I will tell you two stories about why these catalogs are extremely valuable to me and why I am doing the impossible to have them for the second year in a row.
The first story begins like this… in 2013 I started researching Bulgarian artistic illustration. I literally dug year after year and month after month in the archives of the National Library “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” – materials were hard to find, because there was not even a point from which to start. Until I got to the year 1968.
That was when I discovered the first catalog from the later emblematic exhibition “Exhibition of Illustration and Book Art”. Until 1990, a catalog was published every two years with a very small part of the illustrations from this exhibition. I have dedicated nearly 300 pages of scholarly work to these catalogs. Over the years, I have collected them and bought them as collector’s items at whatever price and amount they ask me. These catalogs are not just souvenirs.
These are the historical artifacts that remain after us, after the well-arranged exhibition, after the kind words, after the happiness of the well-organized exhibition, after the hundreds of hours of work, after the joy of the visitors, after the smiles of the awardees, after the end of the exhibition and after its doors are closed. They remain in the funds of the National Museum of Bulgarian Art and the National Academy of Arts and various small and large libraries, galleries and collections. They remain after me, after the site, after the memory.
You can order catalogs from 2018 and 2020 by writing to us:
– email: milena@bulgarian-illustration.com
I promised two stories, here is the second one…
This one is more personal. It is dedicated to the work that goes into this exhibition to make it happen. That’s it – pro bono. Because it’s better to have it than not to have it. If you want, even on a whim.
I have said many times and I will always say it – this exhibition is being organized because a handful of us want it to happen. We don’t want money, we don’t want honor and fame, we don’t want awards, we don’t want anything, we want an exhibition. And in connection with my post yesterday, this catalog is the way for this exhibition to happen not for me and you, but for all of us. By buying the catalog and covering a considerable personal investment, we, you, are investing in the next exhibition. The “profit” from the price of each catalog is set aside so that we can have an exhibition in 2022, 2024 and as long as we can, because we don’t have money to run out anyway.
We join the call of the Bulgarian Association of Artists, buy the catalog of the Biennale of Illustration 2018 or 2020 and support the next exhibition, #Купи1Книга #ПодариКнигаЗаКоледа #ПодаръкСКауза #ЗаДаЯИмаКнигата #БиеналеНаИлюстрацията
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