The XXI International Ex Libris Competition, “EX LIBRIS – EX AVIATION” 2025, was successfully held this year. The competition was organized by Lyuben Karavelov Regional Library – Ruse, under the prestigious patronage and with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria.

The event affirmed its significant global standing by attracting 233 artists from 23 countries worldwide, who submitted a remarkable total of 315 works. Participating nations included: Bulgaria, Turkey, Poland, Argentina, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Romania, Hungary, Russia, Italy, Norway, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Ukraine, Serbia, the Republic of North Macedonia, Belgium, Austria, Belarus, Spain, and Croatia.

The eldest participant is Gyorgy Boros (born 1934), an artist of Hungarian origin residing in Serbia. Mr. Boros is a dedicated veteran, having participated in the competition consistently since 2014.

On the other end of the spectrum, the youngest artist to enter the forum is Magdalena Aleksandrova (born 2015). Remarkably, despite her age, this marks her fifth time participating in the competition.

The judging of the entries was carried out by a distinguished Expert International Jury, composed of the following members:

• Prof. Vladimir Ivanov (Bulgaria), Chairman – Professor of Visual Arts at Varna Free University.
• Prof. Hristo Tsatsinov (Bulgaria) – Veliko Tarnovo University "St. Cyril and St. Methodius."
• Veselin Gospodinov (Bulgaria) – Art Teacher at "Brand-Erbisdorf" Secondary School, Saxony, Germany.
• Nuno Canelas (Portugal) – Founder, Curator, and Director of the Douro Global Print and International Print Biennial (Portugal).
• Ovidiu Croitoru (Romania) – Professor in the Graphics Department at the National University of Arts in Bucharest.

The GRAND PRIX Winner is "Wood Zeppelin" by the Bulgarian Artist, Diana Markova.

The Award of the Lyuben Karavelov Regional Library – Ruse was presented to Pawel Delekta (Poland). The Polish artist received the prize for his artwork, "Ex Libris – Ex Aviation Wright Brothers National Museum in Dayton."

The competition organizers extended special gratitude to their valued partners for their support, which allowed for a broad array of sponsor prizes to be awarded:

• "Zahari Stoyanov" Foundation Award: Presented to Magdalena Alexandrova (Dolna Oryahovitsa) for her work, “Polet” (Flight).
• RuseInfo Award: Presented to Buse Nur Yildirim (Turkey) for her work, “Buse Nur Yildirim.”
• Ruse Chamber of Commerce Award: Presented to Alexandra S. Vogler (Austria) for her work, “Passion.”
• Rotary Club Award: Presented to Mariusz Artur Dansk (Poland) for his work, “Ex libris – Ex aviation.”
• Lions Club – Ruse Award: Presented to Ruta Mozuraite (Lithuania) for her work, “Ex libris – Ex aviation.”
• Rotary Club Ruse – Danube Award: Presented to Isabel Slavcheva (Sofia) for her work, “Still life.”
• MD Group Invest – Lombardi – Ruse Award: Presented to Eleonora Vasileva (Burgas) for her work, “Symbiosis.”

In addition, the friends of the library awarded Maya Cholakova (Sofia) for her piece "Children's Dream".

All artists who participated in the competition will receive a Certificate of Participation, and those who received distinction will also be issued an Award Certificate.

The official awards ceremony for the winners and selected artworks of the 21st International "EX LIBRIS – EX AVIATION" 2025 Competition was held on November 17th at the Library Gallery.

The celebratory event was honored by the presence of numerous distinguished guests and representatives, including:

• Tsvetoslav Dimitrov – Director of the "Culture and Education" Directorate at Ruse Municipality.
• Sponsor Representatives: Kalinka Trifonova (RuseInfo), Stanislav Stanev and Yordan Iliev ("Zahari Stoyanov" Foundation), Chavdar Ivanov (President of Lions Club "Inspiration" – Ruse), Elena Petrova (Coordinator of District 130 Bulgaria), and Stoyan Hristov and Evgenia Tsigularova (Rotary Club Ruse-Danube).
• Academic and Jury Members: Veselin Gospodinov (Jury Member) and Denitsa Alexandrova (Lecturer at Veliko Tarnovo University "St. Cyril and St. Methodius").
• Media and Citizens of Ruse.

The Library Director, Teodora Evtimova, thanked the jury and participants, praising them for their efforts that have helped inscribe the competition into the cultural history of Ruse and the world. Furthermore, she extended her thanks to the Ministry of Culture and all sponsors for their vital financial backing and support.

A congratulatory address was presented on behalf of the Mayor of Ruse, Pencho Milkov.

During the awards ceremony, the bilingual catalog for the XXI International Ex Libris Competition “EX LIBRIS – EX AVIATION” 2025 was officially presented. It features the works of all participating artists and was published with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture.

The catalog's design and pre-press were the work of Alexander Hristov, a lecturer in Advertising Graphics at the "Prof. Veselin Stoyanov" National School of Arts. A young, creative artist developing his talent in Ruse. The publication was coordinated by art critic Elena Velikova.

The elegance of the ceremony was enhanced by a musical performance from guitarists Momchil Hristov and Daniel Georgiev of the "The House" Music Academy.

Looking ahead, the theme for the next, XXII edition of the competition in 2026, has been announced as “EX LIBRIS – EX PHONE”.