feb _26
▲ highlights: art residency "Direction:Strong" // Sofia Human Rights forum next month // meet "Let Me Zine"
_hello there »
Happy Friday, the 13th! ♡ I’m excited to tell you about the art residency in Bulgaria last month. But before that, let me show you my newest print - another one in the series of yoga. This time with an inside joke: a little truth for all of us who secretly choose the back row.
I like the spot at the back,
so no one looks at my butt.
What about you? :)
Keep an eye, more yoga posters are coming in February!
_things to share »
✐ <recap: Direction:Strong art residency/> What a week! The experience was one of those rare things that you are forever grateful for.
Where: Novi Iskar (Bulgaria) held us quietly - houses, hills, winter air, and time slowing down just enough to be there, away from everything.
What: Each artist was matched with one Woman Survivor, part of the Emprove family. My buddy is Michaela (Misheto) and we have exchanged stories, feelings, and hopes since November. For this week, I challenged myself to work on canvas with acrylic. Not my most familiar medium, but one that travels easily and stands strong in an exhibition space. A challenge enough to get me a bit outside of my comfort zone.
Who: An attentive circle of artists, alongside the Emprove team, holding space with care, humour, and trust. Conversations moved gently, but deeply. What a privilege to know these humans and to spend that time with them.
How: Red and blue filled the room long before images appeared. Preparing the canvases felt like laying the ground before speaking. During that day, I also finalised the sketches on my iPad.
Why: I went for a rhythmic narrative. The choices we make, we make every day, over and over again. We can go in one direction or another. I wanted to see where the two of the directions can lead us. One is going on with shame and fear, the other - with support and lightness.
Title: Choices. Every Day. (Избор. Всеки ден.)
Year: 2026
Series of 4 works: 2 х 40х50 сm & 2 х 15х15 сm
Acrylic on cotton canvas
Cannot wait to share them with the world :)
↳ <up next: Sofia Human Rights forum/> Because of my participation in the art residency, I was invited as a speaker alongside my buddy, Mihaela (thank you, Olia)! Together, we will tell the story of Direction:Strong, and share more about Emprove’s amazing work with Women Survivors and artists from various mediums and fields. How does art translate the stories of those brave women? Come by to find out!
📍 14.03.2026, Theatre Hall Gurko, General Gurko St 16, Sofia
▶▶ visit the forum’s website for more info & tickets
★ <discover Safety Nets: Let Me Zine/> My fellow XPUBie Nami Kim is now working on this podcast series. An online zine that unfolds like a quiet digital space you slowly move through, gathering different artistic responses from people who developed their own methodologies for running their own servers or exploring the matters of identity/privacy/security on the web. I appreciate projects like this that feel both collective and intimate at the same time, and that create space for reflection.
▶▶ 4 episodes have been published so far, have a look here.
💭 <on How to take care of your creativity wisely? by Prague-based artist Zuza Gadomska> In her publication on instagram, Zuza raises an important issue: how do we treat our creativity - as something to constantly drain or something to also feed and nourish? If you’re like me, doing everything for your art practice on your own, you rarely have much time to do pure research, just look for inspiration, and do proper documentation. But these things are as important for my work as me drawing, designing, and marketing my way around.
Leaving you with her note:
Rest is productive. Nothing good will be created if you’re running on empty.
I felt completely drained after my trip to Sofia, so I needed several days to recover and be able to work on the tasks on my to-do list. And that was painful and frustrating, but I couldn’t really do anything valuable until I was rested.
Make sure to check her whole publication, lots of good advice in one place.
▶ alnik.me // ▶ instagram // ▶ alwiki // ▶ web shop
🖤 Any thoughts after experiencing this letter? Would be happy to read them :-)
🖤 A lovely soul forwarded this to you? You can join here: