FAR FROM AFRICA - photo exhibition of Atanas Kanev and Elena Panayotova
from 3 to 23 August
Temporary Exhibition Halls, 15 "Knyaz Alexander I" St.

Faces and landscapes from Africa in a photo exhibition of Atanas Kanev and Elena Panayotova in the City Gallery
In hot August, the City Art Gallery will present scenes from Africa, photographed by two famous artists - professional photographer Atanas Kanev and theater director Elena Panayotova. They created the photo exhibition "Far from Africa", which they will present to the Plovdiv public from August 3 to 23 in the Temporary Exhibition Halls, 15 "Knyaz Alexander I" Street.
The exhibition presents the program "Artists for Children", produced by the DEN GRI Foundation and led by Elena Panayotova in Kenya (2011-2017) and Bulgaria (2002-2017). This project involved 5,000 children and youth at risk and 300 artists from Africa and Europe, trained by a Bulgarian team in applied theater practices. In 2016, the program was among eight projects out of a total of 1,800 from around the world supported by UNESCO to contribute to cultural diversity in the world
The photographs reflect the process of involving African artists and at-risk children in creative training and creating theater festivals based on local legends and tales on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya. Documentary footage from Kenya and Zanzibar is also included. The exhibition raises questions about the role of documentary photography, promoting a unique Bulgarian model of applying performing arts for social change.
The project was financed by NF Culture under the "Socially Engaged Arts" program.
Atanas Kanev is a freelance photographer with over thirty years of professional experience. For 25 years, he took reportage photography for the newspapers "24 Chasa" and "Maritsa" in Plovdiv. He is the winner of many awards, including the "Plovdiv" Award, Post Bank Award, Canon Award and others. He participated in a number of exhibitions in the country and abroad, he is the leader of creative photography workshops. Atanas Kanev is an emblematic author of Plovdiv. It is part of the international program "Artists for Children".
Elena Panayotova is a theater director, producer and teacher, who played a key role in the emergence of new trends in theater practice in the country. For more than 25 years, he has worked as a director of drama, puppet and opera performances in Bulgaria and abroad. A long-time teacher at the Academy of Arts in Utrecht, the Netherlands, as well as at NBU. Her performances have received prestigious awards and nominations and have been presented at various European festivals. She is the winner of the "Plovdiv" Award for 2019 for the play "The Prince of the Sea and the Prince of the Land" in the State Puppet Theater - Plovdiv, she was nominated by the Metropolitan Municipality for outstanding achievements in the field of art for the direction of the play "Chess Name: A Tale of Hall" in the "Azaryan" theater, Sofia 2021, and others. She also staged in the Drama Theater - Plovdiv and in the State Opera - Plovdiv.