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Associate Professor Zhivko Arabov was born on October 18, 1946 in Dobrich. He discovered the magic of photography during his studies at the Higher Institute of Forestry. Soon he became one of the youngest members of the Bulgarian Photo Club. In 1974, he was awarded the title “Fine Art Photography Artist”. In the same year, he took over the leadership of the photo club at the National Student House. In 1985, he was declared Photographer of the Year in the “Bulgarian Photo” magazine contest. Zhivko Arabov is the winner of over 100 awards in national and international photo contests. His solo exhibitions have been shown in Sofia, Komi ASSR, Moscow, Stockholm, Skopje, Fotovakantsia, Sozopol and the Apollonia’89 Festival. His photos illustrate representative albums, such as those of the children’s “Banner of Peace” Assembly and the “Beautiful Bulgaria” project. After 1990, he became a lecturer of art photography at the NATFA, and later at the New Bulgarian University. In 2010, he received a plaque from the Yanka Kyurkchieva Academy of Photography for his contribution to the Bulgarian art of photography. This is the 102nd award in the 40-year career of the photographer Zhivko Arabov. CONTACTS As an artist, Zhivko Arabov is a proponent of the reportage method of photography. Sometimes he stages, adjusts things, yet drawing on reality, on his perception of people and their problems. Arabov is no stranger to experimental and avant-garde pursuits but for him they are sketches on the way to mastery. He has overpowered elementary objectivity and the simple recording of a situation. His works convey and evoke specific mood. The exhibition, donated to the Academy of Photography, consists of frames taken at the outset of Zhivko’s artistic career. These are portraits of famous people, colleagues, fellow students and random young people. The exhibition presents the creative pursuits of the young photographer Zhivko Arabov.
