The Art of Beautiful Handwriting

The Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy in Sokolniki Park held the opening of the 4th International Exhibition of Calligraphy, the world’s largest project dedicated to the art of beautiful handwriting.

Alexey Shaburov, General Manager of the International Exhibition of Calligraphy project, headlined the opening ceremony. He told the guests about the achievements that had been made so far and the international recognition the project had now received.

The audience was shown a video portraying the previous three projects in Saint-Petersburg, Moscow and Novgorod, as well as some of the most significant exhibits.

The programme of the ceremony featured several musical performances. Aleksandra Dubovitskaya (violin) and Ivan Gusev (upright piano), students of the Gnesins Russian Academy of Music, winners of national and international contests, played before the audience, and Aleksei Sokolov, the student of the Schnittke Moscow State Institute of Music, winner of many international contests, New Names foundation grant holder performed several famous accordion pieces.

The official part of the ceremony was concluded by a calligraphic performance by Yuri Koverdyayev. The curator of the National school of calligraphy held a workshop accompanied by music. Then there was a lecture by Pyotr Chobitko, the President of the National Union of Calligraphers, which was attended by quite a number of students from St. Petersburg and even representatives of a local TV-channel.

The exposition features calligraphic masterpieces from forty-three countries; some of them even enlisted into the Guinness World Records: calligraphic paintings, applied calligraphy items, writing utensils and materials. You will be surprised to discover a handwritten copy of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Decalogue, the Holy Mantra, the World Famous Mezuzah, Calligraphy on a Wing of a Fly miniature, etc.

Among familiar exhibits, the event will also feature brand new works by calligraphers from Russia, Spain, Germany, France, Great Britain, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Japan, China, Qatar, and other countries. Moreover, master-classes from the world’s leading calligraphers will be conducted at the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy every Sunday.

The International Exhibition of Calligraphy project was first launched in 2009 under the auspices of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. Apart from the capital, the exhibition travelled to Saint Petersburg and Veliky Novgorod, becoming the biggest local cultural event of the year.

For more details on the master-classes that will be running until December 15th go to the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy’s official website at www.calligraphy-museum.com, or to the International Exhibition of Calligraphy's official website at www.calligraphy-expo.com.

Entrance fees:

150 RUR — Adults
100 RUR — children, students, museum workers, school teachers.
Free of charge — the handicapped, retired, veterans and children under 7.
 

The exposition is located in Sokolniki Park, Exhibit Hall 7, works every day except Monday.

By Sofia MITINA 

Source: the Preobrazhenskaya Ploshchad newspaper (the Eastern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, Russia)

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