Annie Ivanova

Antoanetta "Annie" Ivanova (Bulgarian: Антоанета Иванова; Chinese Traditional: 易安妮 Yì Ānnī) is an Australian curator, author, and entrepreneur.

In the late 1980s, Ivanova studied at the Bulgarian National College of Polygraphs and Photography, majoring in photography and specializing in photojournalism.

Ivanova graduated from the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA Hons.) in 1998. Ivanova holds an MA in Foreign Affairs and International Trade from Monash University, Graduate School of Business and Economics in Melbourne.

Ivanova is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Australian Institute of International Affairs. She has chaired and produced three major international conferences, and has been a keynote speaker on Culture & Creative Industries topics.

Ivanova co-founded and served as executive director of the media arts agency Novamedia Ltd.

In 2012, Australia Unlimited featured Ivanova's exhibition 'Wonderland: New Contemporary Art from Australia' at MOCATaipei.

Ivanova is reported to be the first foreign curator to work with the Taiwanese aborigines, researching artists from every tribe. She has advocated for the preservation of local indigenous heritage. Her work was recognized in the inaugural Australian Arts in Asia Awards.

In recognition of her cultural work in Taiwan, Ivanova received a scholarship from the Taiwanese government to undertake Chinese Language studies at the Mandarin Training Center of National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei.

In 2016, Ivanova became the first cultural representative to receive the ANZ Chamber of Commerce Business Award for "outstanding contribution to the Australia-Taiwan Relationship". She is also the Regional President of Asia Designer Communication Platform, which promotes designers' work and has held events in cities within Asia. Ivanova is the author of "Taiwan by Design: 88 products for better living." The project took two and a half years to complete and a crowdfunding campaign raised NT 1,500,000.

Annie Ivanova was born in Tryavna, Bulgaria. Her father was an industrial designer, and her mother was a drama teacher. During the 1989 revolution, Ivanova worked as a junior reporter, assisting Reuters photographer Oleg Popov. After witnessing the events leading to the collapse of communism in Sofia, she moved to Great Britain where she studied design at the London College of Fashion.

Ivanova moved to Australia in 1994 and identifies as an Australian of Bulgarian heritage.

Since 2010, she has lived between Melbourne and Taipei. Her Chinese name, 易安妮 (Yì Ānnī), was given to her by a friend and is reportedly taken from the I-Ching "Book of Changes."