Bulgarian artist Dilyana Nikolova received two prestigious awards at the International Biennale “Masters of Caricature.” The thirteenth edition of the event opened last night at the Regional Ethnographic Museum – Plovdiv.

“This is unprecedented. For the first time, a participant receives two awards – the Master’s Statuette and the Special Prize from the co-organizers, the University of Agribusiness and Rural Development. The jury was deeply impressed by Ms. Nikolova’s work, which demonstrated true mastery,” said Associate Professor Dr. Angel Yankov, chairman of the jury and director of the Regional Ethnographic Museum – Plovdiv.

Other artists awarded the title “Master of Caricature” include Raed Khalil from Belgium, Fan Lintao from China, Mikhail Zlatkovsky from Russia, and Vladimír Pavlík from Slovakia. Their works will become part of the museum’s cultural collection.

A new feature of this year’s biennale is the introduction of the honorary title “Bash Master.” Its first recipient is the beloved caricaturist from the Plovdiv Cartoonists’ Society – Irien Trendafilov. “It is a special honor for me, especially since colleagues and friends consider me a Bash Master,” Trendafilov shared. He will also have the opportunity to present a solo exhibition at the museum next year.

“There is great interest in the Biennale at REM – Plovdiv. A total of 200 caricatures by 71 artists from four continents were submitted for the competition. This clearly shows that our forum enjoys truly international recognition,” emphasized Assoc. Prof. Yankov.

Until the end of October, visitors to the Regional Ethnographic Museum – Plovdiv can view all caricatures featured in the special exhibition under the theme of the thirteenth Biennale: “Wine and Love. Love and Wine.”