The National Academy of Art will award Burgas mayor Dimitar Nikolov an honorary doctorate tonight. The ceremony is at the Akademia gallery at 1 Shipka Street in Sofia, the academy said.

The plan became known last Wednesday, when the academy announced it would honour the mayor.

How it all started: Burgas mayor Dimitar Nikolov to receive honorary doctorate from National Academy of Art

The academy's Academic Council made the decision. It cited Nikolov's role in setting up and building the Burgas branch, his support for higher art education, and his efforts to make Burgas a hub for visual art and culture.

The branch opened in 2018 with the help of Burgas council. The council gave it the historic building "Magazia 1" in the port's public access zone, and renovated it. Today the building has lecture rooms, specialist studios and the Atelier gallery.

The academy and the council are also renovating the Todor Atanasov Graphic Arts Base in the Sea Garden together. Each year they run a "Children's Art Academy". Outstanding students and diploma candidates at the academy can apply for scholarships through a competition.

Teachers and students from the academy work on projects in Burgas's urban spaces and take part in exhibitions in the city.

The academy says its partnership with the council has widened the chances to study art at university level and has helped Burgas's cultural life grow.

Nikolov was born in Burgas in 1967. He has a degree in economics and training in financial management and strategic management. From 1998 to 2006 he was chief executive of Pobeda AD. He has been mayor since 2007 and was elected to a fifth straight term in 2023.