Rosina Pencheva is a visual artist and creative director based in Sofia. She is intent on uplifting cultural heritage in Bulgaria through photography and creative projects as a founder and visionary of the Capturing Creativity platform. In her signature and widely acclaimed project Crafted by Hand, a Photo Diary she follows her passion to present master artisans practising extremely rare crafts in Bulgaria. Rosina's mission is to put the focus on Bulgarian craftsmanship, its value and its preservation through a visual archive. She is the creative producer of New Weavers for Gabrovo micro-festival, a multimedia podcast of conversations from the studios of contemporary artists, and House of Culture – Visual Archive, an audiovisual project. Rosina's documentary photography has been presented in solo and international group exhibitions. Since 2013 her professional experience thrives on long-term partnerships with museums, theatres, and other cultural institution stakeholders.
- How does craftsmanship feature in your work and life?
- I’m pleased to be able to give visibility to various artisans' creative processes – from the nearly extinct to the newest generation of crafts, and to leave a visual archive of their work. I attend conferences, seminars and workshops to help expand my vision on art, crafts and culture.
- Do you work with craftspeople?
- For more than four years I worked for one of the most recognizable craft preservers in Bulgaria – Etar Open Air Museum in Gabrovo, where I’ve met numerous craftsmen and have documented their crafting process. I still continue documenting artisans’ work.
- Do you have any stories about the artisans you have selected?
- While doing my research on a particular artisan, I realised that we’d had two of his artworks hanging on the wall at my family home for about 15 years... I was so used to them and had taken them for granted, and now I really saw them. It was Dimitar Nikolaev’s work.
- How would you define excellence?
- Striving for self-improvement, powerful curiosity and the courage to express oneself despite the various struggles one meets.
