I was born in Turkmenistan, but I also spent a lot of my life in Bulgaria and the United States. So if you ask me where home is, I don’t really have an answer. Right now Prague feels like home. I love it here. I feel very content. I set myself a goal to move to Prague in summer 2014. At the time I was a journalist and a theater actress. I was happy, but also ready for a change. I drew and painted since I was five – I was good at it and I loved it – and so I decided to study art. In Prague. I picked a school, I got accepted, I got my visa – which required six months of arguing and compromising with three governments, crossing the border between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan by foot six times, and a ton of other stressful and ridiculous things – and finally, here I am. Living my dream. I’ve been in Prague for five months now, and every day since I moved here, at least once a day, I catch myself thinking "Damn girl, you are at the right place."
Ayna, BA (Hons) Fine Art Experimental Media Student