Press releases

“A total of 41 events were held in 20 cities in France. Of these, 38 activities were financed by sponsors, patrons and from extrabudgetary sources of cultural institutions of Belarus,” the Embassy said.

For the first time France hosted the Belarusian Theater Seasons and the Belarusian Music Seasons. Among the participants of the theater seasons were the National Film Studio Belarusfilm, the Yanka Kupala Academic Drama Theater, Marina Vezhnovets children's ballet company. The music seasons featured the Belarusian State Ensemble Pesnyary, Toloka ensemble, artists of the Vitebsk State Philharmonic, the State Chamber Orchestra of Belarus, the Symphony Orchestra of the Belarusian State Academy of Music, the arts company of the Belarusian minority in Poland “Primaki” and the children's group “Istoki”.

The event “Let’s Sing the Anthem Together” has become a good tradition. For two consecutive years it has been held in Trocadero, one of Paris central squares, opposite the Eiffel Tower.

This year, the works by six Belarusian artists and sculptors were on display at the Salon d’Automne (Autumn Salon), an annual art exhibition in Paris. At the same time six French artists had their works displayed at the Salon d'Automne in Minsk.

The international expo “Art Capital: From France to Belarus” was organized with the support of the Embassy. It featured 15 recognized French and 11 Belarusian artists and sculptors. In tribute to the 150th anniversary of the birth of Leon Bakst, an exhibition of the art schools of Grodno Oblast was organized at the UNESCO headquarters.

Paris also hosted the events to celebrate Belarusian icons: Zhirovichy Icon of the Mother of God and the Icon of our Lady of Budslau.

The celebration of folk Belarusian holidays such as Christmas kolyady and Ivan Kupala Day has become another good tradition. They are organized by the Embassy together with the Belarusian Diaspora in France.

An important event of the year was a ceremony to honor People's Artists of the USSR and Belarus Valentin Elizariev and Igor Luchenok with the UNESCO Five Continents medals and diplomas of the UNESCO Director General.

The Belarusian Embassy in France and the Belarusian Embassy in Spain conducted a number of activities aimed at bolstering the Belarusian-Spanish cooperation. Among them was the exhibition of Belarusian icons of the 17th -18th centuries titled as “The Mystery of Time and Spirit (the Apostles and Prophets. Belarusian icons of the 17th -18th centuries)” in the El Greco Museum in Toledo. A chorus of students of the Belarusian State Academy of Music toured the cities of Madrid, Toledo, Chinchon.

The biggest landmark event initiated by the Embassy of Belarus in France was the international exhibition of contemporary art “From Lisbon to Vladivostok Through Minsk”. It features 30 contemporary artists from the cities of Europe and Asia. The exhibition at the Mikhail Savitsky art gallery was opened on 21 December and will stay open till 5 February 2017.