Two representatives from the Vitebsk region were among the winners of the "Person of the Year in Culture-2018" competition.

Two representatives from the Vitebsk region – Andrey Retikov, head of the Novopolotsk folk puppet theater "KapyalyuSh", and Sergey Rymdyonok, a pottery master and head of the Potter's House, a branch of the Sharkovshchyna District Cultural Center – were among the winners of the "Person of the Year in Culture" competition for the results of 2018.

The award ceremony was held this week in Minsk following a meeting of the Ministry of Culture. Andrey Retikov was recognized as the best in the "Folk Art" nomination, and Sergey Rymdyonok in the "Folk Decorative and Applied Art" section.

Andrey founded his theater in Novopolotsk over 20 years ago. "KapyalyuSh" develops in two directions: as a batleyka (traditional Belarusian puppet theater) and as a puppet theater. By the way, Andrey Retikov himself makes the puppets for both. He also crafts batleykas. One of them is made based on the model of a "zhlob" – a shadow theater popular in the Vitebsk Governorate in the late 18th – early 19th centuries.

This type of batleyka was once found in Surazh, kept in a local history museum, but burned down during the Great Patriotic War. Only descriptions and drawings remained, based on which Andrey recreated the structure in the form of a three-domed church. The stage is covered with oiled paper. Inside the dome, there are metal rings with figures of characters. The batleyka performer lights a candle and begins the performance.

The master puppeteer presented his "zhlob" at the regional exhibition of batleyka theaters, as well as at the international festival "Nyabyosy" in Minsk.

The ceramics of Sergey Rymdyonok, who is reviving the ancient pottery craft, are well-known not only in the Vitebsk region but also far beyond its borders. His works have spread all over the world. They are found in Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, and even overseas – in the USA. The master has mastered a special technology – so-called "molochyeniye" (milk firing). A clay jug is fired at a high temperature, then dipped in milk, and fired again. The product acquires a dark coating that is waterproof.

Sergey Rymdyonok is a laureate of the All-Belarusian Arts Festival "Belarus – My Song" and a regular participant of the "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk". He is invited to various fairs and festivals.

"Vitebskiye vesti".