site.bta15th Sofia Paper Art Fest to Take Place June 3-15

The 15th Sofia Paper Art Fest opens at the National Palace of Culture (NDK) on Tuesday. The event will run until June 15 under the motto "Soul and Matter", which reflects the spiritual and material aspects of modern life in Europe and Bulgaria during a challenging historical period, the organizers said.

The collaboration between the Amateras Foundation and NDK in presenting exhibitions has become a well-established tradition, which began in 2016 as part of the Salon des Arts.

The Salon des Arts is a large-scale cultural forum in which the Sofia Paper Art Fest holds an important place in the programme curated by NDK. This time, the forum's curator has prepared a retrospective presentation of an impressive installation originally created for the West Lobby of NDK in 2018. The artwork represents this year's motto and will become part of travelling exhibitions in Japan and China in the autumn.

"The works in the two Amateras exhibitions/annual paper art competition affirm the concern of contemporary humanity for the safety and ecological balance of the planet in a troubled and uncertain world," say the organizers. This call for care for the living environment, supported by a spiritual need, also raises the topic of the role of artificial intelligence and how it can be of benefit to humanity. The artists focus on installation forms, objects and sculptures using a wide variety of techniques and messages.

Both established and young artists are participating. This year brings many new participants from Bulgaria, Germany, Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, Portugal, Poland, France, Sweden and the United States. Some of the international artists are members of long-standing partner organizations of the Amateras Foundation, such as IAPMA (the International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists), Japan's NEXUS association and the China Artists Association, among others.

The two exhibitions feature 131 works by 71 artists from 21 countries. An international jury will select the winners. The Ministry of Culture, Sofia Municipality, NDK and UniCredit Bulbank support the event. The winner of the Amateras Grand Prix and the winning Bulgarian artist and young Bulgarian artist will stage solo exhibitions during the 2026 Sofia Paper Art Fest.