The project by Raina Teneva and Aaron Roth is a video installation that looks back at the 1990s—the beginning of Bulgaria’s transition—and the role of women in that period. The curator is Galina Dimitrova. The opening is on July 25, 2024, in the “Georgi Velchev Atelier” exhibition hall at the Georgi Velchev Art Museum
An exhibition with the provocative title “Miss Democracy (Not Politics!)” will be on view in the “Georgi Velchev Atelier” hall at the “Georgi Velchev” Art Museum, a branch of the “Boris Georgiev” City Art Gallery — Varna, from July 25 to August 8, 2024. The artists are Raina Teneva and Aaron Roth, and the curator is Galina Dimitrova.
"Miss Democracy" is the name of one of the many beauty pageants that businessman Ivo Bozhkov organized in the early 1990s, recalls Galina Dimitrova. - Video recordings documenting some of these pageants, held between 1991 and 1997 in Sofia, Shumen, Golden Sands, and Dobrich, offer a fragmented glimpse into Bulgaria’s nascent entertainment industry. The interrelationships between the material reality of the 1990s, the politically nascent society, and the position of women within it are the cornerstones upon which Raina Teneva and Aaron Roth’s installation is built. Society, still reeling from socio-political upheaval, is ready to try any and all recipes for the freedom that had been denied it for so long. The contests often follow similar formats. Young women present themselves before a dubious jury composed of male businessmen—sometimes in swimsuits and sometimes in evening gowns. Meanwhile, the show’s host presents the remaining information—which is otherwise hidden from view—such as the contestant’s name, zodiac sign, and profession. A mandatory question from this list is the girls’ political orientation.
Conceived and produced by men to cater to the male gaze, these contests present women as a prize, a means, a performer, and capital. But since archives do not belong solely to the past—but also to the present and the future—they can be reinterpreted and retold. Can the capital of this archive—the body—be seen as a means of empowerment and resistance? Borrowing from the spirit of the 1990s disco, the installation offers a speculative narrative of a patriarchal reversal.”
The project is the result of a collaboration between Raina Teneva and Aaron Roth as fellows of the “Da Lab” Foundation’s digital arts platform e-valuation 4.0.
The productions and exhibitions on the e-valuation 4.0 platform are made possible with the support of the National Culture Fund under the “Creation” program.
Raina Teneva (born in 1986) holds a master’s degree in media art from the University of Art and Design in Karlsruhe, Germany. In her work, she presents media narratives that take the form of installations, films, or performances. These narratives stem from artistic research into private and public archives, as well as found photographic and film material. In an era of post-truth, archival material offers a space for raising questions related to memory, the (de)construction of identity, and speculations about the future.
Aaron Roth was born in Los Angeles (1998) and currently lives and works in Sofia. In 2021, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) from the Slade School of Fine Art in London. In 2022, together with Boyana Dzhikova and Vikenti Komitski, he co-founded the “Punta” Gallery in Sofia. He has held solo exhibitions in an abandoned supermarket near Stochna Station in Sofia, at “FLUCA,” the Austrian Cultural Pavilion, and at the “Sarieva” Gallery in Plovdiv.
e-valuation is a platform of the “Da Lab” Foundation for the development and support of Bulgarian artists working in the field of digital arts. The platform’s mission is to produce works by Bulgarian artists and present them on the professional scene. The main objectives are the professional development of artists and the promotion of contemporary art forms created using digital media and technologies.
The exhibition opens on July 25 at 6:00 p.m.
"Georgi Velchev" Art Museum, Varna, 8 Radko Dimitriev St.
Museum hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.