Mihaela Aroyo
Mihaela Aroyo is a documentary photographer based in Varna, Bulgaria. She started her career as a press photographer, working for the Bulgarian newspaper “Trud” and BulFoto Agency. However, she later decided to become a freelancer to focus on long-term storytelling. Her work explores themes such as cultural identity, history, folklore, environment, and personal stories.
Mihaela holds a Bachelor’s degree in Photography from New Bulgarian University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in History. She is also a VII Academy Level 3 alumna. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, National Geographic, and Die Zeit.
Since 2019, Mihaela has been actively involved with the Bulgarian diaspora in the historical region of Bessarabia, located in Moldova and Ukraine. Her curiosity to meet the diaspora has grown into a deep connection, and her work now revolves around this community. For the past five years, her project “Dreaming in Bulgarian” has documented the culture and explored identity with an emphasis on history. Mihaela has visited over 60 villages and towns in Bessarabia, recording audio interviews with community members, photographing traditions and daily life, and building friendships with the people.
In 2022, National Geographic Bulgaria published her text and photographs describing her journeys to Bessarabia and presenting stories from the community’s past and present. Mihaela’s project on Bessarabian Bulgarians also earned her recognition in 2023, as she was named a finalist for the Magnum Foundation’s Inge Morath Award. She also received The Everyday Projects Grant to support her ongoing work on the same project.
Awards and Grants:
2024 – New York Portfolio Review
2023 – The Everyday Projects Grant – winner
2023 – Inge Morath Award – finalist
2023 – Hamburg Portfolio review
Education:
2023 – VII Academy Program for Narrative and Documentary Photography, Level 3
2023 – The Path as Destination – workshop with Vanessa Winship and George Georgiou
2022/2023 – VII Masterclass Arles – scholarship recipient
2022 – Personal documentary photography – workshop with Stratos Kalafatis
2021 – ongoing – St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo – Master of History
2019 – Nikon-NOOR Academy Masterclass
2013 – 2017 – New Bulgarian University – Bachelor of Photography
Exhibitions:
2022 – Root – Solo Exhibition, Sofia, Bulgaria
2022 – Root – Solo Exhibition, Varna, Bulgaria
2022 – N/ARODNA ZEMYA, Group Exhibition, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
2021 – Projection by VID Foundation at Photo Vogue Festival, Milano, Italy
2021 – BG PRESS PHOTO, Group Exhibition, Sofia, Bulgaria
2021 – Memento Vivere, Group Exhibiton, Sofia, Bulgaria
2020 – Shared Light, Exhibiton in collaboration with photographer Denislav Stoychev, Sofia, Bulgaria
2019 – Rediscovery of heritage, New Bulgarian University and UNESCO Regional Centre Sofia, Bulgaria