BTA Awarded Golden Quill for Contribution to Bulgarian Culture, Art

BTA Director General Kiril Valchev and Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova, Golden Quill Awards Ceremony, May 23, 2023 (BTA Photo)

Sofia,

23.05.2023 20:46

(BTA)

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) was awarded a Golden Quill Award for its contribution to Bulgarian culture and art on Tuesday. The 28th Golden Quill ceremony was held at the National Musical Theatre.

BTA Director General Kiril Valchev received the award from Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova. In his speech, Valchev said that for 125 years, BTA's golden quills have been held by anonymous editors. "BTA's reporters are also anonymous because they always write only their initials. But there is no greater reward than having your cause - BTA's cause being real news - crown your name," Valchev said.

Fandakova congratulated Valchev on making BTA's news accessible and expanding its cultural coverage.

The national news agency was established in 1898 by a decree issued by Prince Ferdinand I. Now it is a leading source of information about Bulgaria's public and cultural scene.

The ceremony is organized by Cantus Firmus together with Makta Art Gallery and Classic A Radio, with support from Sofia Municipality.

The laureates receive a gold brooch from previous winners of the award.

The media partners of the ceremony include BTA, Bulgarian National Television (BNT), Radio Classic A, Fresh Radio Group and Bulgarian National Radio. The event will be filmed and broadcast on May 28 on BNT1.

History of the award

The Golden Quill Award was established in 1996 on the occasion of May 24, marked as the Day of the Bulgarian Alphabet, Education and Culture and of Slav Letters.

"The idea for the Golden Quill was born altogether sincerely and impulsively. Tsvety Kirov, the manager of one of the first private galleries in the country, Makta Gallery, came to me and suggested that we organize an art fair for May 24, because back then the State did not seem to pay much attention to this holiday. We created a three-day program with various musical performances and all kinds of entertainment that lasted from 10:00 in the morning until 10:00 at night. There were many participants - artists and ensembles. We built a special stage in front of the National Theatre. We encountered many difficulties. And the culmination of this art fair was the first Golden Quill Awards ceremony," says Vasil Dimitrov, the founder of the award.

In the following years, the tradition of art fairs was phased out, but the Golden Quill Award still exists, says Cantus Firmus.

Over 600 people have been presented the Golden Quill Award over the years. Among the first laureates are famous Bulgaria actresses Nevena Kokanova, musicians Milcho Leviev and Georgi Robev, actress Tatiana Lolova, actor Stefan Danailov, artist and sculptor Ivan Nenov and theatre director Alexander Morfov. "On the one hand, it is sad that some of these outstanding personalities are no longer with us, but on the other hand, it is good that we have managed to appreciate them while they were alive," says Vasil Dimitrov.

/DS/