Minsk will get acquainted with the creative achievements of Polotsk, the cultural capital of 2010, in January

December 13, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Over 50 vernissages, concerts, creative meetings, and festivals were held in Polotsk as part of the first public and cultural republican campaign "Cultural Capital 2010," reported Inna Shakhovich, Head of the Culture Department of the Polotsk City Executive Committee, to a BELTA correspondent. At the beginning of 2010, the Ministry of Culture launched the "Cultural Capital of Belarus" campaign, designed to develop and enrich the cultural life of the regions, activate local public initiatives to support national culture, and attract the attention of the general public and tourists. Thanks to the campaign, Polotsk residents and guests of the ancient city got acquainted with the cultural achievements of Belarus and saw the country's best creative groups. Throughout the year, the Belarusian State Honored Choreographic Ensemble "Khoroshki," the ensemble "Classic-Avant-garde," and "Pesniary" visited Polotsk with their concerts. The city Art Gallery hosted exhibitions of lithographs by Napoleon Orda from the collections of the National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus, paintings by Ivan Khrutsky dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the artist's birth, and vernissages of contemporary Belarusian and foreign artists. In Minsk, in mid-January 2011, a presentation of Polotsk will take place, where the official capital will get acquainted with the creative achievements of the cultural capital of 2010. About 400 amateur artists and folk craft masters will come to Minsk. It is expected that the cultural capital of Belarus for 2011 will be announced at the gala concert of the masters of arts of Polotsk land. Europe has been choosing its cultural capital since 1985. The Greek city of Athens was the first to receive this status. Since the late 1990s, cities in America and the Middle East have received the status of cultural capital. In 2010, the status of European cultural capitals was awarded to Pecs (Hungary), Essen (Germany), and Istanbul (Turkey). -0-