International ExLibris Competition Varna visits Ruse for the first time
From February 24, 2026, the exhibition tour with selected works from the sixth edition of the International Ex-Libris Competition Varna continues with a visit to Ruse. For the first time, the Varna competition arrives in the Danube city, and the host of the event will be the National School of Arts "Prof. Veselin Stoyanov". The exhibition will be exhibited in the "StArt" gallery of the school at 3 Slivnitsa Street. The tour of the competition exhibition is realized with the financial support of the National Fund for Culture through the program "Creation and/or Distribution - Small Projects 2025".
The organizer of the International Ex-Libris Competition Varna is the "Yordan Petkov" Art Foundation in partnership with the Largo Gallery. Since the establishment of the International Ex-Libris Competition Varna in 2014, over 900 authors from all over the world have participated in its six editions, and over 3,900 works have been received for participation. The artistic director of the competition is the famous Bulgarian graphic artist Julian Yordanov. In the sixth edition of the competition in 2025, a record number of 364 artists from 53 countries around the world sent graphic works for participation. Of these, the selection jury admitted 178 artists to participate in the competition exhibition and the distribution of awards. The current exhibition features over 200 works by participants from 38 countries. The audience will see ex-libris executed in all graphic techniques – etching, aquatint, mezzotint, drypoint, linocut, woodcut, lithography, serigraphy, computer-generated design. Students and the public from Ruse will be able to view works by the best artists in the field of small graphics from around the world.
What is an ex-libris and what is the history of its creation
An ex-libris is a miniature graphic. The name comes from the Latin expression “ex libris”, which literally means “from the books of…” or “from the library of…”. At the dawn of their creation, the first ex-libris were an engraved or printed sign that was printed on the inside of the book cover and served to clearly identify its owner. In the past, ex-libris were ordered by owners of luxury bibliophile editions and large book collections. Mandatory elements of this type of small graphic are the text “ex libris”, the name or initials of the person or institution for whom the work was created and a graphic image, which is most often related to the personality, interests or characteristic feature of the patron. In the middle of the 20th century, the so-called “collector’s” bookplates became popular. They no longer served to indicate the owner of the book, but were ordered by passionate bookplate collectors who exchanged them with each other.
Traveling exhibition of the competition
The International Exlibris Competition Varna is a biennial held in the seaside capital since 2014 and has six editions. After the first competition, the Largo Gallery began organizing a traveling exhibition of the exhibition. Over time, this exhibition became an educational event, highly appreciated by all its hosts. Over the years, the competition’s editions were shown in over 40 exhibitions in art schools, universities, community centers, museums and galleries in 13 cities in Bulgaria. Since its first edition, the competition has been implemented with the financial support of the Varna Municipality through the Culture Fund. The traveling exhibitions of the competition in 2024 and 2026 are held with the financial support of the National Culture Fund. The exhibition will be in Ruse until March 10, 2026.
Nelly Valcheva, Executive Director
International Ex-libris Competition Varna
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