The Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy — summing up the half year

September 17, 2011

So, from June 2, 2011 the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy is closed for the summer holidays. It's time to take stock of the past six months.

Exactly six months ago the National School of Calligraphy, organized on the basis of the Museum, opened its doors. The original birch-bark letters, first delivered for display in Moscow from Veliky Novgorod — the birthplace of writing — were presented at the School inauguration earlier in November. Since then, our teachers under the guidance of Yuri Koverdyayev, the school's curator, have released two courses of novice calligraphers. Lessons at the National School of Calligraphy were of great interest not only among the amateurs of calligraphy, but also among the media representatives who were regularly covering our events. Even Aleksandr Oleshko, the well-known actor and TV host, who visited the museum with Channel 1 Russia crew, sat for a master-class by Yuri Koverdyayev. The enrollment for the fall course has already begun. Lessons at the National School of Calligraphy will be resumed in September.

Love in All Languages of the World exhibition, dedicated to St. Valentine’s Day was held on the museum’s basis for the first time. The exhibition presented masterpieces on the love theme of world famous calligraphers from Russia, Italy, Germany, Israel, Japan, and Syria. Calligraphy valentines for couples, who have visited the museum, were painted by the participants in the International exhibition of calligraphy.

It is worth noting that the world’s largest exhibition of calligraphy, organized by our museum, was also held during these six months. To the certificate of the World Association of Exhibition This year the certificate of the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs was added to the museum’s record that also features a UFI certificate, indicating the high professional level of the organization of the event.

This year Donald Trump, one of the most prominent US businessmen and public figures, cast his eye on the International Exhibition of Calligraphy. Negotiations with him have been held by the leadership of the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy in Miami. It is not a secret that in 2014 the project will be implemented in America.

The exposition of the museum was also expanded. Thus, during the Open Days at the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy the Russian Embassy of the State of Qatar presented the Holy Koran, the original of which was made by the best Asian calligraphers, to our director, Alexey Shaburov.

Among those who have visited the Museum was Berel Lazar, Russia’s Chief Rabbi, who came to see the World Famous Mezuzah by Avraham Borshevsky, a sacred calligraphy expert. Among the famous foreign calligraphers conducting master classes at the beginning of 2011, were the Korean calligrapher, Kim Jong Chil, who presented a calligraphy performance within the Days of Korean Script exhibition, and Japanese masters, Sashida Takefusa and Hirose Shoko, who came to Russia to participate in the exhibition “Days of Japanese culture”. By the way, all fees from admission tickets to that exhibition were sent to the Embassy of Japan in favor of the people affected by a terrible disaster.

The main innovation of this semester was the holding of music and poetry soirees. The Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy has successfully held such concerts as: “Harp: baroque to jazz”, “Favorite Music for Violin and UprightPiano”, “Oh, God hast the music, and those sounds on the Earth!” and many others. In addition, a memorable poetry soiree with Pavel Lyubimtsev was also held at the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy. In September, the concert program will resume.

Last weekend, the exhibition “Days of Slavic Script” with the participation of famous Russian artists was held. The International Children’s Day, scheduled for June 1, with master classes for our youngest guests to be the final event before the summer break.

Already in September, a presentation of the International Exhibition of Calligraphy project is to be held at the Museum of letters and manuscripts in Paris. A new exposition of the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy and the National School of Calligraphy in Sokolniki also to open in early autumn.

Looking forward to your visit! A lot of interesting events are still ahead!

The Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy — summing up the half year

See you again in autumn!