Nevena Niagolova is an artist and designer working with a variety of mediums. Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, she now resides in Toronto.
Starting with drawing and painting lessons at the age of ten she continued her studies in the National Fine Arts School in Sofia. Since, she has received her BDes in graphic design from OCADU, has studied interaction design at the Canadian Film Centre Media Lab, and has finished her Masters of Architecture in University of Toronto.
After Niagolova’s classical training, she developed an interest in abstract art and interactivity, and in particular the internal conversations a work of art could trigger with a viewer. Her work focuses on the pure expression of emotions, fascinations, influences and the like, gathered through her experiences of the world—a way of an emotional release. In the case of her paintings—they are spontaneous bursts of energy with a dynamic, high contrast relationships; whether explosive or calm—there is always a purpose and balance. Though constantly evolving, there is a sense of determined exploration through intuition and excitement.
2024
- The Artist Project 2024 Apr.11-14th, Toronto, Canada
2024
- The Artist Project 2024 Apr.11-14th, Toronto, Canada
2021 Jun
- ArtWalk in the Square Artist Interview, Toronto, Canada
2017 Sept
- Interview with Svetlana Dicheva at the Bulgarian National Radio, Sofia, Bulgaria
2023
- Back at Mallo, Mallo, Toronto, Canada
- Hello Mallo, Mallo, Toronto, Canada
- Momentary Bursts, Toronto Heliconian Club, Toronto, Canada
- Messy Excitements, Gramophone, Sofia, Bulgaria
- Solo Exhibition, Labspace Studio, Toronto, Canada
2021 Nov
- Flow, Group exhibition, Ottawa, Canada, Flow, Group exhibition, Ottawa, Canada, Flow, Group exhibition, Ottawa, Canada, Flow, Group exhibition, Ottawa, Canada
- Queen West Art Craw, Toronto, Canada
- Riverdale Art Walk, Group exhibition, Toronto, Canada
- The Artist Project 2020 Feb.20-23rd, Toronto, Canada
- 4×4 …and a Little More, Hashtag Gallery, Toronto, Canada
- The Artist Project 2019, Toronto, Canada
- Salon Exhibit, The Toronto Heliconian Club, Toronto, Canada
- The Artist Project 2018, Toronto, Canada
- The Artist Project 2017, Toronto, Canada
- Toronto Outdoor Exhibition, Toronto, Canada
- Found Wanting, CFC Media Lab, Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, Toronto, Canada
- Monosaic, Labspace Studio, Toronto, Canada
- Night of the Living Artists, Florence, Italy
- Manifestation for Art in Malmo, Malmo, Sweden
- Montorontreal, Methinks Presents, Toronto, Canada
2017-18
- The Toronto Heliconian Club, Toronto, Canada
- Ramazzoti 2006 Art Colony, Kavadarci, Macedonia
2013
- Master of Architecture, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Global Architecture 2010, University of Toronto & UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- CFC Media Lab Interactive Art & Entertainment Program, Canadian Film Center, Toronto, Canada (full scholarship)
- Florence Off-Campus Advanced Studies, OCAD University, Florence, Italy (full scholarship)
- BDes in editorial Graphic design, OCAD University, Toronto, Canada
- National School of Fine Arts Ilia Petrov, Sofia, Bulgaria
2022
- Architect, Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto, Canada
2021-P
- Member, CARFAC
2020-P
- Living Future Accreditation & Member, International Living Future Institute
2018-P
2022-P
- Architect / Artist in Residence, RED Studio Inc. Architects, Toronto, Canada
- Intern Architect / Artist in Residence, RED Studio Inc. Architects, Toronto, Canada
- Freelance Designer, Nevena Niagolova, Toronto, Canada
- Graphic Designer, Ratio.bg (NGO), Sofia, Bulgaria
- Architectural Designer / Project Coordinator, Fishtnk Design Factory, Toronto, Canada
- Accreditation Exhibition / Woodshop Support, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Background Artist, Mercury Filmworks, Ottawa, Canada
- Teaching Assistant, Principles of Interaction Design, OCAD University, Toronto, Canada
- Interface and Graphic Designer / Research Assistant, MDCN / Mobile Nation, OCAD University, Toronto, Canada
2019
- Niagolova, Nevena, “The Abstract Fun Colouring Book”, Nevena Niagolova, 2019
- Niagolova, Nevena, “Doggy In A Bag”, Nevena Niagolova, 2019
- Bohlen, Marc; Maharika, Ilya; Sargent, Paul Lloyd; Zaianty, Silvia; Lee, Nicole; Delgado, Angelica Piedrahita; Niagolova, Nevena; Vogelsteller, Fabian. “Prototyping Ubiquitous Biosensing Applications through Speculative Design”, 2012 8th International Conference on Intelligent Environments (IE). 2012, pp: 198-205
2021
- BR41N.IO Brain-Computer Interface Design Hackathon Third place with a team of 5 in bci multiplay category
- Nevena Niagolova, Young Blood, Applied Arts Magazine, Toronto, Canada Featured as a Young Blood designer in the July issue of Applied Arts Magazine
- OCAD Design Competition, Toronto, Canada Second place within a team of five, for the design project “Compass”
- CONNECT Design Competition, Design Exchange (DX), Toronto, Canada Fourth place within a team of two, for the design project “Sheer Independence”
- OCAD Design Competition, Toronto, Canada Merit award within a team of five, for the design “Space Needs Ideas”
2020-21
- Revit Avanced Training, Red Cage, Toronto, Canada
- Unity 3D, Varios courses
- Danish I & II, Nordic Languages Initiative, Toronto, Canada
- Creative Writing Fiction, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Creative Writing Non-Fiction, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Design of Serious Games, Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia
- Science Communication in Theory and Practice, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Argentine Tango, University of Toronto Tango Club, Toronto, Canada
- Italian, Florence, Italy
- Book Binding, Toronto, Canada
- Bronze Casting, Paper Casting, Photography 1&2, Colour Photography 1&2, Printmaking, Etching, OCAD University, Toronto, Canada
2017-24
- The Artist Project, Toronto, Canada
- During TOJam #4, Nevena & Milan created the game Bloom
