A day after the opening of their retrospective exhibition, The Art of Behaving Badly, two co-founders of the Guerrilla Girls delivered a performative lecture to a full house at Kvadrat 500. On March 8, the activist artists, known by the pseudonyms Frida Kahlo and Käthe Kollwitz, also took part in Sofia’s annual march for women’s rights.
On March 7, as part of the events surrounding the group’s first-ever exhibition in Bulgaria, the two co-founders of the Guerrilla Girls collective gave a lecture at Kvadrat 500.
In her opening remarks, Gergana Kutseva, co-director of the Bulgarian Fund for Women, stated:
“Today, we are not just here for a lecture—we are here for a performative experience. Because the Guerrilla Girls don’t just talk—they act. They don’t just present facts—they throw them in the faces of those who pretend not to see them. Since its founding in 1985, this anonymous, radical, and raucous collective has used humor, irony, and facts to expose sexism and racism in the art world. They don’t just enter institutions—they break down doors! And they don’t just point out problems—they demand real change.”
The March for Women’s Rights in Sofia echoed the messages of the performative lecture. Organized by the horizontal collective Feminist Mobilizations, the march was held under the slogan “Feminism, not militarism.”
Representatives of the Guerrilla Girls participated in the protest with a specially created artwork responding to Bulgaria’s current political landscape. The poster, in the group’s signature satirical style and retro advertising aesthetic, featured an image of a pie alongside a biting critique: “Bulgarian women are put on a strict diet. Don’t they deserve more than a miniature slice from the government?”
The Art of Behaving Badly runs through June 8, 2025, at the National Gallery/Kvadrat 500. The exhibition is part of the Bulgarian Fund for Women’s multi-year Fund for Art Projects by Women Artists.
The Guerrilla Girls lecture was made possible with the support of equipment and furniture rental company MultiVision. Special thanks to our partners at Maxxium, who treated our guests to Freixenet, the renowned cava that brought a taste of Barcelona to the event. The media partner for the series is the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA).
Photo: Rosina Pencheva
