The tenth anniversary international festival of fine arts “Traditions and Modernity” will be held in the Manezh Central Exhibition Hall from May 26 to 31. On March 16, on the eve of the festival, a press conference was held in the TASS press center, which was attended by the Chairman of the organizing committee and curator of the festival – Vera Kiseleva, Head of the Department of Sculpture of the XX century in the Tretyakov Gallery, Member of the Jury of the festival Lyudmila Marts, Chairman of the Jury, People’s Artist of the USSR, Russia and Azerbaijan, Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Arts Tair Salakhov, art critic Sergey Khachaturov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Alexander Romanovich and Boris FRUMKIN, People’s Artist of the Russian Federation, Artistic Director of the Oleg Lundstrem State Chamber Orchestra of Jazz Music.
For 10 years the festival has been uniting artists from all over the world, providing a platform for communication between artists, collectors and art historians. This year, for the first time in the history of the festival, more than 300 artists from 40 countries will participate. After Moscow, the festival will go to Portugal.
In the anniversary year, the organizers plan to present seven special projects, including “Formalism of the XXI century”, “Art of the CIS countries”, “Distant and Close”, “Good Cause”, “The Best”, and “Dolls as Works of Art”. Art critic Sergei Khachaturov will curate the “Formalism of the XXI Century” project. “We are in favor of overcoming the outdated confrontation between modern and traditional art. – He says. – This is a reflection on what form is, how it is interpreted by artists of the new generation… In the project “Formalism of the XXI century” we want to give the artist the opportunity to speak in the first person, to take responsibility and honesty to create what the avant-garde artists of the 20s called “the thing made.” In many ways it is an experimental platform and an attempt to understand ourselves.” The project “Formalism of the XXI century” will be attended by the best Russian galleries: RIDGINA, FAIN ART, ART STORY and others. .
On May 26 right on the red carpet of the festival opening in “Manezh” fashion designer Vyacheslav Zaitsev will show his new collection, soloists of the Bolshoi Theater will perform. This year’s festival will feature a large collection of graphics by Robert Falk from the Mamontov Gallery, and works by Anatoly Zverev, Ilya Kabakov, Ernst Neizvestny and other famous artists from the NewOldArtGallery.
Following the results of the festival, the best participants, who will be selected by the international jury, will be awarded the International Award in the field of art “VERA”. Tair Salakhov, chairman of the jury, considers high artistry and resolution of actual creative tasks as the main criteria for evaluating the participants. This year’s VERA Award will be presented in 19 categories, including painting, sculpture, graphics, photography, and applied art. There will also be two special awards for Modern Classic and Best Exhibit. The awarding of the “VERA” prize will take place on the final day of the festival on May 31 in the Theater Hall of the MMDM.
