PROF. KAMELIA NIKOLOVA, DSC, AND ASSOC. PROF. KATERINA GADJEVA, PHD, WERE HONOURED WITH THE SOFIA AWARD

On the eve of 17 September – Sofia Day, at a solemn ceremony in the ballroom of the National Gallery – the Palace, Sofia Municipality presented the 2026 Sofia Awards for outstanding achievements in culture. Two scholars from the Institute of Art Studies – Prof. Kamelia Nikolova, DSc, and Assoc. Prof. Katerina Gadjeva, PhD, received the Sofia Award. Prof. Kamelia Nikolova, DSc, from the Theatre Sector, was honoured with this high distinction for her book The Bulgarian Theatre 1856–2026. Repertoire Policies. Staging Practices (Edition of the Institute of Art Studies and the Antrakt Association, 2025) in the Criticism and Journalism in the Field of Culture category. Assoc. Prof. Katerina Gadjeva, PhD, from the Fine Arts Sector, is a member of the team for the exhibition and the album ‘More than One Photo. History of Bulgarian Photography in the Twentieth Century’ at the Sofia City Art Gallery, awarded a collective prize in the Artistic Photography category.
Assoc. Prof. Katerina Gadjeva, PhD, is Editor-in-Chief, and Prof. Kamelia Nikolova, DSc – Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Art Studies Quarterly, so this high recognition is also for the only scientific publication in the country specialised in the field of art history and criticism. 

Photo credit: Sofia Municipality.