The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) is working on a special issue of its LIK magazine dedicated to the theme "130 Years of Higher Education in Fine Arts". BTA’s publication for literature, art, and culture will highlight key moments from the history of the National Academy of Art (NAA) and its contemporary development. The premiere of the issue is scheduled for February 26 at the National Academy of Art building.
The date was specially chosen as on February 26, 1861, Ferdinand I, Prince and later King of Bulgaria, was born in Vienna. He ruled for more than three decades and is regarded as one of the major benefactors of the State School of Drawing.
Even before the school officially opened, Ivan Mrkvicka was appointed its director on September 1, 1896. At the time, he was an enlightened drawing teacher at the First Sofia High School for Boys. According to the Jubilee Illustrated Yearbook of the State School of Drawing for the First Ten Academic Years (1896–1906), published in 1907, 153 boys and five girls applied during the first enrolment campaign. Of them, 46 male students and three female students were admitted. The State School of Drawing became the first institution in Bulgaria to grant women access to higher education on an equal footing with men.
According to the yearbook, Prince Ferdinand I regularly visited exhibitions organized by the School of Drawing in its early years and donated books from his personal library. He also defended the institution when opposition arose among certain public figures, acting as its patron and benefactor.
According to yearbooks published over the years, the institution, founded in 1896 as the State School of Drawing, underwent its first transformation in 1909. Following debates related to the rise of industry, it was renamed the State School of Arts and Crafts, a title it retained until 1921, when it became the State Academy of Art. In 1954, it was renamed the Nikolai Pavlovich Higher Institute of Fine Arts, a name it kept until 1995. Since then, it has been known as the National Academy of Art. Regardless of its name in different historical periods, the Academy has consistently been regarded as a key and unavoidable factor in Bulgaria’s cultural life.
The date was specially chosen as on February 26, 1861, Ferdinand I, Prince and later King of Bulgaria, was born in Vienna. He ruled for more than three decades and is regarded as one of the major benefactors of the State School of Drawing.
Even before the school officially opened, Ivan Mrkvicka was appointed its director on September 1, 1896. At the time, he was an enlightened drawing teacher at the First Sofia High School for Boys. According to the Jubilee Illustrated Yearbook of the State School of Drawing for the First Ten Academic Years (1896–1906), published in 1907, 153 boys and five girls applied during the first enrolment campaign. Of them, 46 male students and three female students were admitted. The State School of Drawing became the first institution in Bulgaria to grant women access to higher education on an equal footing with men.
According to the yearbook, Prince Ferdinand I regularly visited exhibitions organized by the School of Drawing in its early years and donated books from his personal library. He also defended the institution when opposition arose among certain public figures, acting as its patron and benefactor.
According to yearbooks published over the years, the institution, founded in 1896 as the State School of Drawing, underwent its first transformation in 1909. Following debates related to the rise of industry, it was renamed the State School of Arts and Crafts, a title it retained until 1921, when it became the State Academy of Art. In 1954, it was renamed the Nikolai Pavlovich Higher Institute of Fine Arts, a name it kept until 1995. Since then, it has been known as the National Academy of Art. Regardless of its name in different historical periods, the Academy has consistently been regarded as a key and unavoidable factor in Bulgaria’s cultural life.