Ivo Danchev (Landis & Gyr Artistic Fellowship, Oct ’24 – Feb ‘25) will present his work on:

Between Two Worlds

13 March 2025 (Thursday) at 16:30

Moderated by Konstantin Georgiev.

Abstract: Bulgaria’s masked performers may vary by personas and names but are widely known as kukeri. Pillars of tradition, yet masters of disguise, the kukeri have adjusted to the ebb and flow of political and social change throughout the centuries. Their masks and performances represent a symbiosis between tradition and innovation that continues to sustain them.

While the Eastern Orthodox Church still censures them as “fiendish and diabolical,” the kukeri’s real threat was the post-World War II state when Bulgaria became part of the Eastern European bloc. Soviet-controlled communist regimes shunned what they viewed as religious rites detrimental to the socialist ideal. These contrivances came to an end by the late 1960s, when masquerades were “rehabilitated” as cultural heritage.

The author will present his photography book concept featuring a body of work created between 2018 and 2025. It includes vibrant photographic series which explore contemporary kukeri traditions, costumes, fashions and cultural identity through the means of visual storytelling. While some of the chapters dwell on the space existing on the edge between the real world and the author’s imagination, others are inspired by personal human stories, relationships and modern trends of social inclusion of minority groups, children and women.