Bulgaria: The Art of Zhen-Shan-Ren Illuminates an Ancient Sozopol Gallery

(Minghui.org) The Art of Zhen-Shan-Ren International Exhibition was held on September 10-20, 2025, in the Bulgarian city of Sozopol.

The Art Gallery of Sozopol is housed in the “Old School,” a building that is a cultural monument for the city. Bulgarian Falun Dafa practitioners booked the Art Gallery space for a ten-day run of the art exhibition. Ivan Bachchevanov, the long-time chief curator of the Art Gallery, advocated before the municipal authorities that practitioners should use the space for the art exhibition at no cost.

The 31 paintings on display depicted both the joy and harmony of practitioners’ Falun Dafa spiritual experiences, as well as their strength in resisting the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution.

The Art of Zhen-Shan-Ren International Exhibition was held on September 10-20, 2025, in the city of Sozopol.

Gallery Curator Praises the Art of Zhen-Shan-Ren

Ivan Bachchevanov is a prominent artist and sculptor, whose paintings are displayed by the largest Bulgarian galleries, as well as private and public galleries in Austria, England, Belgium, Germany, Russia, and the United States. He was awarded Honorary Citizen of Sozopol in 2013 for his “exceptional contribution to breathing new life into history, creating dialogue between generations, and transforming cities into stages of cultural memory.”

Bachchevanov praised the exhibition for its message as well as its beautiful works. From his perspective as an art professional, he spoke highly of the artistic mastery of the artists, sharing that Xiaoping Chen’s painting, Illumination, left a deep impression on him.

“The painting depicts light in an extremely skillful way, balancing the objects in the middle in complete harmony—the woman studying the philosophy of Falun Dafa and the child in her lap with a peaceful face, illuminated by light,” he said. He also remarked that “the role of the lotus flower, which is also depicted with high creative ingenuity, brings more light and symbolic meaning to the composition.”

He supported the exhibition’s mission of exposing the brutal violations of human rights in China, and stated that the artworks resonated with his personal life mission to promote goodness in the world.

Ivan Bachchevanov, chief curator of the Art Gallery in Sozopol

Tourists and Residents Learned Truth at the Exhibition

During the ten-day exhibition in Sozopol, tourists and residents visited the gallery and learned about the meaning and essence of the individual themes depicted in the paintings. Through the exhibition, many people learned about the persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual group in China and gained insight into the exhibition’s mission to humanity.

Visitors to the Art of Zhen-Shan-Ren International Exhibition

The exhibition also welcomed attendees from a national conference on sustainable tourism. Falun Dafa practitioners distributed flyers to these participants and introduced them to the concepts of The Art of Zhen-Shan-Ren.

A Falun Dafa practitioner introduced the concepts of The Art of Zhen-Shan-Ren to conference attendees.

Russian Sisters Recognize Practitioners’ Resilience

Two sisters from Moscow were among the first visitors to the exhibition. While viewing the paintings, one of them shared that she lived near the Chinese embassy in Moscow years ago, and had seen Falun Dafa posters in front of the embassy, and the Russian practitioners’ peaceful protests every day, sitting and doing exercises there arounnd the clock, winter and summer. She said that this was how she learned about the practice and the persecution in China.

The other sister said that she had been to China, understood the Chinese people, and knew about the totalitarian government of China.

Sozopol, one of the oldest Bulgarian cities, is located on the Black Sea, and was the successor to the Greek colony of Apollonia. Sozopol attracts many tourists during the summer season with its cultural and historical heritage, its preserved 18th and 19th century architecture, beaches, and the annual Apollonia arts festival.