I am a Bulgarian artist, curator and photography lecturer based in Portsmouth, UK. My practice is informed by the study of migration, cultural and national identity, history and collective memory. My work begins autobiographically, tracing family narratives and shared traumas. Through the use of photography, archival documents, audio and video installations I examine historical and political events in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe, their impact on people’s lives and identity.

I joined the Photography department at the University of Portsmouth in 2021 as a PTHP, then progressed to a Teaching fellow in 2022, and was appointed as Lecturer in Photography in 2023. 

I received my MA Photography with Distinction (2019) and a BA Photography with distinction (2017) from the University of Portsmouth. My work has been exhibited internationally in multiple venues across the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and France. My work has been published in Musée Magazine, Source Magazine, The Calvert Journal, Loupe Magazine, Photograd, Post Pravda Magazine, AND Then There Was, Balkan Stories and Bulgarian Photography Now among others. 

I am the recipient of multiple awards and grants including VID Foundation of Photography award 2020, Danny Wilson Memorial Award 2022, ‘Developing Your Creative Practice’ Arts Council England Grant 2021, Belfast Exposed Future Curators Award 2023, British Korean Society Grant 2023 & 2024.

Since 2018 I have been leading a Peer to Peer Feedback group providing a space where artists can share their work in progress, ideas and struggles with ongoing projects and receive feedback and support from fellow practitioners. 

My art practice is focused on issues of cultural, national, and religious identity, collective memory and history, family narratives, belonging and migration. My long term multi-disciplinary project “With the Name of a Flower” investigates the forced name changes and repression against the Muslim people in Bulgaria (from Arabic names to state-approved Slavic ones) in the period 1912 – 1989. Through my practice I consider these events from a family and personal viewpoint, examining the memories of people directly affected by the change of names, and their descendants. My research aims to understand the formation and changes in the sense of cultural, religious, and national belonging of Muslim people in Bulgaria and how the events of the past have affected their contemporary life and identity. 

My curatorial practice is currently focused on Korean visual art through building a network of Korean photographers and artists, learning about the Korean art scene through first hand research and scholarship. Through my research and professional experience, I have outlined the lack of visibility of Korean artists within the UK art scene. My aim is to support and showcase Korean art and photography in the UK. The aim of my research and public-facing activities is to introduce and popularise the work of Korean artists within the British art scene. I also have a keen interest in Eastern European (Balkan), Middle Eastern and East Asian art and photography but over the past 3-4 years my main focus has been on Korea.