The ACADEMY in the PRINCIPALITY and the KINGDOM of BULGARIA
The First School of Art Making and the Monarchs' Patronage
6 February – 9 March 2025
Opening: 6 February 2025, 6:00 pm, Academia Gallery, 1 Shipka Street, Sofia
Curator: Dr. Milena Balcheva-Bozhkova
The monarchs' support during the first decades of the Art Academy's life was of utmost importance for its prosperity. The close relationship between the Royal Family and the educational institution dates back to the period of the institution's founding and continued until the mid-1940s. The Royal Family followed its development with keen interest. In the Royal Palace life, where science and arts were held in high esteem, the Academy of Arts–a cultural institute which was back then new to Bulgaria, occupied a special place. In the days of severe trials and concerns about the preservation and complete unification of the Bulgarian nation, the ambition and intellectual energy of the monarchs towards promotion and flourishing of the arts played an essential role for the place of Bulgarian culture in the European spiritual space.
The exhibition presents a hitherto unexplored topic related to the historical development of the Academy of Arts from the moment of its founding to the mid-20th century, and the role of the rulers of the Third Bulgarian Kingdom in its life. As a result of a two-year research activity on the subject, the project offers a presentation of the entire array of studied documentation, consisting of archival documents, photographs, periodicals and artifacts. It seeks to answer the following questions: What was the role of Prince (Tsar) Ferdinand in the first years of existence of the State School of Drawing (at present National Academy of Art)?, How was the Royal Palace present at the first art exhibitions organised in the halls of the State School of Drawing?, What was the role of Tsar Boris III and Tsaritsa Giovanna in the development of the State Academy of Arts in the period between the two world wars?, What objects from the Royal Collection were entered in the Museum Collection of the Academy of Arts in 1947, which are being presented for the first time in this exhibition?
The exhibition is held as part of the Museum Programme of the National Academy of Art for research projects related to its Museum Collection, the history of the Academy of Arts, and the various historical periods of Bulgarian art.
The project is realised under the honorary patronage of Their Majesties Tsar Simeon II and Tsaritsa Margarita, in partnership with St Pimen Zografsky – National Academy of Art Foundation, Archives State Agency and Bulgarian News Agency, with the support of the National Gallery, "St. St. Cyril and Methodius" National Library, King Boris and Queen Giovanna Royal Heritage Fund, Central Library of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, National Polytechnic Museum, Regional History Museum – Sofia, Dzhurkovi Gallery, and Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Institute Sofia.
Exhibition project team
Milena Balcheva-Bozhkova (curator and project manager), Mladen Vrabcharski (design of the exhibition space), Nenko Atanasov (design of advertising materials), Rosen Toshev (photographs), Silvia Varadinova-Papadaki (restoration), Emilia Koleva (restoration), Sylvia Miloslavova (editor), Dimitrina Spasova (Public Relations), Viktoriya Yordanova (assistant), Elisaveta Dragomirova (assistant)
The project was implemented within the framework of the 2024 Competition for Financing Projects on the Scientific Research and Artistic Activities at the National Academy of Art, and with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Gallery
