Vessela works in the sphere of scenography, video art, multimedia and virtual reality.
In 1987 she graduated with an MA in Scenography from the National Academy of Art in Sofia. She also has an MA in Painting in the class of Prof. Otto Möhwald (1996-1998) and also in DesignInformatics – Design for Multimedia and Virtual reality (1997-1999) from Burg Giebichenstein HKD- Institute for Art & Design, Halle, Germany. In 1999 she became Assistant in Media Technologies and Lecturer in Computer Graphics and Video-editing at HKD. Since 1987 Vessela has worked as a set and costume designer in theatres in Bulgaria and also as a set designer in Germany, Sweden and Macedonia, becoming a member of the Atelier-29 Art Group in 1986 and of the Union of Bulgarian Artists in1995. In 2008 she became Associate Professorof Computer Aided Design for Scenographyat the Academy for Music, Dance and Fine Arts, Plovdiv and founded their MULTIMEDIA & VIRTUAL REALITY Master’s program, becoming Leading Professor of the Scenography BA/MA program (2015). Since 2019 she has been Head of the Applied Arts Department in Plovdiv. Vessela has participated in the Prague Quadrennial of Scenography, and in exhibitions in Bulgaria and abroad. Individual exhibitions have included:Breathe, Resonance ArtGallery Plovdiv, 2016; Digital Fragments, Plovdiv, 2016; OPEN STUDIO in Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, 2012; Borderline Spaces, digital works, National Exhibition Centre of Contemporary Art, Sofia, 2009; Prima Materia, Plovdiv, 2002; Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany, 2001; Halle,1999; Dictatorship of Light, exhibition and performance for percussions, light and computer, Hermes Fabrik, Halle (Saale) 1998. She has also been an Artist-in-Residence at: Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, 2011, and in the studio of Lucas Kranach, Lutherstadt Wittenberg in 2001. In 1996 she was awarded a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany having also won a scholarship from the Goethe Institute, Theatre Symposium, Berliner Festwochen, Berlin,1995. Vessela was Curator for the Bulgarian National Pavillion at PQ11. Her international teaching includes Erasmus-Lecturer in Fachhochschule Magdeburg-Stendal, Germany – 2011, 2012, 2014; Academia di Belle Arti “Mario Sironi”, Sassari, Italy – 2016; “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iasi, Romania, 2018
Abstract title: THE EDUCATION IN SCENOGRAPHY – FROM VIRTUAL REALITY TO 3D PRINTING
Virtual reality technologies provide a wide field of action for scenographers today. But another technology makes it possible to bring digital objects back to reality. During the last few years 3D printing has established itself as one of the most rapidly advancing technologies. It enables the creation of a physical object using a virtual model, contained in a digital file. The extreme pace of development in this field doubtless creates new challenges in education. We give our Scenography students not only the theoretical foundation to work with that emerging technology, but also provide them with the opportunity to obtain practical experience with 3D printing when creating models for their course projects. Including 3D technologies in the curriculum, helps us create specialists who are well prepared to take on the challenges of tomorrow. Keywords: VR, scenography, education, 3D modeling, 3D printing.
