1984

In 1984, the permanent exhibition Vaska Emanouilova, a branch of the Sofia City Art Gallery, was opened at 9, Shesti Septemvri St. It included most of the works of the famous Bulgarian sculptress shown in 1976 in her anniversary exhibition on the occasion of her 70th birthday. Soon after that, in the beginning of 1985, Vaska Emanouilova donated the works to the Sofia City Art Gallery. They consisted of 93 sculptures, 49 watercolours and 35 drawings, as well as 15 paintings by Kiril Petrov, an artist and close friend of hers.

1994

The exhibition had existed for almost 10 years when in 1994, following the political changes in the country, the area of Shesti Septemvri St was restituted and the works of art were transported for storage in the Sofia City Art Gallery fund. For a long period of time, the works remained in the gallery’s depot. In 1998 they were exhibited within the Vaska Emanuilova’s Donation exhibition, but it was not until 2004-2005 when the question about their permanent public presentation re-emerged.

2005 - 2007

At the end of 2005, the Sofia City Art Gallery organised the exhibition Vaska Emanouilova. The Life of the Shape, which was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the sculptress’ birthday. The exhibition proved the gallery’s determination to continue to seek an opportunity for the permanent public display of Vaska Emanouilova’s works, which is part of the cultural history of the country. As a result of these efforts, in 2006 the Vaska Emanouilova Gallery, a branch of the Sofia City Art Gallery, was opened at 15, Yanko Sakazov Blvd, next to the Zaimov Park, which in 2007 started operating as a space combining the functions of a museum and an art gallery.

2014

Today, the Vaska Emanouilova Gallery is a museum centre that stores, displays, studies and works with the work of the Bulgarian sculptress of the same name as part of the Bulgarian history and culture. Striving to implement a dialogue between the generations, the gallery is also an exhibition space for modern art and young artists, which hosts various art events and initiatives.