Calligraphy comes to the city

The first Russian museum of the art of writing, the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy, will open an exhibit in the cultural exposition center Sokolniki on August 1, the project′s press secretary Sergey Smirnov told RIA Novosti.

"Just several days ago the new museum was registered at the Ministry of Justice. It will be temporarily located at Sokolniki in Pavilion 7 until September 21, after which the museum will be given a permanent location," said Smirnov.

According to his statement, the exhibit organized by the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy and by the National Union of Calligraphers will only exhibit one tenth of what the museum has in store.

The exhibit is comprised of more than 80 works by calligraphers from Russia, Israel, Syria, the United States, Japan, China and other countries, works of art that contain in themselves the experience of masters of many generations and many centuries of the tradition of writing. Visitors to the exhibition will see examples of Slavic and European handwriting, works of the Jewish school of calligraphy, books on calligraphy, writing devices of the past and present day, and rare examples of manuscripts, the press secretary told.

The exhibit of the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy at Sokolniki will open just before the "International Exhibition of Calligraphy" that will take place in St. Petersburg from September 16-21, added Smirnov. Museums with permanent exhibits of calligraphic works exist all over the world - in Turkey, China, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.

Source: The Moscow News Weekly (www.mnweekly.ru)