Transparency

Artists: Kalin Mihov, Kaya Tsenkulovska, Gergana Ivanova, Ira RZ, Nikola Grozdanov, Yoana Zhecheva, Georgi Pavlov
Curated by: Georgi Pavlov

Is it possible to be transparent nowadays, and what does it even mean? Recently, there has been increasing talk about the hidden corporate attitudes and hypocrisy that run rampant in the art world, which prefers to hide behind various veils of obscurity, expectations and promises. We keep hearing about exploitation, favoritism, nepotism, and everyone's favorite gatekeeping of information, contacts, and spaces. Young artists are among the most disadvantaged by this, especially in Bulgaria, where information for navigating this environment is unclear, ambiguous, misleading, and sometimes fully absent. Artists are left to figure it out on their own, while institutions often take advantage of their desires and needs in order to accumulate social and economic capital.

This is why the core idea behind FIGURA is transparency. Transparency of information, practices, expectations, projects, and opportunities. It is no secret that the art world runs on a quiet, but fundamental, hypocrisy we’ve all come to accept. FIGURA challenges that norm by offering a way to aid emerging and mid-career artists without forcing them to sacrifice what matters to them.

“Nothing is fully stated, and it’s normal
Nothing is fully guaranteed, and it’s normal
Nothing is fully assumed, and this too, is normal” writes Anna Ádám from the School of Disobedience in her latest text entitled “On the Hypocrisy of the Art World”

In this vein, we would like to define transparency as being clear, open, and standing up for a position that we consider healthy for the art environment. Founding FIGURA is an honest attempt to cut through the fog. At the same, this clarity reveals the various vulnerabilities, gaps, holes, and shortcomings that still need to be worked on and talked about.

With our first exhibition, we have set ourselves two goals. First, we have invited artists who explore the conceptual axis intersecting the ideas of transparency, vulnerability, and standing up for a position from a personal, political, and institutional perspective. And second, we want to welcome anyone looking for help, space, advice, and opportunities to learn about the FIGURA and how we can be useful to them.