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A Painting by Theodore Ushev Sold at Charity Auction

October 20, 2023
A Painting by Theodore Ushev Sold at Charity Auction

The Inspirational Leaders Charity Auction of the Teach for Bulgaria Foundation raised a record 400 000 BGN to ensure equal access to quality education for every child

 

Source: Teach for Bulgaria  

 

For the first and only time to date, famous Bulgarian artist Theodore Ushev offered his artwork to private collectors during the Inspirational Leaders Charity Auction which took place on 18 October at Hilton Sofia. Ushev's drawing was sold in a contested bidding for BGN 78,000 to FANTASTICO Group. The amount will be donated to the mission of the event, namely providing equal access to quality education for all students in Bulgaria and supporting the work of the Teach for Bulgaria Foundation.

The Inspirational Leaders Charity Auction was again organised by Teach for Bulgaria in partnership with the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum. The event was held for the 12th consecutive year, bringing together business leaders, socially responsible companies and famous stars to improve Bulgarian education.

Theodore Ushev was not able to attend the event live, and sent a video message sharing his motivation to support the good ause with his artwork, "I gladly agreed to participate in this initiative of the Teach for Bulgaria Foundation because I, like all of you who have gathered tonight, believe that every child in Bulgaria should have the opportunity to receive a quality education - no matter where they study, no matter what their parents' financial means are or where they live. As you know, I don't sell my artwork to private parties, so tonight is your only chance to get your hands on my drawing by participating in this auction for this watercolor."

Items are rarely on offer at the Inspirational Leaders Charity Auction Auction. Guests mainly bid for time in the company of famous and successful personalities from Bulgarian culture, sports, media and other fields. As supporters of the mission of Teach for Bulgaria, the stars donate of their time by stepping into various roles - presenters at corporate events, team building activities and more.

A total of 19 celebrities and nearly 200 guests from more than 80 companies took part in this year's edition of the Auction, which together raised more than BGN 400 000. A record, the amount will be fully invested in the work of the Teach for Bulgaria Foundation and the training and support of school teams in the Model Schools programme.

In addition to Theodore Ushev's artwork, there was spectacular bidding for time spent with entrepreneurs Hristo Borisov, CEO of Bulgaria's first "unicorn" company Payhawk, and Svilen Rangelov from cargo drone company Dronamics. Pop star Kerana provoked the attendees by offering them a karate lesson that will help them further improve their determination and self-control.  Poet Ivan Langev promised not only a literary reading, but also a challenging simultaneous game of chess on 10 boards.

There were also strong bids for the professional coach Veselka Tsocheva - Donkova, mountaineer Silvia Azdreeva, boxer Tervel Pulev, actresses Yana Marinova and Kristina Veroslavova, wine expert Yana Petkova and journalist Iva Doychinova. Guests also had the opportunity to bid for dinner at Philip Zahariev's gourmet restaurant ONA, as well as time spent with actor Kalin Sarmenov, volleyball player Lyubo Ganev, deep-sea diving record holder Kristina Dimitrova, Chef Manchev and podcast host Georgi Nenov. At the end of the evening, the best Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov donated his tennis racket.

Hosts of the auction were Mitko Pavlov and Maria Sylvester, and attendees included a number of popular public figures, friends and supporters of Teach for Bulgaria.  Among them were the actors Alek Alexiev and Yana Titova, ultramarathoner Krasse Gueorguiev, snowboarder Alexandra Jekova, entrepreneurs, business leaders and members of the Boards of BBLF and Teach for Bulgaria Foundation.

"The Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum has been a proud partner of the Auction for 12 years. If we are accountable to society and to the future, we must do whatever it takes to support young people so that they have the privilege of being educated to untap their potential and dreams. This charity evening provides a great opportunity to do just that," Levon Hampartzoumian, BBLF Chair, said at the opening.

"It is inspiring that education unites so many different people. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this evening such a success and together we can help at least 120 more schools over the next three years to provide a better quality education to their students," Trayan Trayanov, Executive Director of Teach for Bulgaria, said at the end of the event.