THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF FINE ARTS “VERA” UNITES MORE THAN 100 ARTISTS FROM 25 COUNTRIES
From October 8 to 17, the exhibition hall Cordoaria Nacional, in Lisbon will open its doors for the IX International Festival of Fine Arts “VERA”, where artists from 7 different fields will be presented: painting, sculpture, graphics, applied art, photography, installation and museum work. The VERA International Festival is one of the largest international exhibitions held in Portugal, bringing together the work of more than 100 artists from 25 different countries.
Opening: 7:00 p.m. October 8th.
This event is organized by the World Without Borders (WWB) International Foundation and the Moscow Public Foundation for Support of Culture and Development of Contemporary Art. This Festival has been held annually in Moscow for seven years, and now for the second time in Portugal in 2015.
The ninth annual VERA International Festival will host artists from 25 different corners of our planet, namely: Portugal, Angola, Brazil, Guinea Bissau, Spain, Russia, Azerbaijan, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Belgium, Georgia, Algeria, Mozambique, Bulgaria, Israel, Netherlands, France, Austria, Moldavia, Germany, Greece, United Kingdom and South Africa.
Such famous artists as Rogério Timóteo (Portugal), Marcos Marin (Brazil), Tair Salackov (Azerbaijan), Jurgen Klauke (Germany), Luis Gordillo (Spain), Mário Bismark (Portugal) have already confirmed their participation this year, Rafael Canogar (Spain), Zurab Tsereteli (Russia), Julião Sarmento (Portugal), Thomas Ruff (Germany), Álvaro Lapa (Portugal), Hannah Collins (United Kingdom), Diogo Navarro (Portugal), Paul Mathieu (Belgium), Thomas Struth (Germany) and Luis Feito (Spain).Well-known Portuguese galleries such as Gallery Cordeiros from Porto and Clube Nacional de Artes Plásticas will also participate.
Under the leadership of Vera Nikolaevna Kiseleva, President of the Moscow Public Foundation for Support of Culture and Development of Contemporary Art, the main goal of this festival is to strengthen international cooperation through art and, above all, to promote the development of contemporary art and relations between artists from different countries.
This event is for artists, gallery owners, art dealers, collectors, students and fans in the art field, as well as the general public. The International Jury will work in the first days of the Festival headed by Tair Salahov – People’s Artist of the USSR, Azerbaijan and Russia, Academician, winner of the State Prizes of the USSR, Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation.
The VERA Festival also has another important mission: to discover new names in the world of contemporary art. The new project “Rising Talents”, held within the Festival, gives young and talented artists the opportunity to demonstrate their works, which will be presented in their respective directions at the International Festival of Fine Arts “VERA”.
In Portugal, the VERA Festival consists of two parts: an annual exhibition at the Cordoaria National Exhibition Hall and concludes with a ceremony dedicated to the awarding of the main prize, the VERA Professional International Fine Arts Award. The VERA Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the world of art not only in Russia, but also on a global scale, which is held on an annual basis. “VERA” is the name of the statuette awarded to the winners, which symbolizes faith in creativity, love and success.
During the exhibition, there will also be Art Talks, a program of lectures, conferences, master classes and roundtables covering the direction and trends of contemporary art, led by respected and renowned artists, architects and curators.
The entrance fee is 6€ adult and 3€ child.
What is the VERA Festival?
The Moscow Public Foundation for Support of Culture and Development of Contemporary Art originally founded the Moscow International Annual Festival of Arts “Traditions and Modernity” in 2007, which is now one of the largest international events in the world of arts. The VERA Festival in Lisbon was created with this concept in mind.
During eight years of achievements in Russia, this festival has attracted more than 4500 galleries and artists from more than 40 countries and 60 regions of Russia, welcomed 2000000 visitors, awarded special prizes to more than 200 artists and attracted the attention of several hundred media.
In Lisbon, the VERA International Festival aims to foster the development of the arts market and the growth of a new generation of talent, to promote the commercialization and internationalization of the arts. The realization of the festival as an annual event contributes to the aesthetic and patriotic education of youth, development of material resources, dissemination of the ideology of the culture of peace among the general public and achievement of interethnic harmony.
This cultural event is organized with the support of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Science of Portugal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Parliamentary Group of Friendship Relations between Portugal and Russia, the Portuguese Navy, the Main Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Russian Embassy in Portugal and the Lisbon City Hall.
