I presented at the annual TASA conference this fall in El Paso. It was lovely to meet so many educators and artists from the region and I got to take away the first place award at the attendees exhibition! Thank you to curator Leslie Moodie Castro and the El Paso Museum of Art for putting on this exhibition.

Looking forward to the opening of this duo exhibition with my dear friend and fantastic fellow artist Martina Nikova. It’s been a long time coming, I’m so glad we got to do this together! Please stop by the opening next Friday, May 27th at Arosita Gallery in Sofia. I’m truly sad to have to miss this but I know that Marti will represent us both better than anyone could!

The exhibition "Lee.Neino" (Li.Near) connects two Bulgarian women artists living in different parts of the world. Boryana Rusenova-Ina - in the Texas Panhandle and Martina Nikova - in overcrowded Sofia. The two artists first met in 2003 as international students at the Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio. Since then, they have been united not only by friendship and art, but also by their common interest in ideas about belonging and more recently-motherhood. In this joint exhibition, the two artists are reflecting on the illusion of a horizon and linearity in life.

Defining the Undefined: Art, Education, Technology, and the Mapping of Ourselves.

2022 Mid-America College Art Association Virtual Conference. Hosted by Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, March 31 - April 2, 2022

This spring I got the pleasure of co-chairing a panel with my colleague Mariana Smith from Stockton University (NJ) on the role of place in art practice and education “From Local to Global: Crossing Borders to Build Place Sensitive Art Practice and Education”. We got a group of fantastic presenters:

1. Ellen Mueller, Director, MFA Studies, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, MN

2. Dr. Fátima Martínez, Professor of Journalism, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia

3. Casey Ryann, Independent Curator and Adjunct Professor of Photography, Stockton University, NJ

4. Dan Jian, Assistant Professor of Drawing, Texas Christian University, TX

5. Sara Drescher, MFA Candidate, Texas Tech University, TX

OCTOBER 23, 2021 – JANUARY 2, 2022

This exhibition is the ninth in an ongoing series of juried biennial exhibitions exploring specific areas of artistic practice, material, and content. This year, the AMoA staff and Board of Trustees are excited to offer the museum’s exhibition spaces to artists with a socially engaged practice. The exhibition will be a collection of artworks submitted by artists residing within a 600-mile radius of Amarillo, Texas. On view will be more than 120 artworks in a variety of media from 46 artists. The juror, Leslie Moody Castro, is an independent curator and writer whose practice is based on itinerancy and collaboration. She has produced, organized, and collaborated on projects in Mexico and the United States for more than a decade, and her repertoire of critical writing is also reflective of her commitment to place.

(September 20, 2021 – October 28, 2021)

The exhibition was juried by Carrie Johnson, the Executive Director/Curator of the Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL. Carrie Johnson was named Executive Director in 2019 after being Curator since 2012. As Curator she lead the development and innovative implementation of exhibitions while overseeing the care for and management of the RAM Permanent Collection.

The exhibition was physical and virtual, a full color catalog was produced which included a statement from the juror.

Aodan • David Bower • Riley Brady • Sally Brogden • RJ Calabrese • Shelley Gilchrist • Blinn Jacobs
• Colleen Kelsey • Dawnice Kerchaert • Ambrin Ling • Daniel McInnis • Joshua Newth • Bryan Northup
• Eve Ozer • Michelle JY Park • Angela Piehl • Heather Ramsdale • Travis Roozée • Boryana Rusenova-Ina
• Sarah Smelser • Ju Yun

Public Domain, Boryana Rusenova-Ina
May 15 – Sep 12, 2021

In this new series of silk dioramas and paintings featuring scenes of Mount Rushmore, Boryana Rusenova-Ina examines the connection between identity, belonging, and the ever-changing symbolism of familiar spaces. Using the landscape genre and techniques borrowed from scenography, her practice explores and subverts perceptions of what is familiar about national landmarks like Mount Rushmore in order to emphasize the multitude of narratives that comprise notions of homeland and collective identity.

I will be presenting 2 papers at the bi-annual FATE conference. This year it will be virtual and hosted by UNC Charlotte.

“Rethinking Self-Portraiture in the Age of Social Media” will be part of the session on “ Best Practice Share: Navigating 21st Century Figure Drawing” co-chaired by professors Hannah Barnes and Kelly Hrenko from University of Southern Maine.

“Re-Enactments: Appropriating from Art History to Tell New Stories” will be part of the session on “Teaching Ethical Appropriation” co-chaired by professors Erin Dixon and Eilis Crean from University of West Georgia.