For the first time in Bulgaria the Institute of Contemporary Art – Sofia jointly with Foundation for a Civil Society, NYC and
Young Visual Artists Awards presents the prestigious BAZA Award for young artist in the field of contemporary art.

The Award comprises a travel fellowship, a six-week residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP), New York City, in October 2008 – May 2009 and a solo exhibition at the ICA gallery in Sofia.

The purpose of the Award is to encourage young artists with the opportunities for schooling, exploration and career. The Award creates a positive context for young modern art and an art-friendly milieu.

The annual Young Visual Artist Award was established in 1990 in the Czech Republic by Wendy Luers, founder and President of the US Foundation for a Civil Society (FCS). Today the Award exists in ten European countries and is one of the prestigious measures of outstanding professional performance. The affiliated states are the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Albania, to mention but some. The Young Visual Artists Awards international network YVAA (http://www.yvaa.net) has evolved from the active information exchange among the countries.

The initiative and organization of the award procedure and the exhibitions are in the hands of the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) – Sofia (http://ica.cult.bg), which consequently was selected to organize the competition.

The competition is open to artists aged 35 and younger and working in all the media of modern art. Participation is free or on a proposition from invited institutions that are active in the domain of modern art.

The procedure: The jury (Boriana Dragoeva, Kiril Prashkov, Maria Vassileva, Iara Bubnova and Stanislav Pamoukchiev) nominated six artists on the basis of documentation that they have submitted. These finalists will have their works displayed at a general exhibition in the Sofia Art Gallery. The winner will be announced on the opening of the exhibition.

The Sofia Art Gallery is a partner in the project.

The winner is Rada Boukova