This project, curated by Galina Dimitrova at the Vaska Emanuilova Gallery, a branch of the Sofia City Art Gallery, explores the theme of happiness as an act of resistance. The idea was inspired by Simone de Beauvoir, the renowned French writer and existentialist philosopher, who considered the possibility of happiness in difficult times by posing the question, “Is it right to be happy in a world that is broken?” The answer is difficult and involves various human dilemmas, anxieties, and a sense of guilt. Does focusing on one’s own happiness mean detaching oneself from the political reality? Given the relentless facts of wars, political crises, and widespread suffering, de Beauvoir wonders “What kind of depraved monster must one be to be happy?” Her conversations with her colleague Albert Camus helped her develop the argument that as long as happiness is “authentic,” it can be an act of resistance against the injustice and absurdity of life. “Happiness exists, and it’s important; why refuse it? You don’t make other people’s unhappiness any worse by accepting it; it even helps you fight for them” (Camus).*