More than 30 events were timed to the 125th anniversary of Marc Chagall in Vitebsk

CHAGALL AND VITEBSK. 125 YEARS AND ONE BIG CELEBRATION This year, the global art community will widely celebrate the 125th anniversary of Marc Chagall's birth. His native Vitebsk has not remained on the sidelines of this celebration and is preparing a number of interesting events that will popularize the artist's work and, undoubtedly, attract many tourists to Vitebsk. BELTA correspondent discusses how the artist's 125th anniversary will be marked in Vitebsk, what awaits guests of the jubilee celebrations, and how to avoid copyright infringement and falling for fakes by avant-garde artists during the celebration, with Lyudmila Vladimirovna Khmelnitskaya, Director of the Marc Chagall Museum in Vitebsk and a member of the jubilee organizing committee. - In honor of Marc Chagall's jubilee, over three dozen events are planned in Vitebsk: from the renovation of the interiors of the Marc Chagall House-Museum to the creation of thematic programs on the local TV channel... - Yes, we have tried to fill the celebration program with useful, interesting, and informal activities. The main events will be the Chagall Readings, which will take place on June 9-10, and Chagall's birthday, which we will celebrate on July 7-8. The XXII International Chagall Readings this time are dedicated to the Vitebsk Art School. Their theme is defined as "The History of the Vitebsk People's Art School. 1918-1923". The Marc Chagall Museum's interest in this topic is due to the fact that Marc Chagall founded this educational institution, and also because a new museum will appear in Vitebsk, which will become another point on the city's Chagall map. Last year, the Vitebsk Museum "Center of Contemporary Art" was given the building that has survived to this day, where the school was located in 1918-1923, and where its famous teachers lived: Malevich, Lissitzky, Yermolaeva, etc. Although the restoration will take more than a year, work on the exhibition needs to begin now. Just as Chagall once created the school, the Chagall Museum is now ready to assist in creating an exhibition dedicated to the history of the school he founded. We hope that the Chagall Readings will initiate the collection of materials and, if you will, provoke interest in this topic. There are researchers of the history of the Vitebsk school in various countries around the world. Art historians from Belarus, Russia, Latvia, France, and Germany intend to attend the XXII International Chagall Readings. - The annual festival "Visiting Marc and Bella," held in Vitebsk in honor of Marc Chagall's birthday, has become a favorite among Vitebsk residents and city guests. How do you plan to celebrate it in the jubilee year? - We plan to celebrate the jubilee over two days - July 7 and 8. I hope that on July 7, we will be able to turn the traditional festival "Visiting Marc and Bella" into a beautiful Chagall-style show, involving the entire Pokrovskaya Street - the street where the artist spent his youth and where his House-Museum is located. There is a plan on how to do this, and most importantly, there are people who can do it. The next day, July 8, we are planning a large plein air event "Vitebsk - City of Artists." This name corresponds to reality, as Vitebsk has many children's art schools, colleges that train students in creative specialties, two Vitebsk universities that graduate artists, fashion designers, and advertisers, and a branch of the Belarusian Union of Artists. We want to showcase the full diversity of Vitebsk's artistic forces and introduce new names. For one day, the city will become a huge workshop and exhibition space. I want to emphasize that we are in no way going to repeat the master's works and turn it into a "Chagall-style" plein air. What is important to us is the free expression of free creativity. Then it will be very much in the spirit of Chagall. - The Chagall Museum is one of the most visited by tourists. It is likely that the museum will have some surprises for its guests in the jubilee year? - Indeed, this year we are preparing to offer excursionists an unusual project designed to give them a vivid emotion not only from Chagall's works or house, but also from their own creativity. You must agree that when tourists are bombarded with numbers, dates, and events, their heads spin, and after a couple of hours, nothing remains in their memory except a bright spot. Our goal is not to burden the tourist with facts, but with impressions. Therefore, we will offer them to try their hand as artists, teaching them the techniques of monotype printing. In the garden under the apple trees near the Chagall House-Museum on Pokrovskaya Street, we want to set up a kind of workshop where our employees, who are artists by education, will tell tourists about this technique, show its simple methods, and tourists will be able to create an unusual and unique souvenir with their own hands, which will remain as a memory. I would like to add that we have prepared many other souvenirs for tourists, involving both well-known Vitebsk craft masters and art students in their creation. By the way, on Chagall's birthday, exclusive souvenirs will be available for purchase on Pokrovskaya Street, which will be sold only on that day and only on that street. Among the tourists who will come to Vitebsk in this jubilee year will be professional translators - participants of the International Seminar for Translators in Yasnaya Polyana from ten countries. The seminar has been held for five years, and its organizers this time invited translators to visit the Marc Chagall Museum, and they gladly supported this proposal. We want to introduce them not only to the museum but also to Belarus. We plan to take them to Zdravnevo, to Ilya Repin's estate, to show them our small towns where the spirit of Jewish shtetls is still alive. - On the eve of the jubilee, the risk of copyright infringement regarding Chagall's works increases, as unscrupulous dealers may copy them for souvenirs or commercial publications. The museum has extensive experience working with the Chagall Committee in Paris and the artist's relatives, who strictly monitor copyright compliance. How to avoid legal scandals? - Under no circumstances should the market be flooded with low-quality reproductions of Chagall's works, especially without respecting copyright. World practice, where copyright is strictly observed, must be taken into account. It doesn't matter if it's an artist, composer, or inventor. According to European laws, for 75 years after the death of any figure, their heirs enjoy copyright. Everything related to reproduction, performance, and duplication must be agreed upon with the heirs. They receive a percentage of the commercial profit from the project, publication, or performance. The same rules apply to Chagall's heirs. The Marc Chagall Committee in Paris and the Copyright Protection Committee monitor this. But this does not mean that no one can reproduce Chagall's works; there is simply a special procedure, which some Belarusian enterprises, both state-owned and private, have successfully completed. For example, the Minsk Printing Factory of Goznak has released a beautiful gift edition - Marc Chagall's illustrations for N.V. Gogol's "Dead Souls." These reproductions of 96 etchings, the originals of which are in the collection of the Marc Chagall Museum in Vitebsk, were made with the permission of Chagall's heirs. I dare to assure you that it did not cost that much money. I would like to emphasize that the requirements were only for print quality, and when it satisfied the heirs, permission was immediately granted. Based on our museum's collection, private enterprises, having obtained permission, produce magnets, souvenirs, and postcards. All this has been agreed upon with Chagall's heirs, the necessary procedure has been completed, and certificates have been obtained. These souvenirs are successfully sold in our museum. It should be remembered: anything that has the word "Chagall" in its name, whether it's a play, film, or architectural project, must be agreed upon with the heirs. If the authors can convince the heirs that it is worthy and will only benefit Chagall's name, then permission will be granted without delay. The publication of reproductions of Chagall's works also has its peculiarities. If they are used for scientific and educational purposes, that's one thing. But if they are released on plates, postcards, T-shirts, calendars, and billboards, then there are different requirements. For example, in Minsk, they intend to place billboards with reproductions of Marc Chagall's paintings. The authors of this idea consulted with us about obtaining permission from the heirs, and our museum has also prepared a list of reproductions from the artist's early work that, in our opinion, should be known and popularized. - Lyudmila Vladimirovna, will Vitebsk see an exhibition of Chagall's works in the jubilee year? - First of all, I want to remind you that since the creation of the Chagall Museum in Vitebsk, five full-scale exhibitions of his works have been held in Belarus. Paintings, drawings, prints, and tapestries have been exhibited. Moreover, these were thematic exhibitions that showed the diversity of his work. Statements that Belarus has never seen original works by Chagall are incorrect and reflect the ignorance of their authors. Exhibitions were held in Vitebsk and Minsk, and anyone who was interested could see them. Chagall's heirs are willing to provide us with exhibitions every two years, minimizing costs. Unfortunately, we have not used this opportunity since 2005 because the museum cannot cover the costs of financing it. Previously, the French and German embassies helped us, but now they are busy with other projects. - It was recently reported that one of the Belarusian banks acquired works by artists of the School of Paris - natives of Belarus. Chagall's name was mentioned among the authors of the purchased works. What is your opinion on this purchase? - It is difficult to comment on this acquisition without seeing it. The very fact that businesses make such purchases, bringing works of world-famous artists back to their homeland, is undoubtedly good. But it would be better if the buyers consulted with art historians about what they are buying and why. One can choose not to listen to specialists, but one must listen. Every serious corporate collector abroad has art experts who help form the collection. Foresight in this matter is justified. Unfortunately, fake works of Russian avant-garde, which includes works by natives of Belarus, are actively sold, even to museums. During the existence of the USSR, the heritage of the avant-garde artists was hidden, and their relatives who remained in the Soviet Union were afraid to admit that they kept their works. In the West, they did not sleep and forged Russian avant-garde, which was very popular there. The Iron Curtain fell, relatives unpacked their storage rooms, and began to sell authentic works that the artists created in their homeland. It was then that it turned out that many Western private collections were full of fakes of Russian avant-garde. This was in the late 1980s. Gradually, the passions subsided, Western collections were replenished with originals, but the fakes had to be disposed of somewhere. That's when they started selling them. I fear that Belarus may now fall into the sphere of interest of such dealers. Moreover, finding experts in avant-garde art to assess the authenticity and artistic value of works is very difficult. - Lyudmila Vladimirovna, sometimes one can hear statements that there are no works by Chagall in Belarus. Tell us about the art center's collection. - It is strange for me to hear that there are no works by Chagall in Belarus. Over 20 years, the museum has formed a decent collection of Chagall's graphic works. Chagall treated the creation of prints with no less reverence than his paintings or drawings. He repeatedly said so. Marc Zakharovich turned to creating graphics in his mature years, being a famous artist. He consciously went for the creation of prints so that as many people as possible could get acquainted with them. It was a unique form of missionary work. Throughout his life, Chagall created about a thousand graphic sheets on various themes. The Marc Chagall Art Center in Vitebsk houses a third of this heritage - from the very first etchings to the last work, which allows us to trace the evolution of his creativity, techniques, and themes. Our collection is a national treasure. I want to add that it was assembled thanks to donors: Heinrich Mandel from Germany, Günther Kamtzky from Switzerland, and Chagall's granddaughters Bella Meyer and Meret Meyer. Half of our collection, including illustrations for Gogol's poem "Dead Souls," is a gift from Bella and Meret. We want as many visitors as possible to get acquainted with our collection, and we will be happy to welcome guests to our festive events. Diana KURILO, BELTA.-0-