The National Art Museums of Belarus and Russia signed a cooperation agreement
09:33, 26 September
photo: Soyuz.by
Masterpieces of Belarusian artists are presented in St. Petersburg. In the Russian Museum these days there are paintings, graphics and sculpture by those who received their art education in Russia but created their masterpieces in Belarus. Today, September 25, the National Art Museum of Belarus and the State Russian Museum signed an agreement on cooperation for five years. The two cultural institutions already have experience of joint projects, a vivid example of which is the current exhibition, held in the Marble Palace in St. Petersburg. CEO of the State Russian Museum Alla Manilova spoke about the prospects of cooperation with the National Art Museum of Belarus at a press conference dedicated to the presentation of the joint exhibition project of the State Russian Museum and the Belarusian National Art Museum “Russia - Belarus. Crossing of Destinies,” reports the correspondent of Soyuz.by.
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The first major joint project was the exhibition “Russia-Belarus. Crossing Destinies”, which was presented in the Marble Palace of the State Russian Museum on September 14 during the X International Forum of United Cultures in St. Petersburg. The forum was attended by 80 countries.
“It is very important for us and our colleagues that the exhibition was opened exactly during a large-scale international cultural event on such a unique platform. It was seen both by the ministers of culture of 80 countries and very many guests. It already has a very good attendance. During the first week only by tickets that were bought at the box office, the exhibition was visited by 1844 people. If we take into account that we issued guest tickets for official participants of the forum, then the attendance of this exhibition in the first week alone exceeded 2 thousand people”, - said Alla Manilova.
“This is absolutely the first such large-scale mutual cooperation in our history, when not one museum brings its treasures to another, but two museums in cooperation make a common exhibition united by one theme. The exposition presents mainly the works of Belarusian artists who were born and lived in the native Belarusian lands in the Russian Empire. By the will of fate they ended up in Russia and studied in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The exhibition shows how the fates of our artists and cultures are intertwined. The artists acquired a common knowledge and a common artistic tradition. They were brought up in it, while it is obvious to everyone that Belarusian artists have preserved their originality. It's amazing,” added Director General of the State Russian Museum.
Alla Manilova noted that several large-scale joint projects are planned in the coming years, including an exhibition of a monograph by a Belarusian artist, who is also known in Russia, as well as “One Picture Exhibition” in the format of a “museum festival.
The unique exhibition project presents the works of artists of the 19th, 20th and early 21st centuries. The exhibition presents more than 250 works by artists born in Belarus but educated at Russian art schools. The exposition brings together works of painting, graphics, sculpture and applied art by famous artists, including Ivan Khrutsky, Zair Azgur, Yudel Pan, Marc Chagall and others.
The exhibition will move from St. Petersburg to Minsk in December. The two museums are planning several more large-scale joint projects. This confirms the strengthening of cultural ties between Belarus and Russia and promises viewers new exciting exhibitions in the future.
