The February issue of LIK magazine, dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the founding of the National Academy of Art (NAA), is a reminder to today’s and tomorrow’s leaders that investment is needed not only in material progress, but also in the spiritual life of the Bulgarian nation, Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Director General Kiril Valchev said on Thursday, at the presentation of the issue at the Academia Gallery.

“The presentation at the Academy in Sofia is on the date when, 165 years ago, on February 26, 1861, its founder, Prince Ferdinand, was born in Vienna. He later became king after proclaiming Bulgaria’s independence in 1908 and ruled the country for a total of 31 years, from 1887 to 1918. It was precisely this month, on February 6, 1896, that he signed the decree establishing the State School of Drawing, which today is the National Academy of Art in Sofia,” Valchev said.

He added that as early as the First Bulgarian Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition in Plovdiv in 1892, which also marked the beginning of the Plovdiv Fair, the Prince had already begun regularly making large-scale purchases of paintings from exhibitions. He is said to have attended lectures at the drawing school he had founded. He remains in history for many other contributions to Bulgarian culture and education: he established the country’s first Royal Prince’s Natural History Museum, the Royal Zoological Garden, the Royal Scientific Library, the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Royal Entomological Station (for the study of insects), as well as the Marine Biological Station with Aquarium in Varna, investing significant personal funds in some of these institutions.

Valchev noted that the National Library, located opposite the Academy, preserves Bulgaria’s literary heritage under deplorable conditions.

“Our generation is on the verge of leaving the Bulgarian capital without not only modern new buildings for a national library, concert hall, and museum, but also without a new, architecturally significant modern art gallery, the kind that other nations around the world are building,” Valchev said. According to him, by marking the 130th anniversary of the National Academy of Art, through the February issue of LIK, BTA is trying to recall the example set by our predecessors, who invested in Bulgaria’s spiritual life. The Academy continues to contribute significantly to Bulgaria’s image, and BTA itself is a concrete example of this close relationship. It grew even stronger with the agreement signed on May 20, 2022, providing for the systematic supply to BTA of copyright-cleared materials and partnership in various Academy activities and events, Valchev added.

He pointed out that from 30 publications in Bulgarian and two in English about the Academy in BTA’s news feed in 2015, after the establishment of the specialized in knowledge and culture desk LIK in 2021, and the signing of the agreement in 2022, the number has grown to 984 publications in Bulgarian, 33 times more, and 137 in English, or 69 times more. Of a total of 3,395 publications between 2015 and 2025, 396 were issued before and 2,999 after the establishment of the LIK desk, while 556 were published before and 2,839 after the signing of the agreement, which is clear evidence both of the results of the structured partnership with the Academy and of the dedicated space for culture within BTA.

LIK magazine, first launched in 1965, has appeared in its current form since its relaunch as a monthly publication in 2022 thanks to the National Academy of Art, Valchev noted. “The cover and new graphic design incorporate elements from proposals of three NAA students, Viktoria Dimitrova, Elisaveta Dragomirova, and Teodor Mirchev, selected by a committee comprising representatives of both BTA and NAA. In fact, BTA’s renewed visual identity is largely thanks to the Academy,” he said.

He further explained that the new LIK typeface, which BTA uses not only in the magazine but also as part of its unified visual identity, was developed based on letters created in the 9th century in Bulgaria by the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius. It was commissioned by the Agency and designed by a team from the National Academy of Art under the leadership of Assoc. Prof. Svetlin Balezdrov, with the participation of Prof. Kristina Borisova, Jacklina Jekova, and Nikolay Petroussenko.

Valchev noted that the LIK typeface is registered with the Patent Office and is provided free of charge by BTA to Bulgarian institutions in pursuit of a unified national visual identity.

He also recalled that postage stamps dedicated to Agency anniversaries were designed by artists who graduated from the Academy, Peter Petrunov for BTA’s 100th anniversary in 1998, Prof. Nikolay Mladenov, currently Deputy Rector of the Academy, for BTA’s 125th anniversary, and Lyudmil Veselinov for the stamp marking the 20th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media organized by BTA.

Valchev also pointed out that visitors to the information centre, known as the BTA Archive Hub, are welcomed by Prof. Georgi Yankov’s art installation Your Audience, which features metal faces whose eyes light up as you move past them. The work conveys the idea that if you want to have an audience, you must keep moving constantly, just as the National Academy of Art has done for 130 years.

Since January 2024, the Agency’s literature, art and culture periodical has been freely accessible. All LIK issues since its relaunch in 2022 can be downloaded in electronic format from BTA’s website. The February issue in Bulgarian, titled “130 Years of Higher Education in Fine Arts” is also available online.