The State School of Drawing was founded in 1896 by prominent Bulgarian intellectuals – Professors Konstantin Velichkov, Ivan Shishmanov, Anton Mitov, Ivan Mrkvicka, Boris Schatz, and Ivan Angelov. This was the beginning, set by decree of Knyaz Ferdinand, but ever since, the National Academy of Art's history is increasingly committing. This commitment stems from the nobleness of what it delivers to Bulgaria, to art, to every person who has decided to cross its threshold to study the secrets of lovely art (as Nikolai Pavlovich defines). Many generations of students and teachers have passed through its workshops, where the atmosphere, created more than a century, is capable of educating. As a Professor of painting recently put it, even the walls teach here. And it is not educational mysticism but a recognized tradition you cannot ignore or refuse to keep alive.
Several events in the cultural calendar of the Academy from the past year can be emphasized. In June 2014, NAA again took part in the most prestigious forum for student art in Southeast Europe. This time the exhibition Transform was held in Bucharest, and again the selection of Bulgarian Academy was one of the most professional and advanced. Also indicative of the Academy's ambitions as the leading educational institution for the training of artists and a significant generator of artistic events was the exhibition All's Well That Starts Well in the Municipal Gallery in Varna. This exhibition (created in close cooperation with Societe Generale Express bank) presented works by students and professors from all disciplines of the National Academy of Art: Painting, Sculpture, Graphics, Poster and Visual Communication, Photography, Digital Arts, Woodcarving, Ceramics, Textiles – Art and Design, Metal, Porcelain, and Glass Design. At the exhibitions in Bucharest and Varna as part of the specialties Mural Painting, Book and Printed Graphics, Scenography, Industrial Design, Design in Advertising, Design of Children's Environment, Fashion and Restoration (related to design or other design specific characteristic) were shown through a video presentation. But not only with these exhibitions has the Academy developed and enriched its inherent educational and cultural position. This was also achieved through the traditional exhibitions of graduating Bachelors and Masters, through the dynamics of the visiting exhibitions and foreign lecturers.
Last but not least, through the continuous learning process in the studios. NAA confirms its advantageous position in the social space with the Academia gallery's functions, its museum collection, the international business and creative activity of all departments and specialties. In this Yearbook can be seen the latest exhibits donated to the Museum and Library of NAA, the latest books and catalogs issued, and the academic journal Art and Critique issues. The exhibitions and events organized by the Academy (whether in its spaces, in Bulgaria or abroad) are also covered in detail in this publication's pages. They are a demonstration of professionalism and the product of expanding cultural influence. Therefore, this year's official rating studies put NAA first in its professional field, although statistics are away from the real excitement of a true-to-life creative process.
The quality maintenance system is completed hierarchical functionality of rules, described in normative documents, regulated activities, and organizational structures. It forms the policy for achieving quality objectives and provides planning, management, monitoring, and evaluation of the factors determining the training quality.
Quality in this context refers only to training and academic staff, and all academic entities are treated only in this aspect. The system for assessing and maintaining the quality of training sets requirements to academic records through its representatives in the academic and faculty bodies, approving academic standards, curricula, programs, and schedules for the training process.
The main assessment targets are a specialty, academic subject, lecturer, academic manager, and educational qualification degree. Specific objects of assessment are based on the situation's analysis and are associated with identified weaknesses (the learning process discipline, training, services to students, graduation, etc.
Today the former Drawing School is called the National Academy of Art, which till this very day is still considered to be the most prestigious Bulgarian institution for training professional artists in the field of fine and applied arts, design, conservation and restoration and history and theory of art (in BA, MA, and DA degrees).
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