I often claim that London is to 21st century art what Paris was for 20th century art. This bold assumption doesn’t by any means suggest that London produces the greatest of artists; until now it has been too far from it. I’m talking about London being the most popular immigration destination for many Europeans and non Europeans alike.
Recent statistics suggest that only 20% of the London population is born in London, the rest came from somewhere else.
As an Immigrant myself, I can assure you that the act of immigration is mostly economic, yet I wouldn’t suggest that London is the easiest of places. Life is more difficult and much more expensive than any other place in the UK and Europe, yet it takes the lion’s share of another type of immigrants, the Cultural type. Artists, writers, musicians those who came to join over 22000 arty citizens, many of whom have ambition to be artists of the world rather than artists of any given nation.
KROM BALGESKY, DESI TOSHEVA and THEODOR TODOROV are three young immigrant artists. They came from Bulgaria over a year ago, following their ambitions and taking full control of their destiny. They work as cleaners, like most Bulgarians in London. They clean by night, to be able to pay the rent of their small studio by day. Other needs are not really of any importance to them, they work and live for their art.
Like many others who studied art outside the Anglo American planet, they’re highly educated, talented, devoted, and they are neither in the business of writing pretentious critical essays nor in the business of conceptual art.
Nazir Tanbouli
Artist and Curator of Studio75
3/4/2013
