The thirteenth edition of Sofia Paper Art Fest presents the best of paper art under the motto “Ether and Might”. The motto embodies the concept of this edition with the selection of exhibitions and artists.

Between 23 May and 30 November, 14 exhibitions present the sections Amateras Annual Competition/Exhibition for Paper Art; Art in Urban Environment; Solo Exhibitions; Exchange, Guest and Virtual Projects, and Paper Art Academy.

In addition to the traditional Amateras Annual Competition/Exhibition for Paper Art, the festival organised the “Ether and Might” – a competition for large-format paper works, the results of which were also presented at the National Palace of Culture. Some of the sculptures and installations were created with materials provided by members of FESPA Bulgaria, the World Organization for Recycling Technologies, and the artists were awarded certificates of achievement in paper art.

In 2023, one of the focuses of Sofia Paper Art Fest was the Bulgarian-Argentinian Art Project, with Argentinian artists Leticia Burgos and Leonardo Gotleyb participating with solo exhibitions.

The festival also includes guest exhibitions and projects abroad such as “Bulgaria. Innovations and Traditions” at the Court of Justice of the European Union, Luxembourg, “Dare to Dream”, an exhibition part of the Art Connects Women 2023 conference in Dubai, and the exhibition “Art and Paper” presenting the Amateras Collection at the Centre for Contemporary Art Circle, Čačak, Serbia.

The accompanying events are an important part of the program. “The Wood in the Arts” lectures are an essential educational platform in the field of visual arts. The discussion “Paper in Sculpture and Installation” is of great importance for the development of these media in contemporary art and the incorporation of new technologies, making paper sustainable in outdoor conditions or an attractive element in interiors. The different workshops will give children, professionals and visual arts enthusiasts the opportunity to get a deeper insight into certain technologies and possible ways of interpretations through paper.

For the fourteenth year, the Amateras Annual Exhibition/Competition for Paper Art took place, an exposition that is named after the foundation and gave birth to the idea of the festival. The event took place at the National Palace of Culture, Marble Foyer, between 23 May and 3 June.

Jury:
Leonardo Gotleyb, Argentina
Todor Todorov, Bulgaria
Vesela Kondakova, Bulgaria

Awards:
Amateras Grand Prix: Kenji Sato;
Prize for Bulgarian Artist: Ana Pireva;
Certificate for Art on Paper: Sirpa Ihanus;
Certificate for Versatility of all 3 Artworks: Marcelle Benhamou;
Certificate for Honorable Mention: Victor Manuel Hernandez Castillo, Irene Rammensee, Laura Behar, Maria Matyja–Rozpara, Tanja Major.

The selected artists in the 2023 competition:
Argentina: Eva Toker, Leticia Burgos;
Austria: Elmar Peintner, Wilhelm Schramm;
Belgium: Jeannine De Raeymaecker;
Brazil: Angela Barbour, Eliana Anghinah;
Bulgaria: Ana Pireva, Adelina Rakovska, Alexandra Dimitrova, Elena Belova, Ekaterina Hristova, Grigor Stoyanov, Hristina Decheva, Krasimira Drenska, Maniya Vaptsarova, Margarita Dopcheva, Martina Karaivanova, Milena Atanasova, Nikolay Zlatanov, Rozina Makaveeva, Silvia Artamontzeva, Silvana Ilieva, Sonia Ruskov, Stanislav Bojankov, Stela Modeva, Tatiana Karamalakova, Tsveta Petorova, Veselka Nikolova, Veska Abad, Zdravka Kostadinova, Zlatka Andreeva;
Bulgaria/Canada: Atanas Mihaltchev;
Finland: Johanna Virtanen, Sirpa Ihanus;
France: Bruno George David, Marcelle Benhamou;
Germany: Beate Laurien, Irene Hoppenberg, Irene Rammensee, Jutta Bard, Karin Dorn-Tetzlaff, Tanja Major;
Israel: Laura Behar;
Japan: Atsumi Murata, Kenji Sato, Kaori Arai, Nobuko Ueda, Noriko Amano, Sumie Matsuura;
Mexico: Karen Perry, Victor Manuel Hernandez Castillo;
North Macedonia: Kristina Zimbakova;
Poland: Maria Matyja–Rozpara;
Puerto Rico: Martin Garcia–Rivera;
Slovenia: Metka Pepelnak;
South Korea: Oh Seung Yeon;
Sweden: Tibor Jaeger;
The Netherlands: Mariëlle van den Bergh;
Turkey: Yasmin Lumali;
UK: Jane Walker.

Exhibitions:
• “Think in White”, a project by Daniela Todorova, online and at Ethnographic Complex – Zlatograd;
• “Etheral”, jubilee exhibition by Daniela Todorova, Sredets Gallery, Ministry of Culture of Bulgaria, Sofia (2 May – 12 May);
• “Ether and Might”, competition for large-scale sculptures, West Foyer, National Palace of Culture, Sofia (23 May – 3 June);
• “Amateras Annual Exhibition/Competition for Paper Art”, Marble Foyer, National Palace of Culture, Sofia (23 May – 3 June);
• “Urban Archeology V”, exhibition by Leonardo Gotleyb (Argentina), Triangular Tower of Serdica, Regional History Museum – Sofia (25 May – 18 June);
• “Nomadic Landscape I”, an exhibition of Argentinian, Bulgarian and Japanese artists with participants from the residence in Levski City, Finesse Gallery, Sofia (27 June – 15 July);
• “New Horizons”, an exhibition of foreign artists, Community Centre “Georgi Partsalev”, Levski City (3 July – 3 September);
• “Soul and Matter”, a solo exhibition of Leticia Burgos (Argentina), The Mission Gallery, Sofia (6 July – 28 July);
• “Northern Inventions”, Scandinavian Paper Art, Community Centre “Bratstvo 1884”, Pavlikeni City (1 September – 3 December);
• “Might – Outdoors”, presentation of the projects for the future exhibition of exterior sculpture, RCCA Toplocentrala, Sofia (1 September – 30 November);
• “Japanese Impressions”, presentation of contemporary art during the Japanese Days of Culture in Bulgaria, Mazda Gallery, Sofia (3 – 30 October).

Sofia Paper Art Fest abroad:
• “Dare to Dream”, an exhibition part of the conference Art Connects Women 2023, presenting Bulgariain Al Habtoor Palace, Dubai, UAE (8 March – 11 March);
• “Bulgaria. Innovations and traditions”, Court of Justice of the European Union, Luxembourg(13 March – 31 May);
• “Art and Paper”, guest exhibition by Amateras Collection, Centre for Contemporary Art Circle, Čačak, Serbia (17 July – 10 August).

Accompanying events:
• “Think in White”, workshop for children (29 March);
• “Heart like a Bird”, screening of the documentary movie about Mario Nestoroff, Triangular Tower of Serdica, Regional History Museum – Sofia (25 May);
• Presentation by Leonardo Gotleyb from Argentina, Triangular Tower of Serdica, Regional History Museum – Sofia (25 May);
• “Ukiyo-e and the handmade paper”, workshop by Leticia Burgos from Argentina (7 July);
• “Might – Outdoors”, presentation with discussion of the projects from the open call for RCCA Toplocentrala (October);
• “Japanese Impressions”, demonstration, Gallery Mazda (3 October);
• “Paper and the Music”, experimental performance (1 November);
• Japan Bowl V, competition for Japanese language and culture (14 October);
• “The Wood in the Arts”, a series of lecture (30 July);
• “Paper in Sculpture and Installation”, discussion (15 November);
• Online presentation of Amateras Collection (November).

Amateras Foundation thanks to all participants who played a role in the Sofia Paper Art Fest 2023!

109 artists from 23 countries have participated in Sofia Paper Art Fest 2023 – “Ether and Might”:
Argentina: Eva Toker, Leonardo Gotleyb, Leticia Burgos, Monica Sanguinetti;
Austria: Elmar Peintner, Wilhelm Schramm;
Belgium: Jeannine De Raeymaecker;
Brazil: Angela Barbour, Eliana Anghinah;
Bulgaria: Ana Pireva, Adelina Rakovska, Alexandra Dimitrova, Elena Belova, Ekaterina Hristova, Grigor Stoyanov, Daniela Todorova, Hristina Decheva, Krasimira Drenska, Maniya Vaptsarova, Margarita Dopcheva, Martina Karaivanova, Milena Atanasova, Nikolay Zlatanov, Rozina Makaveeva, Petur Lazarov, Silvia Artamontzeva, Silvana Ilieva, Sonia Ruskov, Stanislav Bojankov, Stela Modeva, Tatiana Karamalakova, Todor Todorov, Tsveta Petrova, Veselka Nikolova, Veska Abad, Zdravka Kostadinova, Zlatka Andreeva;
Bulgaria/Canada: Atanas Mihaltchev;
Finland: Johanna Virtanen, Sirpa Ihanus, Liisa Malkamo, Laina Koskela;
France: Bruno George David, Marcelle Benhamou, Jean-Michel Letellier;
Germany: Beate Laurien, Irene Hoppenberg, Irene Rammensee, Jutta Bard, Karin Dorn-Tetzlaff, Tanja Major;
Hungary: Eszter Bornemisza;
Israel: Laura Behar;
Japan: Atsumi Murata, Ichiro Matsuo, Kakuko Ishii, Kenji Sato, Kiyoshi Inohara, Kaori Arai, Mayumi Tsukuda, Mitsuro Kuroki, Nobuko Ueda, Noriko Amano, Toru Kurita, Sumie Matsuura, Yukiko Maeda, Yasuko Iyanaga, Yoshio Ikezaki,;
Mexico: Karen Perry, Victor Manuel Hernandez Castillo;
North Macedonia: Kristina Zimbakova;
Poland: Maria Matyja–Rozpara;
Puerto Rico: Martin Garcia–Rivera;
Slovenia: Metka Pepelnak;
South Korea: Oh Seung Yeon, Jeong Moon;
Sweden: Tibor Jaeger;
The Netherlands: Mariëlle van den Bergh;
Turkey: Yasmin Lumali;
UK: Jane Walker.
USA: Priscilla Robinson.

Amateras Foundation is sincerely grateful to all institutions, sponsors, spaces and media partners who supported Sofia Paper Art Fest 2023!

Institutions:
Ministry of Culture, Bulgaria
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bulgaria
National Culture Fund, Bulgaria
Ministry of Tourism, Bulgaria
European Court of Justice in Luxembourg
Embassy of Bulgaria in Belgium and Luxembourg
Emabassy of Argentina in Bulgaria
Embassy of Japan in Bulgaria
Japanese Foundation
State Cultural Institute of Bulgaria
Sofia Municipality
Pavlikeni Municipality
Levski Municipality
Čačak Municipality, Serbia

Museums and Galleries:
National Palace of Culture
Triangular Tower of Serdica, Regional History Museum – Sofia
Exhibition space of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg
Al Habtoor Palace, Dubai, UAE
Exhibition spaces “Rafael Mihailov”, Veliko Turnovo
Ethnographic Complex – Zlatograd
RCCA Toplocentrala
Centre for Contemporary Art Circle, Čačak, Serbia
Mazda Gallery
Stedets Gallery
Finesse Gallery
Community Centre “Bratstvo–1884”, Pavlikeni
Community Centre “Georgi Partsalev”, City of Levski
Community Centre “Sts. Kiril and Metodii 1996”, Vrazhdebna neighbourhood, Sofia

Associations:
IAPMA – USA
NEXUS – Japan
Sculpture Network
JSEEBA
FESPA
JBBA
Cartasia
Nakanishi
Nihon Tomono-Kai
Nikolana
Travel Club

Educational Institutions:
18th SOU William Gladstone
138th Prof. Asen Zlatarski School
SU Vasil Levski, Rousse
Kokoro, Sofia
Kizuna, Varna
Japanese-American Society

Private Companies:
Mazda
Number One
JTI
Takeda
Seiko

Media Partners:
Bulgarian News Agency
Bulgarian National Television
TV1
BNR
JazzFM