1000 pages, 100 artists, a decade of visual art
Bulgarian Illustration now has its first Electronic Almanac – a large-scale project that collects and presents the visual history of an entire generation of artists. It premiered in October at the Frankfurt International Book Fair, and as of this month, the edition, which contains over 1000 pages of digital documentation of Bulgarian book graphics and illustration from the last ten years, is available for free download.
Funded by the EU – NextGenerationEU and the Recovery and Resilience Plan, the project represents the first comprehensive retrospective of Bulgarian illustration in PDF format. It includes works by over 100 artists and illustrators, archives from exhibitions, biennials and key cultural events. The almanac is published in Bulgarian and will be updated annually.
"This is not just an archive, but a living testament to the development of art with deep roots in Bulgarian culture," says Dr. Milena Radeva, founder of the Bulgarian Illustration platform. "What is collected in these pages tells the story of a generation that is building a bridge between tradition and modernity."
Digitalization as a cultural mission
The project shows how a small country can preserve and promote its cultural heritage through modern technologies. The model is also applicable to other countries with rich but insufficiently known visual traditions.
The almanac includes critical essays, interviews and analyses, as well as special attention to the resumed National Biennial of Illustration, interrupted after 1992. Among the artists represented are established names such as Yasen Gyuzelev, Lyuben Zidarov, Stefan Markov, Vadim Lazarkevich, Iliya Beshkov, Boris Stoilov, Vanya Nastanlieva, Nedko Solakov, Damyan Damyanov, Elena Zhablyanova, Iva Sasheva, Ina Hristova and many others, including representatives of the younger generation.
Global vision, national recognition
The launch of the almanac coincides with the full introduction of the English version of the platform www.bulgarian-illustration.com, created in 2017 as the only national online environment dedicated to book graphics in Bulgaria. For the first time, the entire sector of Bulgarian illustration can be followed in real time from anywhere in the world.
Over the past eight years, the website “Bulgarian Illustration” has established itself as a national center for the art of illustration – a place where publishers discover new talents, authors receive recognition, and the public touches the richness of Bulgarian visual culture. The platform is a winner of national awards for its contribution to the field of culture and electronic publishing.
With this project, Bulgaria fills a void in global art history, where illustration from Western Europe, North America and parts of Asia is well documented, while the visual traditions of Eastern Europe often remain in the shadows.
The almanac is available for free download from www.bulgarian-illustration.com and will be distributed among libraries, cultural institutions and educational centers in the country.
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