On June 18, 2009 the Grand Opening of the Third Moscow International Festival of Arts “Traditions and Modernity” took place.
It brought together the best painters, sculptors, photographers, graphic artists, architects, museums, craftsmen and galleries from 22 countries around the world. The wide geography of participants and bold genre diversity – from contemporary photography to museum work – remains the main feature of the Festival.
At the opening ceremony and press conference of the Festival were the following speakers: Chief Architect of the Russian Academy of Sciences, President of the International Academy of Architecture, Moscow Branch, Yuri Pavlovich PlatonovLaureate of the State Prizes of the USSR, People’s Artist of the USSR and Azerbaijan, Vice-President of the RAKh. Tair Teimurovich SalakhovChairman of the Board of Trustees of the Moscow Public Foundation for Support of Culture and Development of Contemporary Art, Vice-President of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of the Chelyabinsk Region, Mark Georgievich Leivikov, Head of the Federal Agency “Rossotrudnichestvo”, F.M.MukhametshinPresident of the Russian Doll Collectors Club, S. PchelnikovaChairman of the Fine Art Collectors Club V.A.Dudakov and many others.
The festival has established itself as a bright and dynamically developing cultural project, which for the third time has brought together almost all artistic forms and directions in Moscow. During the five days of the Festival there were master classes, forums, press conferences, individual shows of collections of different artists and Charity Foundations, which were held in the conference hall of the Central Exhibition Hall “Manezh”. Numerous creative groups from different republics, musicians, singers accompanied the Festival with their national flavor. On opening day, more than 8,000 people attended the Festival.
In 2009, with the increase in the number of participants, as well as to improve the objectivity of the evaluation of works, the number of nominations increased from 21 to 28. The line-up of artists has also expanded, including both recognized masters and emerging authors. The interest from already well-known artists testified to the Festival’s rising status, while the attention of young artists testified to its relevance and perspective. Another achievement was the presentation of special projects such as: “Moscow River in Moscow” – architectural project, curated by A. Novgorodsky, President of the National Association of Shipowners. It has become a good tradition to participate in the charity project “Parade of Star Dolls” and the project “Dolls of the World” under the leadership of Svetlana Pchelnikova. Project “RETRO-USSR” by Vyacheslav Petrov-Gladky (Maitreya) and The House of Maitreya Gallery (USA, Hollywood). A disciple of Salvador Dali from Portugal – Onik Sahakyan, artists from Pierre Cardin, France.
This time at the festival the famous Masters of their craft made their debut: Vyacheslav Zaitsev, the famous fashion designer, showed his photo works to the public for the first time. Works from the private collection of Ekaterina Rozhdestvenskaya, the gallery “Marecevic”, the collection of A. A. Plastov, the gallery “Aidan”, the gallery “Art Colony” markedly expanded the content range. A. Plastov’s collection, Aidan Gallery, Art Colony Gallery markedly expanded the content range.
June 9, 2009 at 16.00 in the Central Exhibition Hall “Manezh” was held the presentation of the monument to the great scientist, public figure, academician, Nobel Peace Prize winner, humanist and citizen A.D. Sakharov. The presentation of the monument took place within the framework of the contemporary art exhibition “Traditions and Modernity”. The author of the monument is the world-famous sculptor Grigory Pototsky, the author of more than 55 monuments in Russia and in the world, the creator of the World Museum of Intellectuals, the founder and president of the International Academy of Kindness. The presentation was attended by representatives of the government, scientific, creative and business elite, representatives of embassies of different countries of the world. Painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, applied art, graphics – such different projects were presented by authors from Armenia, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Portugal, Poland, Russia, Spain, USA, Tatarstan, Turkey, Ukraine, France, Spain and the Czech Republic. According to numerous specialists, collectors, art critics and the Moscow public, the festival has become a bright event in the cultural life not only of Moscow, but of the whole of Russia.
Venue: June 18 – June 22, 2009 – Central Exhibition Hall “Manezh”, Moscow.
Number of participants: 240 participants
Number of exhibits: 2500 exhibits
Number of participating countries: 22 countries
Participating countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Portugal, Poland, Russia, USA, Tatarstan, Turkey, Ukraine, Spain, Czech Republic, Spain and 29 regions of Russia.
