In 2004, together with the Russian artist and filmmaker Oleg Mavromatti, Rossa established UTRAFUTURO, an international group of artists engaged with issues of technology, science, and their social implications. Works by ULTRAFUTURO have been included in the Biennial for Electronic Art, Perth (BEAP), Australia, and shown at Foundation for Art and Creative Technologies (FACT), Liverpool, and Society for Art and Technology (SAT), Montreal among others.

In 2018, together with Dr. Heidi Hehnly (Biology, Syracuse University) she had established The Bio-Art Mixer – semi-monthly forum at Syracuse University where artists and scientists from different universities meet to share their research and discuss it with representatives of other disciplines. Her collaborative bio-art work “The Mirror of Faith” was produced together with biologist Dr. Michael Edel, University of Barcelona (Grid Spinoza program, funded by the European Commission) and was finished at Welch/Hehnly lab at Syracuse University for its premiere at GARAGE Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, 2019 as part of the exhibition “The Coming World: Ecology as the New Politics.”

In 2012, Rossa has finished her Ph.D. at the Department of Art, Rensselaer, Troy, NY on the topic “Post-Cold War Gender Performances. Cross-cultural Examination of Gender Representations in Soviet, Russian, and Bulgarian Film.” She was supported by the research grant of the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Rensselaer (HASS). She also holds an M.A. in mural painting from the National Academy of Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria.

Together with philosopher and activist Stanimir Panayotov, Rossa is also a director of Sofia Queer Forum, an annual international event happening in Sofia, Bulgaria, which looks at gender identity and sexuality as represented through art.  Rossa’s performances and videos have been included in international art archives such as the performing art archive re.act.feminism and Transitland Video Art from Central and Eastern Europe 1989-2009 and in private and public collections such as Kontakt. Art Collection Erste Group/ERSTE Foundation, Brooklyn Museum, Sofia Arsenal – Museum of Contemporary Art (SAMCA), Sofia.

She also holds the prestigious award Essential Reading for Art Writers of the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA, Sofia) for 2008. In 2014 she was awarded Ruf Award for contemporary art and the 2014 NYFA Fellowship Award for Digital/Electronic Arts together with Oleg Mavromatti.

Rossa has numerous conference presentations and publications in peer-reviewed journals, art magazines and newspapers such as n.paradoxa, Women Eco Artists’ Dialogue (WEAD), Kultura Weekly, 39 Grama, and others.

Education

• Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• M.F.A., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• M.A., National Academy of Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria

Expertise

Bio-art, experimental film and video art, and performance art