Borjana Ventzislavova joined D6 in June 2012 to take part in our research residency programme. Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, Borjana splits her time between Sofia and Vienna.
During her residency, Ventzislavova concentrated on research for a new video project called 'Radical Cheerleading', which deals with the current social and political crisis situation of our so-called developed capitalist society. Borjana compiled texts that served as the base for lyrics of political protest songs, which she collected from different sources as well as from meetings with different communities. The texts not only contain a critique on the system but also ideas and proposals for possible or/and utopian solutions.
For the next step Borjana will create cheerleading teams from people of all ages from all over Europe and North America who will perform the texts in the way of 'Radical Cheerleading'.
We screened Borjana's video work 'Migration Standards' at the Göteborg Culture Festival 2012, Sweden in the Big M, check it out here.
The repressive migration policy nowadays is an absurdity. It is contrary to the principles invoked by the EU: peace, democracy, solidarity, justice, respect for human rights and freedom of movement. It divides humanity into the rich, who can move freely, and those who have to remain in place.
Migration Standards deals with migrants’ demand for recognition of their history, their role and social equality. The work is implemented through the media of video and photography and shows children and teenagers who are facing a background that is a combination of two different subjects. The text in the work consists from excerpts from the “Democracy Not Integration” and “Ausschluss Basta!” formulations. In the video work the protagonists are reciting the text in the form of slogans.
​Borjana Ventzislavova, (1976, Sofia, BG), currently based in Sofia and Vienna; graduated visual media art / digital art at the University for applied arts Vienna (by Peter Weibel, Karl Dudesek, Thomas Fürstner).
Working in the fields of photography, video, installation, and new media Borjana Ventzislavova deals with issues such as identity and marginalization of individuals, as well as different social groups, migration and cohabitation. In the broader sense, everyday connections and social relations play a central role in her work. She realized a series of collaborative projects together with Dezentrale Medien and Nebudu Group. Her works have been exhibited internationally in solo and group shows as well as at media art and film festivals.