Particiapants: Alla
Georgieva, Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova, Adelina Popnedeleva, Maria Vassileva (catalog)
- Multiplication + 11 Bulgarian artists, a touring exhibition of artist’s multiples, British
Council, Sofia Art Gallery, curator of the Bulgarian participation (catalog)
2003
– Art Gamers, group exhibition in the frames of 10x5x3, Shipka 6 Gallery, Sofia. Participants:
Rassim, Samuil Stoyanov, Krassimir Terziev, Vetzislav Zankov
– Export-Import. Contemporary Art from Bulgaria, Sofia Art Gallery, Sofia. Participants: Adelina Popnedeleva, Alla Georgieva, Boriana Dragoeva, Boris Missirkov, Daniela Kostova, Ivan Moudov, Georgi Bogdanov, Georgi Toushev, Houben Cherkelov, Kalin Serapionov, Kiril Prashkov, Krassimir Terziev, Liuben Kostov, Luchezar Boyadjiev, Nadezhda Oleg Liahova, Nedko Solakov, Nina
Kovacheva, Pravdoliub Ivanov, Sasho Stoitzov, Rassim, Tania Abadjieva, Valentin Stefanoff, Ventzislav Zankov (catalog)
2002
– Beauty and the East, Women’s Video from Bulgaria, ISCP, New York
– The Girls and the Sea, gallery Bulart, Varna, Bulgaria. Participants: Adelina Popnedeleva, Alla Georgieva, Boriana Dragoeva, Daniela Kostova, Ida Daniel, Nadezhda Oleg Liahova, Silvia Lazarova and Luchezar Boyadjiev
2001
– Trieste Contemporanea Central European Video Art Presentation, Trieste, Italy, curator of the Bulgarian participation
- Shop-Art. Women on the Market, participants: Adelina Popnedeleva, Alla Georgieva, Boriana Dragoeva, Daniela Sergieva, Daniela Kostova, Daniela Sergieva, Tania Abadjieva, Nadezhda Oleg Liahova, Silvia Lazarova, underpass “Saint Sofia”, Sofia; sponsor: KulturKontakt, Austria
2000-2001
- Changing of Places, international women exchange project; participants: Adelina Popnedeleva, Alla Georgieva, Dimitrina Sevova, Tania Abadjieva, Nadezhda Oleg Liahova (Bulgaria), Katarina Matiasek (Austria), Susana Perin, Sabine Baumann (Switzerland), Marilena Preda-Sanc (Romania), Ans Stoikovic (Macedonia); sponsors: Pro Helvetia, Switzerland, Soros Center for the Arts - Sofia, Ministry of Foreign affairs – Austria (web-site)
2000
- Subjects and Shadows, ATA Center of contemporary art, Sofia; participants: Adelina Popnedeleva, Alla Georgieva, Boriana Dragoeva, Daniela Kostova, Dimitrina Sevova, Elena Panaiotova, Monika Romenska, Nadejda Oleg Liahova, Nadia Genova, Silvia Lazarova, Tania Abadjieva (brochure)
- Masochistic Performance after Hans Cristian Andersen, Adelina Popnedeleva, ATA Center for the Arts, Sofia
- Mirror, Mirror..., City Art Gallery, Russe, Bulgaria, participants: Adelina Popnedeleva, Alla Georgieva, Boriana Dragoeva, Daniela Sergieva, Dimitrina Sevova, Elena Panaiotova, Monika Romenska, Nadejda Oleg Liahova, Nadia Genova, Silvia Lazarova, Tania Abadjieva; sponsor: Municipality of the City of Russe (brochure)
- Daylight Beauties, Monika Romenska, ATA Center for the arts, Sofia (brochure)
1999
- Dress up/Undress (The alternative galleries of the 90-ies), Center of Contemporary Art “Bania Starinna”, Plovdiv, Bulgaria; participants: Adelina Popnedeleva, Alla Georgieva, Boriana Dragoeva, Dimitrina Sevova, Iliana Nedkova, Mariela Gemisheva
- Obsession, Sofia Public Bath, participants: Adelina Popnedeleva, Alla Georgieva, Dimitrina Sevova, Elena Panaiotova, Irina Danilova (USA), Monika Romenska, Monika Fisher (Switzerland), Nadejda Oleg Liahova, Nadia Genova, Regyla Michel (Swirzerland), Silvia Lazarova, Tania Abadjieva (catalogue)
- Recepies. New Artistic Manual, Institute of Contemporary Art - Sofia, participants: Nedko Solakov, Luchezar Boyadjiev, Ventzislav Zankol, Liuben Kostov, Rassim, Bojidar Boyadjiev, Dimitrina Sevova, Monika Romenska
1997
- Paper and Color, Vesselin Dimov, Ata-Ray Gallery, Sofia
- Chaos in Action, Bulgarian participation in the International Internet Project of Ata Center for the Contemporary Art, Sofia
- Against, Krassimir Todorov, French Institute - Sofia
- Other Territories, 9 International Print Biennial, Varna, Bulgaria
- Touching, Atanas Velkov, Vladimir Vassilev, Ivan Nikolov, Ata-Ray
Gallery, Sofia
- Ars Ex Natio. Made in BG, Annual Exhibition of the Soros Center for the Arts - Sofia, (with Iara Boubnova), Old City of Plovdiv, Bulgaria (catalog)
- Erato’s Version, women’s exhibition (with Iara Boubnova), 6 Shipka St. Gallery, Sofia
CONFERENCES:
2010 - “Gender after the Wall", Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
2009 – Continental Breakfast. The Pass 2009. Fourth CEI Venice Forum for Contemporary Art Curators, Venice, Italy
2007 – “After All”. Focusing on the global Biennale and curatorial Practices. Continental Breakfast, Istanbul Forum, Turkey
- Continental Breakfast, Venice Forum, Italy
2005 - Continental Breakfast, Venice Forum, Italy
2001 - “Desire for Another Woman. Visual representations of the female body”, International conference, Cluj, Romania
1997 - "The Woman's Language in Contemporary Culture", conference, Sofia
- "Current Problems of Organization of International Art Shows in Bulgaria and abroad", Varna, Bulgaria
- "Is there something between "here" and "there" in contemporary art?", International conference, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
JURY-MEMBERSHIPS:
2010 - Henkel Award, Vienna; Gaudenz Ruf Award, Sofia
2009, 2008 – BAZA Award for contemporary art, Sofia
2007 – KulturKontakt, Austria, Artists in Residence 2008, Vienna
2006 - KulturKontakt, Austria, Artists in Residence 2007, Vienna
2005 -Pépinières européennes pour jeunes artistes, Corc, Ireland
BOARD-MEMBERSHIPS:
2003-2006 – Pro Helvetia Cultural Program. Sofia Office
Сайт на Мария Василева, критик и куратор 
