On 21 June 2024, representatives of the ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ National Endowment Fund presented the Anastas Staykov Prize to the excellent pupils of the 43rd group of alumni of the Tsanko Lavrenov National School of Arts in Plovdiv. In a tradition that originated in 1988, the prize in the name of the Smolyan-born artist is awarded at the end of each school year.
Once again, the school’s Pedagogical Council announced the winners of the Anastas Staykov Prize—talented alumni in the specialisms of Advertising Graphics, Graphic Art, Mural Painting, Spatial Design, Painting and Iconography.
Dr Maria Staykova, one of the world’s foremost specialists in autoimmune diseases, who has worked for years at the John Curtin School of Medical Research of the Australian National University in Canberra, is a sponsor and benefactor of the Fund’s donation account.
The diploma ceremony began with the announcement of the names of the best pupils in the different specialities who, in accordance with the donor’s will, also received their prizes in the name of artist Anastas Staykov. On behalf of NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’, Ms Adriana Meshkova, Awards and Competitions Specialist, presented the awards, the financial prizes, and a gift of books from the Fund’s series ‘Contemporary Bulgarian Art. Names’, on the oeuvres of Galin Malakchiev, Ivan Gazdov and Ivan Dimov.
And here are this year’s winners of the Anastas Staykov Prize:
Painting – Daniela Kostadinova
Graphic Art – Irina Pavlova
Mural Painting – Donika Chocheva
Advertising Graphic Art – Mila Bobotsova
Spatial Design – Tanya Kazakova
Spatial Design – Ralitsa Drumchiyska
Iconography – Diana Matova