EXHIBITION OPENING: “Over the Years”

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In the first month of 2026, the Bulgarian Cultural Institute London is delighted to invite you to the opening of the exhibition “Over the Years”, showcasing works by the esteemed and internationally recognized Bulgarian master of drawing and painting, Professor Gredi Assa. During the exhibition, you will also have the opportunity to admire the exquisite silk and cashmere scarves – true works of art, created and generously provided by fashion designer Ina Assa. A special guest of the exhibition, who will present Ina Assa’s scarves and her artistic work, will be the renowned Bulgarian philosopher, cultural scholar, and translator Zhanna Damyanova-Assa.

📅 Date: 28 January 2026, 7:00 PM
📍 Location: Sofia Gallery, Bulgarian Cultural Institute London

Following the official opening, guests will have the opportunity to enjoy a glass of fine Bulgarian red wine.

About Professor Gredi Assa:
Professor Gredi Assa is a contemporary Bulgarian artist, born in 1954 in the city of Pleven. He graduated in Monumental Painting at Veliko Tarnovo University under Professor Nikola Gelov. Since 1994, he has been teaching at the National Academy of Arts, and in 2003 he was appointed professor. He is also the founder and long-time head of the Department of Fashion at the same academy.

Since 1985, Gredi Assa has been a member of the group “The City”, formed together with Andrey Daniel, Nedko Solakov, Bozhidar Boyadzhiev, and Filip Zidarov. “The City” was the first informal group to challenge the centralized management of the arts in Bulgaria and organized the first exhibition of unconventional works. The group has participated in numerous exhibitions in Bulgaria and abroad. Among their notable works are the eponymous exhibition in 1988, “The Tower of Babel” (1989) in Gabrovo, and the installation “The Chameleon” (1990) in Sofia.

Professor Gredi Assa primarily works in painting but also creates graphics, watercolors, drawings, collages, and assemblages. His style combines abstraction and figuration, inspired by travel, history, archaeology, personal experiences, and global events. He bridges tradition and modernity in expressive works that convey personal emotion and universal messages.

Gredi Assa has held numerous solo exhibitions in Bulgaria and internationally, including in Paris, Berlin, Vienna, New York, Seoul, London, Amsterdam, and others. He has participated in several international biennales, including the 54th Venice Biennale and the 24th and 25th Ljubljana Biennales of Graphic Arts. His recent large-scale exhibitions include “Journeys” (2024) at the Sofia City Art Gallery, “Then and Now” (2024) at the Boris Denev Art Gallery – Veliko Tarnovo, and “Conversations with Painting” at the City Gallery of Plovdiv – Hall 2019.

He has served as Director of the National Donation Fund “13 Centuries of Bulgaria” and as Vice-Rector of the National Academy of Arts. He has received numerous awards for his contributions to art, including the prestigious Zahari Zograf Award in 2024, as well as state honors for his contribution to Bulgarian culture.

Professor Gredi Assa has also participated in several documentary films about his work, notably “The Other Earthly Globe” (2004) directed by Vladimir Lyutzkanov, awarded the “Eighth Muse” prize, “Cubassa” by French filmmaker Patrick Sandren (2010), and “Decalogue: Part 6” by Vladimir Lyutzkanov and Antoneta Bochurova.

He is the author of the book “Children of the Imagination” (Ciela Publishing, 2022), with text and illustrations and a foreword by Professor Bertrand Tillier (art historian, Sorbonne lecturer), as well as “The Body is Not a Pipe” (Anubis Publishing, 2004), with text by Professor Valeri Stefanov.

Ina Assa will participate in the event at BCI London with 2 pieces from her series of silk scarves based on paintings by Gredi Assa, as well as 2 pieces of cashmere scarves from the Fall-Winter 2025/26 collection.

Ina Assa was raised in the artistic family of the renowned Bulgarian painter Gredi Assa and Zhanna Damyanova-Assa – a philosopher, cultural scholar, and translator. She graduated from one of the most prestigious fashion schools, ESMOD International in Paris, and later specialized at Central Saint Martin’s School of Art & Design in London.

Ina Assa began her career in the fashion capital, Paris, at the Paco Rabanne studio, where she created accessories for the brand’s collections under the direction of Patrick Robinson. After Paco Rabanne, she briefly worked for the Italian menswear fashion house Francesco Smalto, designing shoes and boots for the secondary line, Smalto By, under Franck Boclet. She continued her creative journey at Givenchy’s Accessories studio, where she hand-painted silk scarves for several collections and designed iconic pieces for the brand. After two years, she took on a new challenge, collaborating with accessory and shoe designer Sidonie Larizzi, known as a mentor to Christian Louboutin and Laurence Dacade (Chanel accessories designer). Together, they created some of the most refined accessory collections for Elie Saab.

After returning from France, in 2012 Ina Assa was appointed Chief Designer at BNT (Bulgarian National Television). Concurrently, accustomed to working late into the night, she designed part of the clothing line for the Bulgarian women’s fashion brand “Credo.” In addition to the classic collection, she created her own, younger line, “Mademoiselle Credo by Ina Assa,” featuring romantic business style, bright colors, light natural fabrics, and a touch of French chic.

Almost every collection features the accessories typical of Ina Assa – brooches. One of her signature brooches, representing a stylized embroidery motif, was gifted by the Bulgarian presidential couple to Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

From mid-2013 to the end of 2017, Ina Assa also created several lines of jewelry in gold and natural pearls for the jewelry house “Velmar.”

In 2014, Ina Assa won first prize in the uniform design competition for Mtel employees – “Mtelegance.” Ina Assa was the chief scenographer for the outfits at the Junior Eurovision in Sofia in November 2015; In 2020, Ina Assa received Bulgaria’s most prestigious fashion award – the “Golden Needle” from the Fashion Academy for Designer of the Year. She dedicated the award to her only son, Alexander, born at the end of 2019; In 2021, Ina was honored with the “Woman of the Year” award in the “Designers” category.
In 2022, she contributed to the collections of the children’s footwear brand “Kolev & Kolev.”
In 2023, she created special silk artworks for the 5-star Crowne Plaza Sofia hotel.
In 2024, Ina designed the uniforms and scarves for the employees of PORSCHE.

Zhanna Damyanova-Assa is a cultural scholar and translator of philosophical literature from French. She is a lecturer in the Department of Cultural Studies and Executive Director of the Foundation “House of Human and Social Sciences.” The foundation organizes the “Sofia Dialogues” forum, a platform for international academic conferences held continuously since 1996. Guests of the foundation’s forum have included Umberto Eco, Jürgen Habermas, Jacques Derrida, Paul Ricoeur, Charles Taylor, Reinhard Kozelek, and many other world-renowned contemporary thinkers.