The Exhibition "Diplomacy and Art" at the City Art Gallery "Vladimir Dimitrov - The Master" - Kyustendil until the End of September
The representative exhibition of masterpieces from the Art Collection of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened on May 21st at the City Art Gallery "Vladimir Dimitrov - The Master" - Kyustendil, after its great success in Sofia, Ruse, Veliko Tarnovo and Blagoevgrad. It was prepared on the occasion of 140 years since the establishment of the Bulgarian diplomatic service to show the inseparable link between diplomacy and art over the years. The exhibition includes selected works by Bulgarian artists who have traveled and "lived" with the rhythm and dynamics of diplomatic life in the Bulgarian embassies of European countries. The exhibition was opened by the gallery's director Valentin Gospodinov and Michael Artamontsev, chief expert at the State Institute for Culture. The selected works are from the first to the last decade of the 20th century. Emblematic paintings by artists such as Petar Morozov, Bencho Obreshkov, Zlatyu Boyadzhiev, Dechko Uzunov, Dimitar Kirov, Dimitar Kazakov, Svetlin Rusev and others are presented. In the collection you can also see the painting of Ivan Kirkov "Paris", which decorates the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and is one of the most significant in our contemporary art. The exhibition includes sections that show the connection between artistic culture and the symbols of state sovereignty.
The history of the diplomatic institution in the context of its 140-year-old is traced through some more emblematic archival photographs of the buildings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Remarkable architectural examples of Bulgarian missions abroad are also presented, as well as stories about the Bulgarian artists who worked over the years for their aesthetic design. A separate section presents the Bulgarian banknotes and coins ordered by the Bulgarian National Bank. For the first time the exhibition organized in this way was presented to the public in September 2019 as part of the official events marking the 140th anniversary of the Bulgarian diplomatic service by the Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva, as well as being part of the European Heritage Days program. The visit of the exhibition aroused interest in the Regional Historical Museum - Ruse, Art Gallery "Boris Denev" - Veliko Tarnovo and City Art Gallery - Blagoevgrad. The exhibition was prepared by the State Institute for Culture to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in partnership with the National Academy of Arts, State Archives Agency and will stay in Kyustendil until September 30.