Vera Award 2015

AWARD CEREMONY: A PORTUGUESE MAN TAKES THE TOP PRIZE
The award ceremony of the International Fine Arts Festival “VERA” took place at the Tivoli Theater in downtown Lisbon on the night of October 14, an international exhibition that brought together more than 100 artists from 25 different countries in Lisbon. Vieira Rodrigues won first prize in the Painting category with his collection “Emotions”, and was the significant winner of the evening. The festival was held at the Cordoaria Nacional exhibition hall from October 8 to 17.
Suzy Nassif (Lebanon), with her work “I am Volcanic”, and Luzia Lage (Portugal), with her diptych “Every Museum a Muse”, took second and third prizes in the Painting category.
The prize in the Graphic category went to a young artist from Cyprus, Elektra Varnava, with her work “House”, while Rogerio Timoteo (Portugal) was awarded the prize in the Sculpture category for his work “Dedication Rites”.
With the work “Underwater Love”, Leonel dos Santos (Portugal) won the prize in the Installation category, while the work “Rio”, made with acrylic on canvas and created by artist Marcos Marin (Brazil), won in the Applied Arts category. The award in the Museum category was presented to the Corduiros Gallery from Porto, Portugal, presented by Trieste, a work by the renowned Portuguese artist Juliao Sarmento.
The VERA International Fine Arts Festival combines two major events: the annual exhibition at the Cordoaria National and the Gala Ceremony at the Tivoli Theater, where the VERA Prize is awarded to talented artists who have distinguished themselves in seven different categories of the visual arts world.
The event is organized by the Moscow Public Foundation for Support of Culture and Development of Contemporary Art. The VERA Festival has been held seven times in Moscow, and the 2015 Festival. was held for the second time in Portugal.
The event brought together and united artists from Portugal, Angola, Brazil, Guinea Bissau, Spain, Russia, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Belgium, Holland, Georgia, Algeria, Mozambique, Bulgaria, Israel, France, Austria, Moldavia, Germany, Greece, UK and South Africa.
The festival was attended by such talented and famous artists as Tair Salakhov (Azerbaijan), Rogerio Timoteu (Portugal), Marcos Marin (Brazil), Jurgen Klauke (Germany), Luis Gordillo (Spain), Mario Bismarck (Portugal), Rafael Conogar (Spain), Zurab Tsereteli (Georgia), Juliao Sarmento (Portugal), Thomas Ruff (Germany), Alvaro Lapa (Portugal), Hana Collins (United Kingdom), Diogo Navarro (Portugal), Paul Mathieu (Belgium), Thomas Stroos (Germany), Moita Macedo (Portugal) and Luis Feito (Spain). Portugal’s top galleries, such as Cordeiras from Porto and the National Club of Fine Arts (CNAP) from Lisbon, also participated and showcased their best works.
Under the curatorship of Vera Kiseleva (President of the Moscow Public Foundation for the Support of Culture and Development of Contemporary Art), the festival aims to support international cooperation through art and, above all, to promote the development of contemporary art and relationships between artists from different countries.
The VERA International Festival also has another important mission: to show the world new gifted artists of contemporary art. Thanks to the newly established Rising Talent project, new, previously unknown artists have a chance to showcase their creations.
Among other things, during the festival there was a special program of lectures, seminars, conferences, master classes and round tables called ART Talks, where famous artists, architects, photographers and curators spoke about the latest trends and directions in contemporary art.
What is the Faith 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.
For seven 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 World Without Borders Foundation, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Science of Portugal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Parliamentary Group for Friendly Relations between Portugal and Russia, the Portuguese Navy, the General Directorate for Diplomatic Corps Services at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, the Russian Embassy in Portugal and the Lisbon City Hall.