Watch and admire

In Vitebsk, you can not only watch a performance or listen to the stars sing. Here, the artistic component is at a high level.

Festival guests   Aleksandr Kulevsky

Two estates, two fates

Museum-estate of Ilya Repin Zdravnevo   Anton Stepanishchev

In the museum-estate of Ilya Repin Zdravnevo, the Russian Academy of Arts presented a project dedicated to the artist’s two famous estates — Penates near St. Petersburg and the artist’s holdings near Vitebsk. And the Moscow Leo Tolstoy State Museum brought the exposition Manor Culture in the Work of Tolstoy and Repin. The great Russian writer and the famous artist were friends, their correspondence and sketches of meetings have been preserved. The exhibition presents photographs, artworks and documents that tell about the unique places associated with the life and work of the artist and writer: Yasnaya Polyana and Zdravnevo. The bright exhibits of the exhibition are reproductions of two paintings by Ilya Repin: a self-portrait of 1894 and a portrait of Leo Tolstoy in an armchair of 1909. All this can be seen sixteen kilometres from the city. A nice bonus is that the museum has extended its opening hours for the convenience of guests.
Where: Museum-estate of Ilya Repin Zdravnevo
When: July 11th-August 12th

Sunny greetings

Brazil invites everyone on a date   belta

The embassy of the country of beaches and coffee shows its project Rendezvous with Brazil in the art museum. It came to Slavianski Bazaar straight from Minsk. Fourteen Belarusian authors conducted their mini-research and shared what impressed them in the culture and history of this country, in the language of painting, drawing, art object, installation, digital art and animation. It turned out to be a collectively created portrait with the view is from Belarus. Presentations of samba, capoeira, batucada, Brazilian poetry, tastings, thematic master classes will help to reveal the exotic culture for us. Come, you won’t be bored for sure.
Where: Art Museum, 32, Lenina Street
When: July 12th-August 27th

Chipsans and shur-shars

The Regional Museum of Local Lore also hosts an interesting exhibition Komi. Folk Musical Instruments. Over the decades of its existence, the festival Vitebsk seems to have welcomed guests from all over the world. But this is the first time we get to know Komi so closely. After all, it is through music that the most intimate is transmitted — the soul of the people. Rare musical instruments were brought from Komi. Idiophones, syargans, pu-drums, mallets, shur-shars, chordophones, sigudoks, brungans, chipsans — try to pronounce it first. And to add to the enjoyment, the Gulyanochka folk ensemble will present their republic.
Where: City Hall, 36, Lenina Street
When: July 14th-August 14th

High-status gifts

The exhibition With Love for Belarus gives an opportunity to see representative gifts from heads of state, diplomats and public organisations to the president, government and the Belarusian people. Presents from Vladimir Putin are also here: the Moscow Kremlin bone tea set from the Imperial Porcelain Factory, a set of commemorative medals in honour of the bicentenary of the Patriotic War of 1812, and much more. All exhibits are from the funds of the Museum of Modern Belarusian Statehood. The geography of gifts is almost the entire globe. Azerbaijan, Venezuela, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, China, Korea, Laos, Pakistan, Russia, Slovenia, Serbia, USA, Tajikistan, Ukraine. Everything is here! Rare awards are available — the Person of the Year award, which was awarded to Aleksandr Lukashenko for establishing the EurAsEC and the Customs Union, the highest award of the Serbian Orthodox Church — the Order of St. Sava, the Order of the Holy Cross of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, 1st degree. There are also memorable souvenirs: a fragment of the hull of the Kursk submarine from Russia, a symbolic ‘golden’ key from the mayor of the city of Hialeah (from Florida, USA), models of a space satellite and a ship from China, a golden disk depicting a fragment of a drum of the Dong Son culture from Vietnam, bust of Mahatma Gandhi. As well as works of art: paintings, panels with copies of Scythian jewellery of the 4th century BC from Ukraine, a stylised bronze figurine of a bird from Slovenia, miniature book editions, photographs.
Where: City Hall, 36, Lenina Street
When: July 6th-July 31st

Birch bark amulet

For a long time, birch bark has been popular. Elastic and pliable material, capable of withstanding heavy loads, was ideal in everyday life. It was used to make kitchen utensils, caskets, storage containers, bast shoes, bags, boxes and baskets. And it substituted the paper too. Russian craftsmen loved wood for its flexibility and durability. The original style in artistic processing was called ‘Prokopyevsk birch bark’. This school is characterizsed by a harmonious combination of the traditions of Russian birch bark with artistic elements of the peoples of southern Siberia. At the exhibition-fair, the Prokopyevskaya Birch Bark folk group presents products of arts and crafts. You can buy everything and take it with you as a keepsake. Souvenirs made of birch bark, charm bracelets, decorative pendants, caskets, birch bark rattles ‘shur-shars’, panels Signs of the Zodiac, nodular charm dolls, paintings and much more. In the best traditions.
Where: Art Museum, 32, Lenina Street

Fascinating Pakistan

At the Faces of Pakistan exhibition  Anton Stepanishchev

The exhibition project Faces of Pakistan is organised by the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the Republic of Belarus. It has already become a good tradition for residents and guests of Vitebsk to meet with the amazing, beautiful and fascinating culture of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan during the days of the International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar. At the exhibition Faces of Pakistan, each viewer will be able to discover this wonderful country once again. The wealth of Pakistan is its history, traditions, spiritual heritage, the beauty of nature and, of course, the people who love and protect this wealth.
Where: City Hall, 36, Lenina Street
When: July 13th-August 13th

By Valentina Stepanova