site.btaApollonia Festival of Arts to Open with Exhibition Premieres

The Apollonia Festival of Arts 2025 in Sozopol will open with a series of exhibition premieres showcasing both established Bulgarian artists and emerging talents. The exhibitions can be viewed at the Sozopol Art Gallery starting August 28, the organizers said on Tuesday.

From that day until September 6, the seaside town will host over 70 events spanning music, theatre, literature, film, and visual arts.

Among the highlights of the opening set of exhibitions is the Europe in Bulgaria project by the Sofia City Art Gallery that traces the influence of European styles on Bulgarian art from the country’s Liberation in 1878 to the mid-20th century. The show features works by some of Bulgaria’s most renowned artists, including Ivan Milev, Nikola Petrov, Ivan Nenov, Nikolay Raynov, Sirak Skitnik and Nikola Tanev.

An exhibition called We Are Earth, by Radoslava Boor, is a visual protest against environmental threats. It has been successfully shown in Sofia, Brussels, Prague, and Thessaloniki, and has received three prestigious awards at forums in New Jersey, Kharkiv, and New York. The International Triennial of Stage Poster is showcasing the project as part of its "Change the Picture" campaign.

Another highlight at Apollonia will be the premiere of a display dubbed Literature is a Stage, a selection of works for the upcoming 11th International Triennial of Stage Poster which Sozopol audiences will be the first to see.

The festival team pointed out that Apollonia 2025 brings together classical and contemporary art, painting, graphic art, sculpture, and poster design, with a focus on art as a form of communication and response to global issues such as ecology and cultural exchange.

BTA is a media partner of the event.

The Apollonia Festival of Arts has been held annually since 1984. It is organized by the Apollonia Foundation, established in 1991. Each year, festival venues in Sozopol attract hundreds of artists and thousands of art lovers from Bulgaria and around the world. The event aims to preserve cultural traditions while supporting new talent across various artistic disciplines.