The Bulgarian Festival for Contemporary Art BUNA – Varna presents a
representative exhibition at the 5th National Salon of Contemporary Art in Bucharest


On October 23, 2025, a representative exhibition of the BUNA Festival (Bulgaria)
opened at Mobius Gallery, Bucharest, as part of the 5th edition of the National Salon
of Contemporary Art – Romania (SNAC). The event is organized by the Union of Visual
Artists of Romania, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, and will continue until
November 15.


BUNA Forum presented five artists in a collective exhibition titled “Communities and
Spaces”, realized in partnership with the Romanian organization Visual Art Forum (FAV).
The show features five artists from recent editions of BUNA Forum – from Bulgaria:
Alexander Vulchev, Neno Belchev, and Vanya Andreeva (both based in Varna), as well
as Mihai Grecu (Romania/France) and Valdrin Thaqi (Kosovo). The works offer a vivid
reflection of the spirit of the BUNA Festival – in their diversity of media, experimentation,
and message – while also highlighting the importance of Varna’s contemporary art scene,
on which the festival itself is founded.

The exhibition remains open to visitors until November 15, with visiting hours
Tuesday–Friday, 16:00–20:00, and Saturday–Sunday, 11:00–19:00.


One of the strongest impressions, unsurprisingly, came from Mihai Grecu’s work
“Nicolae” (2021), which includes a documentary film and a holographic projection of
Ceaușescu, reanimated through artificial intelligence to address contemporary issues in
Romania, Europe, and beyond. For this exhibition, BUNA presented the Romanian
premiereof the project, offering an important contextual return to its origins.
The event is funded under the project National Recovery and Resilience Plan –
NextGenerationEU, Component “Social Inclusion,” Investment 6: “Development of the
Cultural and Creative Sectors.”

The Artists

Alexander Vulchev (b. 1973, Sofia) lives and works in Sofia. He holds an MA in Sculpture
from the National Academy of Arts (1998, class of Prof. Krum Damyanov) and an MA in
Photography from New Bulgarian University (2013). He was an artist-in-residence at Cité
Internationale des Arts, Paris (2004) and received a scholarship for specialization at
CCN Graz, Austria (2008). Vulchev has realized numerous solo exhibitions and has
participated in all three editions of the BUNA Forum – as an artist in BUNA 1 (2023),
curator of Urban Interventions in BUNA 2 (2024), and member of the jury for the BUNA
Awards in BUNA 3 (2025).


Neno Belchev (b. 1971, Varna) lives and works in Varna. He graduated in Monumental
Painting from the National Academy of Arts. His practice spans video art, performance,
installation, sculpture, and new media, as well as directing experimental and documentary
films. He has created one feature-length “non-film” (2016), four mid-length documentaries,
and numerous short narrative and video art works, awarded at international festivals in
Italy, Malaysia, India, Romania, the USA, Russia, the Netherlands, Spain, and Austria.
Belchev has participated in residencies in Spain, the USA, Russia, China, Japan, France,
Portugal, and Bulgaria.

Vanya Andreeva is a visual artist experimenting with diverse media. Her work is
connected to contemporary and conceptual art, focusing on social and cultural themes,
representations of femininity, the notion of home, and the dynamics of human
relationships. In her practice, she explores different approaches and visual languages
that provoke reflection and emotional engagement from the audience.
Valdrin Thaqi (b. 1994, Kosovo) lives and works between Prishtina and Berlin. He
graduated from the Faculty of Arts in Prishtina and is known for his multidisciplinary
approach, combining painting, installation, and conceptual strategies with a focus on
memory, identity, and transformation.
Mihai Grecu was born in Romania and lives and works in Paris. His artistic practice
merges experimental cinema, animation, and new technologies, exploring topics such
as power, memory, and altered reality. A graduate of Le Fresnoy, he has participated in
major international festivals including Rotterdam, Clermont-Ferrand, and CPH:DOX.

About BUNA Forum

BUNA Forum for Contemporary Art is the largest festival of contemporary visual art in
Bulgaria. Founded in 2023, it annually gathers over 150 artists from Bulgaria, the
Balkans, and around the world, presenting diverse forms of contemporary artistic
expression to the audiences and guests of Varna. The latest edition of the festival, held
September 3–8, 2025, featured 172 artists from 25 countries.
BUNA is not just an event but a platform for expanding the visibility of contemporary
art and promoting the shared values of the artistic community. The festival utilizes both a
wide network of private galleries and cultural institutions and revitalized pop-up
spaces in abandoned buildings, closed shops, and underused urban locations. Its mission
is not only to present art and broaden its audience but also to demonstrate the
transformative power of art on the urban environment.
Since 2025, BUNA has officially placed the Balkans at the core of its curatorial and
institutional focus, strengthening regional collaboration through its selection, jury, team,
and the establishment of the first Balkan Contemporary Art Prize, initiated by the
Singer-Zahariev Foundation.