13 culture news headlines from 6 countries in April
Armenia
Armenia, Latvia discussed cooperation opportunities in joint film-making and literary translations fields. On 4 April Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Culture Nerses Ter-Vardanyan had a meeting with Minister of Culture of Latvia Dace Melbārde during which they discussed possible ways of cooperation, including the partnership in cinematography, literature, music fields. This year Armenia will join the EU Creative Europe programme which provides funding in case of cooperation with a number of European countries. Countries agreed that all opportunities must be considered for carrying out large-scale projects and submitting joint applications within the framework of this program. Ter-Vardanyan added that the sides also agreed to make an exchange of experience in the film-making field. Armenpress.am
Azerbaijan
The second festival of Polish cinema was held in Baku. Wisla 2017 festival took place in Azerbaijan’s capital on 8 April. Six movies including “Jack Strong,” “Gods,” “Closed Circle,” “Influence,” and others were presented at the festival. The films were shown in Polish with Russian and English subtitles. Incity.az
Georgia allocated land in Tbilisi for Azerbaijan’s theatre. Minister of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia Mikheil Giorgadze stated that Georgia has allocated a plot of land located next to the Azerbaijan embassy in Tbilisi for the construction project of the Tbilisi Azerbaijan State Drama Theatre named after Heydar Aliyev. Tbilisi Azerbaijan Drama Theatre named after Heydar Aliyev, was closed in the 50s of the 20th century under the pressure of the Soviet authorities. Currently, Georgian government is negotiating the resumption of the theatre. Apa.az
Belarus
Gallery of the project "Art-Belarus" was opened in Minsk. More than 50 masterpieces of Belarusian masters from the corporate collection of Belgazprombank are presented for the first time in Belarus within one exposition. Among them are world-class authors—Marc Chagall, Chaim Soutine, Léon Bakst, Walenty Wańkowicz, Ferdynand Ruszczyc, Oscar Meshchaninov, Evsey Moiseenko, Abraham Manievich, Ossip Zadkine and others. 12 large-scale art exhibitions held in Minsk, Gomel, Vitebsk, Brest, Grodno, Riga, Vilnius and Paris within the "Art-Belarus" project were attended by more than 200,000 people. Artbelarus
Belarusian play was staged in Paris. A performance based on the play “The 13th button of Napoleon” by the Belarusian playwright Sergei Girgel was staged in the staging of the Minsk theatrical project “Three-T format” in Paris, with the support of the Belarusian Embassy in France on 6 April. The play was sold out—about 350 admirers of theatrical art attended the performance. It was warmly welcomed by the Parisian public, as noted by the representatives of the Embassy of Belarus in France. The leaders and representatives of diplomatic missions of foreign countries, the French Foreign Ministry, business circles and the public of France, as well as the Belarusian diaspora attended the performance. BelTA
Courses of the Belarusian language were opened in Madrid. Not only the representatives of the Belarusian Diaspora in Spain expanded their vocabulary, but also the indigenous inhabitants of the Pyrenean peninsula—two of the pupils had previously studied the “mova” (Belarusian language) independently. The library of the center, where the courses take place, will soon be replenished with a valuable collection of Belarusian books that will be handed over by the Belarusian embassy in Spain. Ctv.by
Georgia
Presentation of Creative Cities and Regions initiative took place in Georgia. This initiative was implemented by the EU-EaP Culture and Creativity Programme. It’s presentation was held at the administrative centre of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region on 12 April. The region was selected with five more regions and cities in the countries of the Eastern Partnership for participation in the Creative Cities and Regions initiative. The goal of the project is to increase the creative potential in small and medium-sized cities and regions of the Eastern Partnership countries. Tbilisskaya Nedelya
The exhibition dedicated to the anniversary of Georgian-German relations was held in Tbilisi. The exhibition “Germans in Georgia—Painting, Architecture, Science,” dedicated to the anniversary of Georgian-German relations, opened in the National Gallery named after Dmitry Shevardnadze. In 2017, Georgia and Germany mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the bicentennial of the founding of a German settlement in Georgia. Tbilisskaya Nedelya
Moldova
Socio-cultural project on restoration of cultural monuments launched in Moldova. The project is called Luminează Circul ("Turn on the lights of the circus"). It was initiated by the rock band Gîndul Mîţei. According to the project organizers, the first stage of the project will be devoted to the restoration of the large arena of the Chisinau circus. The project was supported by the government, the Ministry of Culture and the Chisinau City Hall. The partners of the project were the Embassy of France, Ginta Latina, Teleradio-Moldova and a number of private companies. Locals.md
Ukraine
The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine established the Expert Council on Contemporary art. The main tasks of the Expert Council on Contemporary art are development of proposals for the formation of the state policy in the field of contemporary art? establishment of effective communication and interaction between the Ministry of Culture and the professional community in the field of contemporary art. Moreover, it will give practical recommendations for professional development and presentation of Ukrainian contemporary art in Ukraine and abroad. Ministry of Culture of Ukraine
Yevhen Nyschuk, Minister of Culture of Ukraine, visited Tallinn to sign the Cooperation Program between the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Estonia for years 2017-2021. Within the visit, the Minister of Culture of Ukraine Yevgeny Nishchuk held a working meeting with the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Estonia Indrek Saar. Additionally, the partnership cooperation fields in culture and joint implementation of art projects were discussed. Ministry of Culture of Ukraine
Culture ministry discussed the development of creative industries in Ukraine. In particular, the issue of the latest progressive approaches to the methods of musical development and the embodiment of the idea of creative musical pedagogy were considered. In addition, the support of the production of Ukrainian musical instruments were discussed. The experts shared their considerations on possible ways to revive the production of Ukrainian folk instruments. They also formed an action plan aimed at supporting the production of Ukrainian musical instruments, preserving unique author developments in this field, involving civil society sector, state support and business investments. Ministry of Culture of Ukraine
Deputy Culture minister took part in the international conference. Svitlana Fomenko, First Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine, took part in the international conference on the launch of the European Strategy for the Cultural Heritage of the 21st Century, organized by the Council of Europe in Cyprus’ Limassol. A detailed presentation of the European Strategy on Cultural Heritage in the 21st Century was conducted at the conference. The strategy is capable of responding to challenges related to cultural heritage in the context of the participation of civil society and under certain economic, social and environmental conditions. Ministry of Culture of Ukraine