A night-time walk in a museum is, for many people, the only time in the year when they enjoy culture. Probably, this can explain the big queue before the National Art Museum: in foreign countries, such queues appear on the day of sale of a new iPhone, while in our country they thirst for the beautiful.
What prevents people from visiting museums on any other day, without crush and crowds, and why they persistently forget that, apart from the magnificent Art Museum, there are many other museums in Minsk, which are no less interesting ‘cultural centres’, and are worthy of attention. It is a riddle which is even more mysterious than the secret of the Amber Room. And everywhere, The Night of Museums promises various shows, performances and other interesting things, rather than the monotonous going across exhibition halls.
It was spectacular during the Night of Museums
In the Mikhail Savitsky Gallery there were exhibitions by the artists, Alexander Isachev and Oleg Orlov, the Museum of the Minsk City History offered those who came to drink, a cup of tea and the chance to travel into the past with the Back in BSSR exposition, while in the Museum of History of Theatrical and Musical Culture, they played Soviet songs, which a nostalgic public really enjoys.
Read and estimate
The Petrus Brovka Literary Museum alternated performances of poets and musicians with theatrical performances: It was possible to see modern interpretations of medieval farces by the Obraz Theatrical School and also performances based on the caricatures of Herluf Bidstrup by the Studiozy Theatre Workshop.
The presentation of the international literary portal Textura.by was held that evening at the museum. The portal unites Belarusian literary people with colleagues from different countries. All who gathered heard performances by young Belarusian and Russian-speaking poets. The verses were read by Nasta Kudasova, Tanya ‘Assol’ Svetasheva, Kristina Skrigan, Nikita Trofimovich and Irina Karenina. The editor of the portal Textura.by, Andrey Famitsky said, “The literary project Textura treats authors equally, without dependence regardless of language of works and the country of residence. We try to find worthy writers and give them a place where people can read and estimate their works. The Petrus Brovka Literary Museum in the person of manager, Natalia Mizon, to whom we are deeply grateful, helped us to organise this fine evening, and we hope to further continue to perform in this place.”
Between the beauty and werewolf
The National History Museum put the emphasis on parents with children, and organised a show of soap bubbles in the enclosed court, where kids, with enthusiastic squeals, ran after the huge hovering balls.Inside of the museum, careless visitors were waited by slinking blanket covers (truly a nightmare for kindergarten children), from which subsequently appeared half-dressed beautiful maidens, and a bare-legged ‘subject’ who was sleeping on a mattress right in the middle of the hall, and whose heels could have been tickled by the cheerful teenagers who were watching the performance. The down, feathers and semi-transparent nighties of the beauties from the Vkube Theatre gave a good mood for the rest of evening.
The hologram exhibition brought a special pleasure: visitors were even screaming when seeing some of them. After all, when a grinning werewolf suddenly appears out of the darkness, you might start screaming too.
Children (and adults) were offered the chance to paint colouring books that were hanging on the walls with the image of the museum building under the slogan ‘Make it brighter’. And while the younger citizens enthusiastically pottered around with pencils and felt-tip pens, their older more rowdy companions drew fires, alien attacks and huge mosquitos on the museum’s pages.
Rhymes of Scotland
Maxim Bogdanovich Literary Museum chose a really unusual option. That night during, The Night of Museums, the Troitsky Suburb was filled with the sounds of bagpipes and drums and cheerful Scottish melodies performed by the groups, Ejrut and Hardwood. Here were creative natures in national suits from the checked plaids of the Scots to the traditional Belarusian vyshivankas (traditional clothing which contains elements of ethnic embroidery). The Scottish Thistle club, which unites fans of this culture, offered the museum workers to hold the action under the title Spring Round Dance — Scottish Rhythms, Belarusian Rhymes.
According to one of assistants of the organisers, Denis Petrov, the Belarusian ‘Scots’ decided to enliven the Troitsky Suburb, especially in connection with the flow of foreign tourists, and really, near Bogdanovich Museum, many hockey fans were attracted by the thunder of drums, the lively music and Celtic dancing. In other places, as employees of other museums told, fans of hockey were not so present. Well, they did not come to Minsk for that, but even without them, the crowds, in some places, were too big anyway.
