12 culture news headlines from 6 countries in August
Armenia
Expert: Culture determines the ethic code, the moral fibre, characterising any given nation. In her interview with Platforma internet journal, Armenian communications expert Anush Begloyan, who was invited to work in Kyiv by EU-Eastern Partnership Culture and Creativity Programme, argued that cultural discourse is the foundation for the prosperity and well-being of any nation. “Morality and ethics, as well as certain behavioural patterns of a nation, determine its life in politics, its economy and social sphere. And advocacy of the notion that culture should occupy its rightful place in the general socio-cultural complex is of utmost importance, albeit it is underestimated,” Begloian stressed. Platforma
Armenian first international art event aims to regenerate the region. A new art initiative which is planned to be launched on 22 August aims to stem the brain drain and develop a road map for the cultural and economic development of Armenia, MassisPost writes. Artists, designers, cultural historians and environmental scientists will convene for three weeks in and around the ancient town of Dilijan. Participants will present their research on local craft, astronomy and Soviet architecture, among a myriad of other subjects. MassisPost quotes Clémentine Deliss, the director of the Weltkulturen Museum in Frankfurt am Main who is the curator behind the project, saying that “the long-term plan is to establish an art academy in Dilijan” that will encompass what Deliss describes as “life practices” such as botany, medicine and law. MassisPost
Canadian-Armenian artists presents Paris, Marseilles and Yerevan street mood. The personal exhibition of Canadian Armenian artist Areg Elibekian will take place in Yerevan’s Arame Art Galley, News.am reports. Around 40 works covering the artist’s 15 years of activity will be exhibited. Most of the works have been created in Canada, the other part being painted in homeland. News.am
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani vocalist included into World’s Best Tenors book. Azerbaijani tenor Yusif Eyvazov has been included in the World’s Best Tenors book, AzerTag news agency reports. The book also features such opera stars as Roberto Alagna, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras. AzerTag
Euro Village festival will be held in Baku Boulevard for the first time. The European public event «Euro Village», organized in Baku annually since 2013, has changed its venue, News.azwrites with reference to abc.az. EuroVillage will be held in the Baku Boulevard in connection with the 25th anniversary of EU-Azerbaijan partnership. News.az, abc.az
European Youth Festival will be held in Ganja. European Youth Festival will be held in Ganja from 29 September to 3 October as the city continues to host local and international events in its capacity of the European Youth Capital 2016, News.az reports with reference to AzerTag. Participants of the event will include government officials, as well as Secretary General of the European Youth Forum and heads of Europe's leading youth organizations. News.az, AzerTag
Belarus
Prymaki folk band was awarded for development of Belarusian-Polish relations. The Belarusian folk song band Prymaki has been awarded for its contribution to the development of the Belarusian-Polish relations at the festival Syabrouskaya Byaseda that took place in the Polish near-border town of Grodek on 30-31 July, BelTA news agency writes. BelTA
Georgia
Georgian bid for Oscar is a film about the aftermath of the Abkhazia war. On 9 August, a special committee involving cultural and film industry professionals announced that Rusudan Glurjidze’s feature film House of Others will be the country’s bid to compete in next year's Academy Awards, Agenda.ge reports. Narrating a story of two families that survive the destructive Abkhazia war, the film shows civilians being haunted by memories after were given houses that had been cleared of their expelled owners. Agenda.Ge
Moldova
Remake of “Romeo and Juliet” is being filmed in Moldova’s Gagaúzia region. Ivan Patraman, the young inspirer of the film, told NOI.md that the main purpose of the film is to show the traditional way of life and family relationships in Gagaúz society of the first half of XX century. Filming will take place in the villages of Beshalma and Chirsova. Patraman also mentioned that film will be made in black-and-white color for a more realistic representation of the chosen time period. NOI.md
Moldovan National Museum of Art will open its renovated building in October. According to Moldpres, Tudor Zbîrnea, the director of Moldovan National Museum of Art, said that the building has retained its 1901 year architectural elements under the project of restoration. Renovation of the building has lasted since 2005 and will be finally finished in late October 2016 due to the grant worth EUR 1 million offered by the Romania’s government in 2014. Moldpres
Ukraine
Moscow's officials block work of Ukrainian Cultural Centre. Russia’s authorities prevent Ukrainian Cultural Centre in Moscow from functioning, while similar Russian centers continue operating in Kyiv and Lviv, Ukraine Today reports with reference to UNIAN news agency. The source quotes Taras Dudko, head of the company Provisnyk, saying that “it has been almost five months since Russia blocked the work of Ukraine's Cultural Centre”. “The Russia’s government does not register the Centre's new director appointed by Ukraine to take over this post. The Centre's employees have not been receiving their salaries for the second month in a row,” Dudko stressed. Ukraine Today, UNIAN
Project expert: It is the time now for culture to be a factor of changes. Nataliya Shostak,EU-Eastern Partnership Culture and Creativity Programme Country Coordinator in Ukraine, toldPlatforma online journal that Eastern Partnership region is extremely important for the EU. «They want to see us as strong partners who implement the right changes, who are inclusive, tolerant and open to the prospects of the new economy. Therefore another task of our program is to establish closer communication between state and private sectors,” Shostak said. According to Shostak, high-quality education and culture can create a foundation for the formation of a healthy society, but only if there are necessary societal factors under which this potential can be developed. Platforma
