site.btaUPDATED 100th Anniversary of Ahinora Painting Marked at Kazanlak Art Gallery

An event dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Ivan Milev’s Ahinora painting brought successful women to the Art Gallery here on Saturday. Among them were National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova, Deputy Mayors Akseniya Tileva and Daniela Koeva, and women with various professions. The event was held under the auspices of the President’s wife, Desislava Radeva, who was a special guest.

Opening the event, Kazanlak Art Gallery Director Plamen Petrov said that one of the Gallery’s most valuable exhibits, Ahinora, has been housed in its own museum for two years now, attracting thousands of visitors. To mark 100 years since Ahinora’s creation, the Gallery organized Saturday’s event and invited 100 women born in Kazanlak, having worked for its development and having contributed to its cultural and social identity. 

The National Assembly Chair recalled that she herself was born in Kazanlak. She noted that the Art Gallery had changed for the better, just like the city, and thanked the team for their work. She presented a certificate of appreciation to the curator of the Gallery, Dora Zarcheva, for her long-standing activity and contribution to the development of Kazanlak’s cultural life.

The event included music performances and a discussion panel on the Bulgarian woman between national mythology and today’s reality.

Speaking during the discussion, Radeva said that the environment there inspired her a lot, because she saw many successful women with contribution to Kazanlak. She expressed the opinion that at the moment, one cannot talk about traditional qualities of the Bulgarian woman. In the past, the qualities were built on the basis of patriarchy - the man wanted a modest, beautiful, hardworking and humble woman, while now these values have become blurred and modesty is now considered a disadvantage, said Radeva. "However, there is a female code that has taught us patience, humility and we have gained wisdom," she added. "We can also say that Bulgarian women are very smart," she noted. Radeva also believes that a woman should not strive at all costs to be equal to a man, because she has her place.

Earlier in the day,  Kiselova and Radeva visited the Ahinora Museum, which is the world’s only museum dedicated to a single painting. Museum Director Plamen Petrov acquainted the two guests with the painting’s history and its creator’s artistic life.