20 culture news headlines from 6 countries in October
Armenia
Minister of culture announces priority issues in the sphere. Armen Amiryan, Armenia’s minister of culture, stated that the comprehensive review of the book publishing sphere is among the top priorities of the ministry, suggesting different type of bookstores to serve as a place for family leisure, Panorama.am reports. He also stressed the importance of book digitalization and modern technologies introduction. Another top issue Amiryan vowed to address is the adoption on the Law on Cinema that will enable foreign production companies to shoot in Armenia and be tax-exempt. Panorama.am
Armenian-Greek ensemble wins Golden Cup in the international festival. A Yerevan-based Armenian-Greek ensemble Kharitoni returned with Golden Cup from the international folk festival “Paralia 2016” annually held in Greece, Armenia’s Ministry of Culture informs. Kharitoni participated in the event thanks to the duly support of the Ministry of Culture and the federations of Greek communities in Armenia and the CIS countries. Armenia’s Ministry of Culture
Armenian theatres without patrons. Yerevan Puppet theatre after Hovhannes Toumanyan is one of the most established cultural centres in Armenia. It hasn’t stopped functioning even in energy crisis, on severe winter days when there were regular power cuts. The theatre takes most tours and for young artists in Armenia it is the place where they can expThe article is published with support of the EU-Eastern Partnership Culture and Creativity Programme.
Azerbaijan
Books on Azerbaijan to be displayed at Frankfurt International Fair. Books on Azerbaijan will be presented at the annual Frankfurt Book Fair that will take place from 19 till 23 October, Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture writes. Azerbaijan`s booth will feature books on Heydar Aliyev’s and President Ilham Aliyev’s life and activities, as well as on Azerbaijan`s history, culture, and tourism potential. The exhibition will also feature an event promoting the Azerbaijani model of multiculturalism. Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture
Heydar Aliyev Center to host concert by Vienna Strauss Festival Orchestra. Vienna Strauss Festival Orchestra will give a concert at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku on 1 December, Azertac news agency reports. The concert will feature outstanding pieces by Johann Strauss as well as other Viennese classic composers. Azertac
Belarus
Belarussian culture center opens in Chisinau. New Belarusian culture centre was opened in Moldova’s capital Chisinau, Belarusian Ministry of Culture writes. Belarus’ president Alexander Lukashenko attended the opening ceremony. Ministry of Culture of Belarus
Belarusians in Switzerland are raising money for the monument to Kościuszko. A 2-metre bronze statue of famous Belarusian Tadeusz Kościuszko will be installed in Solothurn, Switzerland—the project costs about USD 9000, Euroradio reports with reference to Belsat. The festive opening ceremony will be held on 15 October 2017, the 200th anniversary of Tadeusz Kościuszko’s death. Euroradio, Belsat
Georgia
Tbilisi joined global creative movement Impact Hub. Georgia's capital joined the list of 86 locations around the world that seek to create local communities within the Impact Hub global project, Agenda.ge reports. Founded in 2005, the international initiative now unites over 15,000 members in a community which “inspires, connects and enables people across the world to sustainably impact society.” Agenda.ge
Dutch photographer opened and exhibition in Tbilisi. Maurice Wolf, a Dutch photographer, who has travelled a lot throughout Georgia and taken many inserting photos, organized his very first exhibition in Georgia, which is taking place from 14 till 20 October, Georgian Journal writes. “What impresses me every time about Georgia is how diverse it is. It doesn't matter what direction but if you drive for an hour or so away from Tbilisi you'll end up on a different planet,” Wolf stressed in a conversation with the journal. Georgian Journal
Georgia’s shadow theatre gifts performance to Lithuanian artists. People in Lithuania will soon see a unique hand shadow performance that originated with one of Georgia's most distinctive theatre groups 25 years ago, Agenda.ge informs. A show titled “The Four Seasons of the Year” premiered in Paris in 1991 in what signified the birth of the Budrugana Gagra Georgian Hand Shadow Theatre. Agenda.ge
Creative Georgia international forum will take place in Tbilisi. A large-scale international forum “Culture and Creativity for Innovation and Development: Roadmap for Creative Georgia” will be held in Tbilisi on 8-9 December, Tbilisskaya Nedelya writes. Participants from EU and EaP countries will share key trends and good practices within the sector. Tbilisskaya Nedelya
A conference on the role of culture in urban development happened in Tbilisi. A conference “Tbilisi as a creative centre: creating cultural and creative ecosystem for a city” was organised by NGO Creative Georgia with duly support of “Culture and Creativity” EU-Eastern Partnership Programme, newsgeorgia.geinfor
Moldova
Monica Babuc took part at the meeting of the Council for Cultural Cooperation of CIS. Monica Babuc, Moldova’s Culture Minister, participated at the meeting of the Council for Cultural Cooperation of Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which took place on 5-6 October in Astana, Moldova’s Ministry of Culture informs. A wide range number of topics related to the CIS cultural activity was discussed during the meeting. Moldova has already fulfilled 5 of 6 actions foreseen in 2016 by Action Plan in the culture field for 2016-2020 years, Babuc stressed during the meeting. Ministry of Culture of Moldova
Photo exhibition dedicated to Riga city history was held in Chisinau. The exhibition titled “History of Riga City during one Century: starting from 1914 till 2014” was conducted at the National History Museum in Chisinau by the Foreign Ministry of Latvia, Moldpres news agency writes. Earlier, this exhibition, which comprises over 250 photos, has been staged in Spain and Switzerland and is yet to be displayed in Kyiv. Moldpres
Lidia Varbanova: "Youth do not accept the answer NO when they start a business." Lidia has over 20 years of professional experience as a consultant, educator, researcher and manager in more than 55 countries. Lidia came to Chisinau on the invitation of the EU-Eastern Partnership Culture and Creativity Programme to share her experience with young entrepreneurship in creative sector. http://diez.md/2016/
Ukraine
Two Ukrainian films feature in the main program of Leipzig film festival. Two Ukrainian documentaries will be shown at the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film 2016, Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture writes. Both films — “The Leading Role” and “Close Relatives” — were created with duly support of Ukrainian State Film Agency. Founded in 1955, the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film is one of the oldest documentary festivals in the world. Ministry of Culture of Ukraine
An encyclopaedia on Ukraine to be presented at Frankfurt International Fair. An encyclopaedia on Ukraine’s culture called “Ukraine. The Best. Cultural space from A to Z” will be highlighted at Frankfurt International Fair, cultprostir.ua writes. Minister of culture Yevhen Nyshchuk will present it at Ukraine’s national stand. He will be joined by Ukrainian writers who will hold cultural discussions and public readings. cultprostir.ua
“Ukrainian Sheriffs” documentary selected as Ukraine's entry for Oscars. Ukrainian Oscar committee has shortlisted “Ukrainian Sheriffs” documentary directed by Roman Bondarchuk as an entry for Oscars-2017 for Best Foreign Language Film, UNN reports. The film is a result of cooperation between Ukraine, Germany and Latvia. The world premiere of the film took place at the prestigious IDFA documentary film festival in Amsterdam, where it won a special jury prize in the main competition. UNN
Katarina Figula: international partners should create a common idea. In a conversation with Platforma online journal, Katarina Figula, deputy director of Divadelná Nitra international film festival, stressed the importance of international partnerships in cultural sphere. “Do not expect to return from an international event with five new partners for your project. But it is important to get to know each other, how your partners work, which ideas you have and how you would tackle a certain problem,” Figula argued. Platforma
Bad informational campaign can kill a good non-commercial project, Anastasia Nurzhynska says. Anastasiya Nurzhynska, Communication Specialist at EU-Eastern Partnership Culture and Creativity Programme, said in an interview with Platforma online journal that communication in non-commercial sphere is special, because it promotes ideas and values, not goods and services. “You work with a socially important themes—from public health and economic reforms to helping refugees,” Nurzhynska noted. She argued that a bad informational campaign can kill a good non-commercial project, repel the potential auditory and cause an irritation around the topic. Platforma
Anna Selimovic: Culture is as important as medicine, science or education. Anna Selimovic, a member of Bunker Institute that organises many important festivals in Slovenia, stressed in an interview with Platforma online journal that culture is as important for the societal development as medicine, science or education. “Culture has a valuable ability to persuade us that any changes are real. I think that art is able to do it because it is connected to people,” Selimovic emphasised. Platforma
