Press releases

Belarus Events Calendar: NOVEMBER 2020

Dear friends! We are sorry to inform you that we have to change the monthly Events Calendar on the belarus.by website. The coronavirus pandemic has led to border shutdowns, travel restrictions, cancellation or postponement of public events. People are willing to refrain from trips and entertainments to protect themselves and their families.

Belarus is taking all the necessary measures to prevent the spread of the infection. The country has not imposed strict travel restrictions. However, Belarus calls on EVERY PERSON to be extremely careful, follow the WHO and doctors’ recommendations, observe personal hygiene rules, and, most importantly, take care of each other. If you have returned from the worst-hit regions and countries, you should seek medical attention in case of the slightest deterioration in your health and, of course, isolate yourselves as soon as possible, in order not to spread any infection, not only COVID-19.

In view of this situation, large public events are canceled or postponed. Please, check out the information in advance. Organizers promise that tickets for all postponed events will remain valid. Please, remember to stay healthy!

Minsk tops CIS list of cities for virtual tours

Belarusian Football Championship 2020

In March 2020 the 30th edition of the Belarusian Premier League became the only one in Europe and one of the few on the planet to kick off as usual amid the spread of the novel coronavirus. Matchday one drew a lot of attention from fans across many countries. Matches were broadcast live by a number of sport TV channels and also online. The decision not to cancel the tournament was taken by the Belarusian Football Federation after consultations with the UEFA. The Belarusian Premier League features 16 teams. The tournament is held in two rounds. Teams that place 15th and 16th are relegated to the Belarusian First League. Two top teams are promoted from the First to the Premier League.
Among the favorites for the Belarusian champion title are leaders of the previous season: Dinamo Brest, BATE, Shakhtyor, Dinamo Minsk, Isloch, and Torpedo BelAZ.

Where: stadiums in 12 Belarusian cities
When: 19 March – December 2020

Memory Box exhibition in Loshitsa Manor Museum

The Loshitsa Manor Museum is gearing up to launch a unique exhibition project. It will display more than 500 objects of folk and decorative arts - wood carving, pottery and blacksmithing, weaving, painting, weaving from natural materials, etc. The artifacts have been collected by the famous Belarusian ethnographer Yevgeny Sokhuta during expeditions around the country. Straw horses, herons and storks, decorated wooden and ceramic utensils, a collection of textile and porcelain dolls, original vytinanka, embroidered and woven products with ancient geometric patterns… All items amaze with their primitive harshness, simplicity and power of form.

Where: 23 May – 31 December
Where: Loshitsa Manor Museum, 8 Chizhevskikh proezd, Minsk

Rarities of the National History Museum  project in Minsk

The National History Museum invites Minsk residents and tourists to visit an outdoor exhibition to see the rarities from its holdings. An unusual exhibition about the Belarusian nation and its historical heritage will be arranged on the fence of Chelyuskintsev Park (Independence Avenue) in early June. Seventy photo-banners will show the rarities from different eras: coins, weapons, national costumes, religious objects, works of fine art, arts and crafts, books, precious metals, awards, musical instruments and many more. This exposition features items presented by the five branches of the National History Museum – the Memorial House of the First Congress of the RSDLP, the Museum of Belarusian Cinema History, the Museum of Theater and Music Culture History, the Museum of Nature and Environment, and the Museum of Contemporary Belarusian Statehood.

When: 2 June 2020 – 1 June 2021
Where: Fence of Chelyuskintsev Park, Independence Avenue, Minsk
More

The Artist and the City: #100UNOVIS

The exhibition “The Artist and the City”, the ninth edition of the project, has opened online for the first time. Those wishing to see the exhibition are invited to visit the website and make a virtual tour of Yakub Kolas Square. The theme of the 2020 exhibition is the 100th anniversary of the famous association UNOVIS. All artists featured at the exhibition follow the ideas and principles of Kazimir Malevich’s suprematism. The exhibition displays 32 works, some of which were created by members of the artists’ association Kvadrat that can be called a true successor of UNOVIS. The exhibition will feature Aleksandr Malei, Nikolai Dundin, Viktor Shilko, Aleksandr Dosuzhev, Aleksandr Slepov, and Valery Chukin. A physical version of the project will open once the epidemiological situation improves. Plans are in place to bring the exhibition from Minsk to Vitebsk, the birthplace of UNOVIS.

When: 14 May – 7 November
Where: Online

Heritage of Belarus in National History Museum

The exhibition, which represents the results of the Heritage of Belarus project, reveals the scale of the work carried out by its co-authors – Aleksandr Alekseev and Oleg Lukashevich who have traveled all over the country since 2001 and captured truly priceless heritage. The exhibition is based on the same-name illustrated book of 320 pages and more than 4,000 photographs, which has been reprinted 18 times. The director general of the State Hermitage Museum, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, the Pope, the British Queen have a copy of the Heritage of Belarus book... The authors made 31 documentary films to recreate the portraits of outstanding people of the Belarusian land: Euphrosyne of Polotsk, Marc Chagall, Ignatius Domeyko, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Adam Mickiewicz.

When: 23  July
Where: National History Museum of Belarus, 12 Karl Marx Street, Minsk

Dolls Exhibition in Minsk

Handmade vinyl dolls from Larissa Mezhevich's collection “Zawieruszynski Dolls” will be on display at an exhibition “Angels of My Soul” in Minsk. For more than 25 years, Sofia and Henry Zawieruszynski have been making dolls from silk, cotton or wool. Design of every doll is carefully thought out: stylish hairstyles, dresses made of natural fabrics, decorated with embroidery, accessorized with semi-precious stones and metals. Each of them has an identification number and a certificate of authenticity and also a unique destiny. In 2018, for example, Gabrisia, Cinderella and Liberty Grace received the Dolls Awards of Excellence at the International Dolls and Teddy Show in Orlando.

When: 21 August – 6 December
Where: National Center for Contemporary Arts of Belarus, 37 Nezavisimosti Avenue, Minsk

Music and Light expo in the National Center for Contemporary Art

The love of music has brought together contemporary artists from Austria and Belarus in one exposition. All in all, the international project has drawn together 13 artists from Belarus and 14 from Austria, including Albert Hoffman, who is already familiar to the Minsk audience. The Music and Light exposition presents the art of visible music: sound and visual images from the paintings blend together to "show" in different styles, for example, abstract expressionism, symbolism, fantastic realism. The project also features graphics, art objects and video art.

When: September 4 – November 1
Where: National Center for Contemporary Art, 3 Nekrasova Street, Minsk

Circus Kaleidoscope in Minsk

The Circus Kaleidoscope show will open the season in the Belarusian State Circus on 10 October. The show will offer the audience a wonderful world of ancient tales, legends and myths of Belarus. The program will feature horse riders, fearless aerial acrobats and gymnasts, weightlifters and clowns, and also bears on a gyro scooter, the world's only juggling monkey riding a donkey, dogs-acrobats, and snow-white tigers.

When: from 10 October
Where: Belarusian State Circus, 32 Nezavisimosti Avenue, Minsk

Month of Photography in Minsk 2020

The annual open air festival dedicated to contemporary Belarusian photography will once again bring together professionals and amateurs. This year’s theme of the "Month of Photography in Minsk" is survival. The central exhibition features projects by Belarusian authors: "Agua" by young photographer Rita Novikova and two projects "Microplastic Everyday" and " Covid Camera" by eco-activist Tatiana Kuznetsova. The exhibition also includes works by foreign authors: on excessive consumption (Marie Lukasiewicz), on the future of coral reefs (Alicja Wroblewska), on the consequences of globalization (Lena Dobrowolska and Teo Ormond-Skeaping), on the role of photography in the formation of collective memory (Alina Maria Friske).

When: 29 September – 27 November
Where: Korpus cultural center, 9/8 Masherova Street

Salvador Dali. Secret Code exhibition in Minsk

The joint project of the Minsk History Museum and the LIBRA gallery invites visitors to unravel the secret code of Salvador Dali. The life and work of the artist are shrouded in many legends, and his true face is hidden under the mask of an eccentric. Visitors are offered to answer questions about the origins of the mysterious image of the genius and the secret message of his works. The answer is in his canvases: 61 graphics in color from private collections and galleries of Europe and America. Among them are works from the Carmen, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Dalian Horses series, as well as 20 wood engravings made for The Three-Cornered Hat (Le Tricorne) written by Pedro de Alarcón in 1958. The unique collection is crowned with the triptych Trilogy of Love.

When: 10 October-20 December
Where: Mikhail Savitsky Art Gallery, 15 Svobody Square, Minsk

Zvany Safii international festival of organ music

The festival celebrating eternal classics is certainly a true music delight for organ music lovers. The festival under the arches of St. Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk opened with a concert dedicated to the 335th anniversary of famous composer George Frideric Handel. The festival will continue with a tribute to Belarusian composer and teacher Anna Korotkina. The program will feature compositions for organ and violin. Chamber music of the Baroque era will be played by the chamber choir of the Gomel Regional Philharmonic, famous organist of St. Sophia Cathedral Ksenia Pogorelaya and the Europa-Center orchestra on 5 November. The festival will wrap up with an organ music concert on 8 November. It will feature Yekaterina Ivanova, Ksenia Pogorelaya, and Gleb Yakushev (duduk).

When: 18 October- 8 November
Where: St. Sophia Cathedral, 1 Zamkovaya Street, Polotsk

Autumn Salon 2020 in Minsk

The modern art festival Autumn Salon has opened in the Art Belarus Gallery to mark its 5th anniversary. This time the exposition displays works of 209 young Belarusian artists. A professional jury panel has selected the finalists from over 700 nominations. The exposition features paintings, graphics, photography, sculpture, decorative and applied art, installation and video art. All works can be purchased. A part of the proceeds, according to the organizers, will go to charity organizations, including the Chance International Children's Charity Foundation.

When: 14 October – 8 November
Where: 3 Kozlova Street, Minsk, Art Palace

Architecture of Belarus. Painting. Graphics exhibition

The heritage of famous researcher of Belarusian wooden architecture, member of the Union of Architects of the USSR Yuri Yakimovich has gone on display for the first time in Vitebsk Oblast History Museum. Yuri Yakimovich spent much of his life studying pre-revolutionary architecture as well as Polesie wooden architecture of the 17th-19th centuries. The exposition showcases 52 paintings and graphic works depicting the monuments of Vitebsk, Vitebsk Oblast and other regions of Belarus. Apart from the artifacts brought from numerous expeditions, on display is Yuri Yakimovich’s book Silhouettes of Ancient Vitebsk, personal belongings, photos and publications of the researcher.

When: from 22 October
Where: 36 Lenina Street, Vitebsk, Vitebsk Oblast History Museum
More

Colors of Autumn in the Botanical Garden

Personnel of the Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus have prepared an excellent gift for Minsk residents and guests of the city. In the cold November days the Botanical Garden will host the exhibition Colors of Autumn that will employ elements of phytodesign and pictorial arts of the Country of the Rising Sun. The change of seasons has a special meaning in Japanese culture. The momijigari season – maple hunting – is the time for everyone to go outside to admire autumn leaves. Visitors of the Botanical Garden will be able to see a refined collection of chrysanthemums and ink wash painting (sumie) pictures of the flower arrangement school Ikebana and the art studio of the Japanese culture center Hagakure. Visitors will also be able to see exhibitions The Moon and Grass (silvergrass aka miscanthus), Autumn is the Realm of Chrysanthemums, Koyo – Colors of Autumn Foliage (maples).

When: 8-11 November
Where: 2v Surganova Street, Minsk, the Central Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus
More

Artillerist’s Day 2020 at Stalin Line

A large-scale military history reenactment involving military history clubs and featuring military hardware dating back to the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 will take place in the historical and cultural complex Stalin Line. More than ten interactive zones will be arranged as well as an exhibition of weapons and combat hardware of the Missile and Artillery Troops Command of the Armed Forces of Belarus. Kids will surely love the site dedicated to competitions where they will be able to participate in a history quiz, shoot airsoft weapons, throw a grenade, pass an obstacle course, and try their hand at other activities. The show will also feature an exhibition performance by dog handlers, rides on a PT-76 tank, on a BMP-1 armored personnel carrier, and a Mi-2 helicopter.

When: 21 November
Where: the historical and cultural complex Stalin Line, Minsk District