On the 18 June 2019 NGO “Operation Teddy Bear” organized the official opening of “In the beginning there was art…” – the first independent exhibition of a 17-year-old talented girl, deprived of parental care, who is part of the Mentoring Program “The Hidden Talents of Bulgaria”. The exibit took place in the best Art Gallery in Varna – “Art Gallery Largo”. This wonderful success story is the result of a two-year preparation of “Danny”, one of the talents the Program which started in October 2017.

Official sponsors of the event were Cargill Bulgaria. They are one of the most cordial and long-term partners of NGO “Operation Teddy Bear” and in 2018 they became the first Corporate Angel to fund the participation in the “Hidden Talents of Bulgaria” for a full year of “Danny” and the three athlethes brothers from Vidin. Thanks to their gracious support, we had the exclusive privilege of organizing this exhibition and fulfilling a dream of a child from a disadvantaged background! It is a great honor for us to work with the team of Cargill! Thank you for your trust and for giving a chance for a better life!

Another partner of the event was Mrs. Nelly Valcheva, owner of the best gallery in Varna – Art Gallery Largo. She graciously provided us with her wonderful venue for a whole week and thus gave the young artist an incredible opportunity to display her paintings next to the works of outstanding Bulgarian artists!

Fourteen out of the sixteen paintings found their owner just an hour after the opening of “In the beginning was painting”. The exhibition gathered a total of BGN 1 434 from donations for paintings and prints. At the request of the young artist, Danny, the money from the paintings will be used for obtaining a driving license and participating in an art event. The remaining donations will be distributed for the lessons of the youngsters from “The Hidden Talents of Bulgaria”.

Thanks to the systematic work with the great professional – the teacher Violeta Daneva, who has taught a total of 413 hours of art to the artist during her two years of participation in the Program, the support and efforts of the highly dedicated mentor Lyudmila Krumova and the loving team of the social service that takes care of “Danny”, the girl successfully prepared for her first solo exhibition. For less than a year she worked on 16 paintings that portray her rapid development through the Program. In 2020, the Program will be preparing her for applying to university.

Drawings of the girl before entering the Mentoring Program “Hidden Talents of Bulgaria” in 2017.

Drawings of the young artist showing her rapid development within a year in the Program.

The event was a double occasion for celebration for the team of “Operation Teddy Bear”, as M.I., the young poet, who started her participation in the Program this school year, prepared short works for each painting. She read her sensual poems in front of all guests during the opening of the exibit.

The young poetess is only 16 and is part of the Program, since October 2018. The mentor: Valentina Andonova and the literature teacher: Ivana Kureva have been working with her, since the start of the school year. In the 2019-2020 school year, surprises are coming from this young promising author …

This is the second exhibition of a talented youngster deprived of parental care, part of the Mentoring Program “The Hidden Talents of Bulgaria”. In July 2018 we opened the first solo exhibition of Galin Kovachev – baring the name “Michelangelo and I”, which also reaped tremendous success and enabled him to start preparing for a career in the world of arts.

In the school year 2019-2020 there are 10 new participants joining the “The Hidden Talents of Bulgaria”, four of whom wish to become artists … it will be an artistic year for all of us!

The year-round mentoring program “The Hidden Talents of Bulgaria” gives a chance for a better, dignified future and a professional realization of gifted young people, deprived of parental care or at risk. The program gives access to: private lessons, individual work with a trained mentor, visits to seminars, workshops, competitions, camps and other events, required materials and preparation for applying to university as finding an internship or a job.

We wish you a great summer! See you soon at our next dream come true!