Borjana Ventzislavova
Borjana Ventzislavova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and is based in Vienna, Austria. Moving between cultures, languages, and contexts, she is interested in traveling through time and exploring the complex interplay between past and present, individual and society, and modern and ancient concepts, relationships, media, materials, techniques, and energies.
In her cross-disciplinary works across film, video, installation, photography, performative, and new media art, Ventzislavova analyzes stereotypical roles and models of representation, as well as the impact of political and social power structures and control mechanisms on human existence. She is particularly interested in the processes of mobility and the crossing of socio-geographical, cultural, and psychological borders, and in addressing the complexities of communication and translation.
Her practice often blurs the boundaries between documentary and fiction to question the status quo and to examine the intersections between the personal and collective, social, political, and artistic within the context of current events and history. Focusing on documentary and narrative structures, she exchanges roles and identities and mixes stages, situations, styles, texts, and sounds into hybrid cases and stories.
Ventzislavova’s works have been exhibited internationally in numerous solo and group exhibitions, as well as at media art and film festivals, including the National Gallery Sofia, Kunstforum Wien, Belvedere 21, MAK Vienna, MAK Los Angeles, Lentos Linz, Salzburger Kunstverein, Museum of Modern Art Salzburg, Museum of Modern Art Carinthia, Museum of Modern Art – Esterházy Foundation, MUSA, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sofia City Art Gallery, Landesgalerie Linz, Essl Museum, k/haus, quartier21, Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, the Austrian Cultural Forums in Washington D.C. and London, ICA London, ICA Sofia, Art Today Plovdiv, Hunt Gallery in St. Louis, Cologne Conference, IDFA, Diagonale, EMAF, transmediale, Filmwinter Stuttgart, Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin, Berwick Film and Media Arts Festival, Moscow International Film Festival, and the International Short Film Festival Istanbul, among others.
She has received numerous awards, grants, and international scholarships, including the Working Scholarship for Film (2023), the Promotion Award by the City of Vienna (2017), the Austrian State Scholarship for Fine Art (2013), and the Start Scholarship for Fine Art (2009). Other distinctions include the Top Ten Nonfiction Film Award at the Cologne Film Festival (2006), the Otto Prutscher Fonds Award (2006), the Susmannstiftung Award (2005), and recognitions at Art in Motion (2002, Los Angeles), Ars Electronica (2002, Linz), and CYNETart (2001, Dresden).
Ventzislavova has been an artist in residence in numerous international programs, including in London (ACF), Rome (BKA), Newcastle (D6), Berkeley (CEC Artslink), Los Angeles (MAK Schindler), Chicago (BKA), Athens (Snehta), Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (BKA), New York City (ISCP/BKA), CCA Andratx in Mallorca, and Tokyo (Tokas), among others.
Her works are part of both private and public collections.
EDUCATION
MA
University of Applied Arts
Vienna, Austria
JURY
László Földényi
Marie Therese Harnoncourt
Alanna Heiss
Hans Weigand
Peter Noever
