About
The culture and art website „въпреки.com” (vupreki.com) was founded in January 2014 by award-winning journalists Zelma Almaleh and Stefan Djambazov. The two have worked in numerous and varied media outlets including Bulgarian National Television, Bulgarian National Radio, Radio France Internationale, State Film Studio “Ekran” and many others. The website comes as a natural progression of their long lasting interest in the arts and culture and how the two relate to and impact society. Both Almaleh and Djambazov have won awards for documentary filmmaking, as well as radio programs, which have mainly covered culture topics. In 2016, Almaleh and Djambazov established the foundation “Vupreki” which works on projects that present and promote contemporary art. Notable projects include “The Sculpture and the City,” “Europe on one street in Sofia” , “Europe through young artists,” “Teachers and Students in fine arts.”
Focus
The focus of „въпреки.com” is the idea of overcoming – the overcoming of the self, institutions, stereotypes, politicians, penury, soullessness, ignorance, conjuncture and many more. To overcome is a task that every true artist and intellectual puts upon him or her self. The website does not simply list the cultural events of the week in a bland and informative way. As much as information is present, it is carefully curated and comes with very explicit and stated position. The purpose of the website is to highlight the values in art and life. And who if not artists are the ones that create their greatest work against the odds.
That idea of overcoming is the foundation of how the people and events that are featured on it are selected, paired with their artistic and intellectual capacities. A prominent part is given to opinion and critique in the columns “Critical View” and “Reflections.” Their guest authors are both prominent figures from the academic circuit as well as young people – BA, MA, and PhD students. There is a spotlight reserved for featuring contemporary art creators, processes and national and international educational programs. All pieces are accompanied by rich photography.