The Second Festival of Arts of Belarusians of the World in Minsk represents the creative performances of amateur collectives, solo concerts of singers and musicians, photo and art exhibitions, expositions of national masters, meetings with writers and a lot of other interesting surprises
The present Festival of Arts of Belarusians of the World, which will be held on September, 12-14th in Minsk, during the celebrating of the Minsk City Day, will be visited by over 250 compatriots from 18 countries of the world — Argentina, Armenia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mexico, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, France, Switzerland and Estonia.Many of the creative collectives and participants, as well as separate performers have already visited and performed in Belarus more than once. For example, at the First Festival of Arts of Belarusians of the World in 2011, an ensemble of national song Rodnye Karani from Armenia performed there, along with Krivichi from Irkutsk, Nadezhda from Kazakhstan, singer Yulia Rutskaya from Kyrgyzstan and Margarita Ivanush and Sergey Varsanav from Moldova. Others will arrive for the first time. Thus, listeners will see the performances of pianist Mikhaïl Yurkov from France, singer Olga Sotnikova-Ramos with her seven-year old daughter, Mila-Tamara from Mexico and the composer and pianist, Yulia Ramantsova from Spain.
A real discovery for spectators — will be the performances of the creative vocal group of Spaniards who sing in the Belarusian language and keep the traditions of Belarusian national creativity, and also a young group from the French city of Lyon — Slavic Soul. The members of this collective are musicians and singers from CIS countries, including two Belarusians, with a repertoire that includes Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian popular songs, and also French music.
Minsk residents will be entertained by skilful and creative collectives of compatriots, and separate performers during a concert-gift of Belarusians from abroad to the city of Minsk, which will take place on the open area near the Sports Palace and also during the gala concert of collectives of amateur performances of Belarusians of abroad in the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society.
Residents of small towns and agro-towns of the Minsk Region will also be able to get acquainted with the creative achievements of compatriots living in other countries who will come to them with concerts.
Specially to the festival, the Belarusian State History Museum will run a photo exhibition — We Are Belarusians — which will tell about the activity of Belarusian associations in foreign countries. Opening of an exposition of works of artists from among ex-pat Belarusians and also personal art exhibition of Olga Guskova from Belgium and exhibition of works of arts and crafts of Belarusians from abroad will be held in the same place. While culture expert, Professor of University of Białystok, Helena Głogowska, will donate the archive of the representative of the Belarusian avant-garde, the architect and sculptor Anton Krasnopolsky to Belarus. At the same time, the State Literary-Memorial Museum of Yakub Kolas will hold a creative meeting — Poets and Writers of the Belarusian Abroad.
A rich excursion programme is provided for participants of the festival. Compatriots will visit, for example, the Great Patriotic War History Museum, will walk along interesting historical places in Minsk. The fifth session of the Advisory Council on the Affairs of Belarusians Abroad, under the Ministry of Culture of Belarus, will be held within the limits of the Second Festival of Arts of Belarusians of the World.
The First Festival of Arts of Belarusians of the World was held in 2011 in Minsk and Vitebsk. At that time, about 250 of our compatriots from 12 countries — Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, the Netherlands and Belarus took part.
