Its opening on September 26 at the San Stefano Gallery’s Contemporary Art Space in Sofia was a true delight for the spirit and the senses!

The exhibition features photographs, installations and paintings by diplomats, carefully selected and perfectly matched. Nomads in life, but also in art, they present to the audience interesting works of high aesthetic value. And besides them, the music - French chansons performed live - contributed to the wonderful art atmosphere of the evening.

The diplomats participating in the exhibition are related to the arts - either as an education or as a hobby.

E. Mrs. Sri Astari Rasjid, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia to the Republic of Bulgaria is well known to all of us with her passion for the beautiful. A daughter of a diplomat, she studied fashion design in London, later working as a designer and as a professional artist in Indonesia before dedicating herself to diplomacy. And as every time, she amazed us with her works presented in the exhibition and with the art installation that praises women's strength and power.

E. Mr. Maciej Szymanski, recently appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to the Republic of Bulgaria, is a professional diplomat but also a great lover of nature. Photography is his hobby and ornithology is his passion. That is why he mainly makes photos of birds, and if there aren’t any, of other objects. For the exhibition he has selected 3 photographs of landscapes taken in the three countries, where he has had mandates as ambassador - Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia. Next to them is one of the first made in Bulgaria - in the Rila Mountains. And how many are yet to come...

E. Mr. Plamen Bonchev, Bulgarian diplomat, former Ambassador of our country to Finland and Georgia, currently the Director of the Global Affairs General Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also presents wonderful photos from the countries where he had lived. Its northern landscapes and warmer moments are equally impressive.

Rien van Wier from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, presents very interesting paintings. There is sun and passion in them, but also clouds and sadness. A wonderful artist, he brings to Bulgaria a breath-taking mood from his home country, with a southern twist.

Cristina Rodriguez Salaberry, Embassy of Brazil, is shaken by the fact that she finds a bunch of old things, photos, letters, even a movie script thrown away as junk in Sofia ... And with her exceptional intelligence and sensitivity she decides, that "The memories don't want to be forgotten". She incorporates them into beautiful installations, putting in a lot of aesthetics and meaning. And she shows them only 3-4 days before she leaves our country, from which the memories will not be forgotten.

What is to be done, diplomats are also Art Nomads...

Photos: "Diplomatic Spectrum"

Above /from left to right/: H. E. Mrs. Sri Astari Rasjid, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia to Bulgaria, Ms. Cristina Rodriguez Salaberry from the Embassy of Brazil, Mr. Rien van Wier from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and H. E. Mr. Maciej Szymanski, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to the Republic of Bulgaria

Below: Picture 1 and 2. Moments from the opening of the exhibition. Picture 3. The installation of H. E. Mrs. Sri Astari Rasjid. Picture 4. The photos of H. E. Mr. Maciej Szymanski. Picture 5. Installation of Ms. Cristina Rodriguez Salaberry. Picture 6. A painting by Mr. Rien van Wier. Picture 7. Photos of H. E. Mr. Plamen Bonchev. Picture 8. H. E. Mrs. Sri Astari Rasjid joined the guest singer and performed with her a French chanson