Drawings from the Burgas exhibition "Bulgaria – Turkey: A Bridge Between Cultures" will go to Japan. Cem Angelos Üstüner of Turkey, founder and owner of the Pinelo Art Gallery in Istanbul, announced this at the opening.

It was already known yesterday that the 10th anniversary edition would open today at the NHC Cultural Centre. It shows work by 87 children and young people from the two countries.

The background: Anniversary exhibition in Burgas collects works by 87 young authors from Bulgaria and Turkey

"Next week I am going to Japan, and I want to show all these beautiful drawings there too," Üstüner said. He thanked architect Yulia Krasovska for her efforts to bring children from Bulgaria and Turkey together again through art.

Krasovska founded and runs the Yulia Krasovska Art School, part of the Architecture and Art Foundation in Burgas. She organised the exhibition with Üstüner. The two have worked together since 2020, and she says they have held about 20 exhibitions since then in Bulgaria, Turkey, Ukraine and the US.

The Bulgarian entrants study at Krasovska's school. The Turkish ones come from the Doryan Art studio in Izmir, which is run by Yasemin Doryan. She co-organised the show and is the partner on the Turkish side. Doryan thanked Krasovska and the hosts in Burgas. She said she hoped the two schools would keep working together so more children can show their talent to an international audience.

Svetla Kraleva of the regional administration in Burgas greeted the participants on behalf of the regional governor. She said children's drawings link people despite distance and nationality. She wished the children well as they share experience, make new friends and keep in touch through art.

Sabin Popov, chairman of the Burgas regional college of the Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria, called the show an example of the power of cultural exchange and of the link between generations. "Today we are witnesses to the most beautiful bridge – the one art builds between people, countries and generations," he said. Popov thanked the organisers for the heart and energy they put into the anniversary edition and wished the exhibition success.

Among the official guests was Mehmed Hamid, deputy mayor of Ruen municipality, who backed cultural exchange and friendship between children from the two countries.

The opening featured music and folk dances. A pupil at Krasovska's school, who is also a soloist with the Nikola Ginov Folk Dance Ensemble in Burgas, sang "Milka le". The ensemble itself, whose artistic director is Dimitar Ginov, performed Shopska dances. A Turkish folklore group from the Dimitar Polyanov 1957 chitalishte (community cultural centre) in the village of Snyagovo also took part.

The exhibition is on the second floor of the NHC Cultural Centre and runs until 30 October.