A transcript for this episode - available above - is automatically generated and unedited.
For this (first!) episode of Work in Progress, I chatted with Vera Hadzhiyska, a Bulgarian multi-disciplinary artist, curator and photography lecturer based in Portsmouth, England.
Vera’s art practice is informed by the study of migration, cultural and national identity, history and collective memory. She examines historical and political events in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe, their impact on people’s lives and identity, and her long term multi-media project With the Name of a Flower investigates the forced name changes of the Bulgarian Muslim population during the “Revival Process” in Bulgaria (1912-1989).
Vera Hadzhiyska has a BA and MA degree in Photography from the University of Portsmouth. She has exhibited internationally in Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, France and the UK. She is a winner of the VID Foundation of Photography award 2020, Danny Wilson Memorial Award 2022, ‘Developing Your Creative Practice’ Arts Council England Grant 2021, and Belfast Exposed Future Curators Award 2023 to name a few.
On this podcast episode, Vera and I talk about juggling the demands of life and sustaining a creative practice, taking breaks and burnout, realities of working on a long-term project, Vera’s experiences as a self-taught curator, and the importance of creative play without expectations of an end result.
Hope you enjoy listening in on this conversation.
Connect with Vera: www.verahadzhiyska.com | @verahadzhiyska
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01: Vera Hadzhiyska