Moscow Streets are a Museum in Themselves...

The IX International Art Festival “Moscow through the Eyes of Arab Artists”

The delegation of artists from Arab countries spent 10 days in Moscow at the invitation of the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly. 27 painters, sculptors, calligraphers, art critics, gallery owners from Egypt, Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Syria got acquainted with the sights of the capital, met with Russian colleagues and painted a lot.

The gallery “Through the Eyes of the Artist” became creative residence. It is located in the House of Anna Mons - a baroque building of the XVII century, a preserved monument of the Nemetskaya Sloboda. As the artists themselves admit, the “genius of the place” was very inspiring to them - some even took their canvases and paints back to the hotel to continue working at night.

The artists visited the main exposition of the Tretyakov Gallery, Viktor Vasnetsov's house-museum and the Etnomir park-museum in the Kaluga region.

The festival ended with the opening of the exhibition in the gallery “Through the Eyes of the Artist”. The vernissage was visited by ambassadors of Arab states, members of the diplomatic corps of Syria, Palestine, Turkey and other states, as well as artists, art critics and representatives of international non-governmental organisations.

H.E. Dr. Walid Hamed Shiltag, Ambassador of the League of Arab States to the Russian Federation, in his welcoming speech stressed that the countries of the League and Russia are linked by strong friendly relations. Also, he noted the high level of organisation of the festival and thanked the Russian side for its hospitality.

“It is a great honour for us to show the art of Arab artists in Russia, we are sure that the creativity of our artists will conquer the whole world as well,” - said Mr. Walid Hamed Shiltag.

H.E. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kuwait H.E. Dr. Rashid Hammad Al-Adwani thanked the organisers of the festival and members of the delegation, noted the expansion of cultural cooperation between Russia and Kuwait and expressed confidence in further strengthening the friendship between our countries.

“It is a great honour for us to host artists from Arab countries in Russia, - said Professor Yulia Petrova, Deputy Secretary General of the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly in her welcoming speech. - The festival is a vivid example of intercultural co-operation; this project should be an example for all countries. All members of the delegation are infinitely talented, they have surprisingly felt the greatness of Russian culture and reflected it in their works. I hope that we are starting a large-scale project that will expand year by year, and the Assembly will do everything for this.”

Dr. Khalil Almadhoon, President of the Association of Arab Painters and Sculptors, stressed that the members of the delegation had an incredible opportunity to get acquainted with Russian culture and share experiences with their Russian colleagues:

“We visited many museums and exhibitions that reflect Russian culture and Russian character - this is the main value of the visit. We are grateful for the opportunity to work in a historical place, surrounded by art objects - it had a great impact on us. I have visited many countries and museums and I can say that the streets of Moscow are a museum in themselves.”

Dr. Khalil dedicated his work to Moscow architecture - St Basil's Cathedral and a mosque transition into calligraphic inscriptions in Arabic.

“I tried to combine the impressive onion domes of Orthodox churches, mosques and calligraphy techniques and dedicated these works to the religions that inspire and enrich art. The main thing in my paintings is love, it is the basis of the human world,” said the artist and sculptor.

At the vernissage, the artists talked about their works and shared their impressions. Everyone noted the friendliness they felt in Moscow. The artists also presented their works to the project partners as a gift. Artur Mirzoyan, co-curator of the art project “Through the Eyes of the Artist”, who has been working together with foreign colleagues all these days, presented a portrait of Dr. Osama El-Serwy. The sculptor from Egypt, a graduate of the St Petersburg Academy of Arts, is depicted while working on a sculpture of Peter the Great in his creative residence.

This year's festival of Arab artists was held for the ninth time. Earlier the artists came to the Belgorod region within the framework of co-operation with the V.G. Shukhov Belgorod State Technological University. Over the years, 200 painters and sculptors have taken part in the project, conducting plein airs, getting acquainted with Russian art and exchanging experience with colleagues in Russia.

The Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly expresses its gratitude to the Russar Foundation, Evgeny Kazanin, Anastasia and Evgeny Braikevich for their help in organising the festival. Special thanks to Daria Karacheva, artist, cultural advisor of RAMS, co-founder of the art project “Through the Eyes of the Artist”, as well as Artur Mirzoyan and Tatiana Dvoryadkina, artists and co-curators of the art project “Through the Eyes of the Artist”.