NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ presents the works of pupils from the Tryavna National Secondary School of Applied Arts in the Prof. Vasil Gerov Hall
Text: Magdalena Gigova
Video: Tsetan Ignatovski
At the height of summer, NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ draws our attention to the creative impulse for a contemporary and artistic perusal of the Glagolitic alphabet. In Prof. Vasil Gerov Hall in Sofia, Mila Stareishinska, Projects and Programmes Expert, arranged some of the artworks of the pupils from the Tryavna National Secondary School of Applied Arts. Tsvetan Ignatovski documented the event in a short video that you can watch.
The exhibition, ‘The Spirit of Letters and Signs’, presents the results of the competition announced by the Fund for the creation of digital art projects suitable for print or publishing in the fields of applied arts and design—computer graphics, woodcarving, interior design, miniatures, digital photography, collage and others—in interpretation of the first Bulgarian alphabet, the Glagolitic, created in 862 by Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher and his brother Methodius for the translation of ecclesiastical literature into Bulgarian. According to some sources, Constantine the Philosopher began work on the alphabet during his first stay in the monastery on Mount Olympus around 855. The Glagolitic is perhaps the only alphabet in the world whose author is indisputable and well known, and this is part of its uniqueness.
The reason for the competition, launched by NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’, was the 1,150th anniversary of the Great Moravian Mission of the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius and the popularisation of this invaluable spiritual heritage in Bulgaria and around the world.
After the end of the creative contest, the exhibition with the works of the young artists was shown at the Gabenski Gallery in Tryavna, Perperikon, Blagoevgrad, Samokov, Sofia, and at the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in London.
Competition awardees:
1st Prize: Denitsa Pavlova
2nd Prize: Emilia Vasileva
3rd Prize: Gabriela Tsvyatkova
Complete list of the participants in the exhibition, ‘The Spirit of Letters and Signs’:
- Bogomila Bogomilova
- Denitsa Pavlova
- Denislav Denev
- Desislava Boneva
- Dona Georgieva
- Elena Karaivanova
- Emilia Vasileva
- Gabriela Tsvyatkova
- Georgi Ivanov
- Hristina Tsankova
- Hristiyan Hristov
- Iliyan Stanchev
- Iva Donkova
- Ivan Ganev
- Kaloyan Minchev
- Krasimir Petkov
- Kristina Petkova
- Kristiyan Manastirski
- Marinela Milcheva
- Martina Rosenova
- Mirela Petrova
- Nikoleta Todorova
- Simona Nikolaeva
- Simona Stefanova
- Stanislava Lyaskova
- Tsvetomir Ivanov
- Valentin Nankov
- Vanina Tabakova
- Vasil Chiflikov
- Vasilena Dimitrova
- Yordan Rusev
- Zdravko Benev