Dear Artist,
Welcome to the FiKVA Foundation. I’m genuinely glad you’re here – not just visiting a website, but stepping into a space that was built for artists like you.
My name is Tanya Atanasova. I’m the founder of FiKVA – but more importantly, I’m an artist. I studied applied and fine arts in Bulgaria and Belgium. I work in oil, mostly large-scale portraits. I paint from my studio in Antwerp, where I juggle the same things many mid-career artists do – deadlines, doubts, moments of flow, and the constant push to stay true to the work.
So why FiKVA? What made me press pause on my own career to create something for others?
Let me tell you a quick story…
Every time I open a solo show, I hear the same thing:
“We love this kind of art, Tanya – why don’t we see more of it?”
And the answer is… because the art world, at least in Europe, is not built to welcome it.
Today, only two major venues on the continent – one in London, one in Barcelona – are dedicated to modern realism. That’s it. Two. In all of Europe. The rest? They politely nod, then move on. If you’re a realist painter, opportunities are rare. Getting seen is a fight. Many brilliant artists stay invisible, or worse – give up.
But what if realism isn’t a style you chose? What if it’s simply who you are?
Some of us are born with a visual language that doesn’t need translation. It’s coded in us – the need to tell stories through faces, bodies, light, gesture. We don’t do it for trends, or to fit in. We do it because we have to. And we deserve space too. Real space. Real walls. Real recognition.
That’s why FiKVA exists.
I dreamed of a place – a real place – where excellence meets authenticity, and where the richness of human experience is honored in every brushstroke. A home for the bold, the quiet, the emerging, and the seasoned – for women, for those who found their voice later in life, for students, for artists of color, for LGBTQ+ creators, and for those whose paths have never been straight or easy. A space where all the many languages of realism are not only welcomed, but truly seen and deeply heard.
But life gets busy. I kept painting, kept pushing deadlines. The dream stayed in the background – until 2020.
Covid hit. My shows were cancelled. Suddenly, for the first time in years, I had time to think. And I knew: this is the moment.
I started talking to artists in lockdown. Zoom calls, messages, long late-night conversations. I reached out to galleries, collectors, museum directors. I flew to Barcelona and met with the director of MEAM to learn from their journey. And little by little, the dream took shape.
On April 20th, 2021, together with a few artist friends, we made it official: the FiKVA Foundation was born.
In our first year, we worked exclusively online – slowly, carefully, intentionally. But from 2023 onward, we’ve started making real moves: exhibitions, workshops, artist residencies, community spaces. We’re growing, and we’re doing it on our own terms.
So look around. See what we’re building. Read about our mission. Check out the opportunities. This isn’t just another foundation – it’s a movement, and it’s personal.
And who knows – maybe next summer, we’ll meet in Belgium, or France, or wherever our paths cross. One artist to another. Building something bold. Together.
Love,
Tanya Atanasova
