The purpose of the exhibition "Ten Centuries of Belarusian Art" is to show the art of Belarus as a living and continuous process, integrated into the world art space. For this, almost 500 exhibits were selected throughout Belarus, provided by 29 museums, libraries, private collectors, and religious organizations of the republic.
The exposition is based on works from the corporate collection of Belgazprombank and the funds of the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus. For the first time, such artifacts from the banking collection as the book by Simeon Polotsky ("Rod of Government"), paintings by Valenty Vankovich ("Portrait of Tomasz Zan"), Chaim Soutine ("Eve"), Marc Chagall ("Clock in the Flaming Sky" and "Green landscape"). On the opening day of the exhibition, the museum displayed a national relic - the Cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk. The display of many works was preceded by significant restoration work.
The title of the exhibition uses the phrase "Art of Belarus" rather than "Belarusian Art". This was done intentionally, as evidenced by the words of the author of the concept of the exhibition, Vladimir Schastny:
Given the fact that the authors of the works included in the exposition project belonged to different ethnic and linguistic groups, it was decided to use the broader concept of "art of Belarus" instead of the definition "Belarusian art". The artists presented at the exhibition were born on the lands that make up modern Belarus, or, having settled in our country, they made an exceptional contribution to the development of national art.
The exposition of the exhibition is located on two floors of the old building of the National Art Museum. The active participants of the project were journalists Oleg Lukashevich and Alexander Alekseev, who, as photographers, worked on the exhibition catalog, and also shot special films dedicated to the architectural monuments of Belarus – broadcast in the exhibition space. According to the National Art Museum, the exhibition was visited by about 24,000 people during the four months of its operation.
Awards:
I place in the nomination "Cultural project" of the III International festival of territorial marketing and branding OPEN.
The exhibition catalog (prepared by the publishing house "Four Quarters") was awarded an honorary diploma in the Grand Prix nomination of the XI International Competition of the CIS countries "The Art of the Book".
1st place in the nomination "Best Partner Activity" at the competition "Museums of Belarus – the Third Millennium" within the framework of the II National Forum "Museums of Belarus".