Press releases

MINSK, 26 July (BelTA) – A marble sculpture and a wooden sculpture of elephants made by contemporary Indian artists have been added to the collection of the National Art Museum of Belarus, BelTA has learned.

The gifts were presented by the Embassy of India in Belarus. Each sculpture weighs about 400kg. The marble one has been painted while the wooden one has been encrusted.

According to the museum’s Director General Vladimir Prokoptsev, the two sculptures will be put on display as part of the permanent exposition.

Belarusian Culture Minister Boris Svetlov noted that Belarus-India friendly ties grow stronger all the time. The 25^th anniversary since the two countries established diplomatic relations is marked this year. Each year of cooperation was noted for events in various spheres, including cultural affairs. There are plans to organize Belarusian Culture Days in India. This event will become a bright page in the cultural cooperation between the two countries, noted the culture minister.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of India to Belarus Pankaj Saxena shared his impressions of the first visit to the National Art Museum of Belarus in March 2016. Back then he was pleasantly surprised by the museum’s rich collection. Yet the ambassador noted he would like to add to the oriental art department’s collection. Decisions were made to hand over the gifts to the museum in the year of the 25^th anniversary of Belarusian-Indian diplomatic relations.