A group of famous Belarusian painters, headed by the Director General of the National Art Museum of Belarus, Vladimir Prokoptsov, has taken part in a plein air organised by the Chongqing Committee for Culture and the Chongqing Art Museum, with support from the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government, the Chinese Embassy to Belarus and the Belarusian Embassy to China.
The event featured Vladimir Vasyuk, Vladimir Kozhukh, Pavel Prokoptsov, Vasily Kostyuchenko, Nikolay Mishchenko, Konstantin Kachan, Maria Isaenok, Ilona Kosobuko and Yekaterina Sumareva.
The plein air was organised in line with the plan of the Year of Culture, announced in Belarus, as well as on the eve of 25th anniversary since the establishment of Belarusian-Chinese diplomatic relations and according to the agreement on co-operation signed between the Confederation of Creative Unions of Belarus and the Chongqing Art Museum.
For almost a fortnight, painters visited local sights and picturesque places in the city’s suburbs. Each created artwork inspired by what they had seen of Chongqing’s nature.
The plein air finished with a large exhibition, Changeability of the Landscape, which showcased the created pieces.
The exhibition opening ceremony saw the Executive Director of the Chongqing Art Museum, Pang Maokun, delivering the welcome address, alongside the Chairman of the Confederation of Creative Unions of Belarus and the Director General of the National Art Museum of Belarus, Vladimir Prokoptsov, and the Advisor of the Belarusian Embassy to China, Sergey Vergeichik.
The exhibition was opened by the representative of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government, Li Shikui. He believes that Chinese audiences will find the national peculiarities of works by Belarusian artists fascinating. The aim is to strengthen creative collaboration and show the traditions of contemporary Belarusian painting in China; each artist has donated one picture to the Chongqing Art Museum. The exhibition has aroused lively interest among masters of Chinese painting and Chinese art experts.
The Belarusian delegation of painters held a lecture and a briefing at the Chongqing Art Museum, dedicated to modern Belarusian art, alongside an artistic conference. The common topic for a cultural event on the Chongqing land, with participation of Belarusian painters, became the idea of ‘One Belt, One Road, Shared Prosperity’ — reflecting the tendencies of the bilateral cultural co-operation most brightly.
Remarkably, the city of Chongqing, situated on the crossroads of implementation of the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative and of the development strategy of Yangtze River economic belt, has initiated such a large-scale joint project. According to Mr. Vergeichik, Chongqing has become a cultural centre of the Belarusian-Chinese collaboration.
Vladimir Prokoptsov also met the Deputy Director of Chongqing Art Museum, Dun Jianqiang, with the two sides agreeing to release a bloc of postage stamps, liaising with Belpochta enterprise, to mark our jubilee of diplomatic relations. There will also be an envelope depicting landmark works from the collections of Chongqing Art Museum and the National Art Museum of Belarus.
Meanwhile, painters from Chongqing were invited to take part in the Chagall Plein Air, due to be held in July 2017 in the Vitebsk Region; it will be dedicated to 130th anniversary since the birth of the famous Belarusian painter. Moreover, the National Art Museum is to organise an exhibition of pictures by the participants of the Chongqing plein air.
By Valentin Khmelevskiy
