ABVARCHIVAL IMAGES

We have been following his Instagram account for a while now, but since the start of this year the Archive of Bulgarian Visual Arts ABVA has a new official home on www.abva.bg, where we can enjoy it in a very refined and structured form as it continues to grow and develop before our eyes. We can find truly remarkable specimens and examples dating back to the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the People's Republic – a "well-forgotten or entirely unknown visual aesthetics and environment that was part of the everyday life of previous generations." This is how its creators describe this project, though they themselves are not officially listed and continue to be shrouded in mystery, which, in keeping with the methods of Paolo Sorrentino's Young Pope, makes everything all the more intriguing.

Luchi Magazine, 1948

Digging through this archive is a boon for the senses, stunted by the visual environment that surrounds us today. We find artifacts in the form of books, catalogs, periodicals, trademarks, sketches, posters, brochures, packaging and more. The main categories are divided between logos, fonts, typography, illustration, printed publications, magazines, philately and gramophone record sleeves. For example, you can see all the covers of the no longer extant publication of the National Sobriety Committee Yes or No, whose first issue was published in January 1990.

Headline logo of a newspaper, unknown author, 1924

However, the site offers more than just the opportunity to browse for hours and stare at the details of its many treasures. There is also a Library section where you can read interesting biographies of various iconic artists from these past, but not so distant, periods of Bulgarian culture – such as artists Boris Angelushev, Alexander Bozhinov, Stefan Kanchev, Neva and Nikola Tuzsuzovi. There is also a children's corner at this Library, featuring audio recordings of children's stories, as well as the option of downloading pdf files of entire children's books. For the older kids, there is also an interesting archive of articles about events and trends from the 60s, 70s and 80s, which will become available in stages, and probably supplemented and expand over time. The creators explain that they have "over 1000 digitized objects and many more waiting their turn."

Menu for Neptune restaurant, Stefan Kanchev, 1874

"Formally speaking, ABVA exists as a foundation whose selfless goal is to illustrate and praise the skills and intellect of Bulgarian artists," the website says. This goal does not exclude, on the contrary – it invites, audience support for its maintenance and digitalization, as well as the development of its ever-growing physical archive and the range of activities performed by ABVA. Direct support will also help spare us having to see advertising content on the site, which would certainly affect its clean visual appearance. One way to support it is through donations, and the option for that will become active from February. Also in early February, you will be able to purchase a series of limited edition objects, which the authors of the archive will create to further their self-financing goals. If you can't support them financially, there is always the option of getting involved by donating objects. This can includes all sorts of interesting items, like your grandparents' old stamp collection, or a folder of illustrations by a relative of yours that have been stashed away in an old dresser, which will never be forgotten again.