Vera Hadzhiyska

Vera Hadzhiyska is a Bulgarian multi-disciplinary artist, curator and photography lecturer based in England. Her practice is informed by the study of migration, cultural and national identity, history, and collective memory. She uses photography, performance, archival documents, audio and video installations to examine historical and political events in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe, their impact on people’s lives and identity.

Vera’s ongoing long-term project “With the Name of a Flower” investigates the forced name-changes (from Muslim to Slavic names) and repressions against Muslim people in Bulgaria during the so-called “Revival Process” (1912-1989). The project takes into consideration the historical and political context of the 500 years long Ottoman Rule over Bulgaria (1396-1878), the years after the Liberation to the present day.

A new name entails a new sense of identity. Vera is interested in how these traumatic events have been preserved or purposefully omitted from the family narratives, and how that has affected the cultural, national, and religious identity of Muslim people and their descendants.

Vera has been exhibited and published internationally. She was one of the exhibited artists of Aspex Emergency 2021 and is a recipient of the ‘Developing Your Creative Practice’ Arts Council England Grant.

During her residency at the artists studio at Aspex Vera is focusing on starting a conversation about the meaning of names and their importance to our sense of belonging and identity. She will be holding workshops centered around the meaning of names and making clay name carvings.

The workshops are open to everyone and will take place every weekend during Vera’s artist residency at Aspex (Sat & Sun from 2-3 pm, book online). Drop-ins are also welcome (Fri- Sun). The workshops are part of Vera’s Arts Council funded “Developing your Creative Practice” project expanding her socially engaged practice with the Muslim community at heart.

The clay name plates created during the workshops will be exhibited at the artist studio in Aspex throughout the duration of Vera’s residency.

Find out more about Vera Hadzhiyska here.