In Vitebsk, the names of the winners of the regional prize for high creative achievements in culture and art were announced

Usually, the awarding of the most deserving representatives of the profession takes place on the eve of Culture Workers' Day, which is celebrated on the second Sunday of October. But this year, due to the elections, the ceremony was postponed. So, the heroes of the occasion were congratulated twice: last Sunday and yesterday, when artists, musicians, librarians, and museum workers gathered at the Vitebsk College of Culture and Arts.

As noted by Larisa Olenskaya, Deputy Head of the Main Department of Ideological Work, Culture and Youth Affairs of the Regional Executive Committee, the current year has been rich in cultural events. A total of over 80,000 events were held, including 5 international festivals, 32 regional holidays and reviews, and 15 exhibitions. For the first time in Dubrovno, the competition of Belarusian traditional whistles "Salaveyka" was held. The best ensembles of the Vitebsk region took part in the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory, "Dazhynki," and other important events for the region and the republic.
Several conferences were organized at museums, and the book "Museums of Polotsk" was reissued. Work on detaching frescoes in the Transfiguration Church of the Holy Euphrosyne Monastery and creating an exposition of wall paintings of the 12th-19th centuries in the Polotsk Art Gallery is nearing completion.

Much has been done to strengthen the material and technical base of the region's cultural institutions. Reconstruction of the building at 5 Pravdy Street for the future memorial museum of the Vitebsk People's School is underway. 12 billion rubles have been allocated for these purposes this year. Repairs continue at the Vitebsk and Novopolotsk Music Colleges, the Cultural and Health Center in Liozno, and the House of Culture in Bolbasovo, Orsha District. The opening of the local history museum was an important event for Verkhnedvinsk. As part of the preparation for the regional holiday of agricultural workers in Tolochin, the House of Culture, the children's art school, and the museum have acquired a new look. A modern library building has been erected.

Since the beginning of the year, over 9 billion rubles have been allocated for replenishing library collections. The Novopolotsk Central Library System, the Yanka Kupala Library of the Polotsk District, and the Krapivinskaya Rural Library of the Orsha District were among the winners of the I Republican Competition "Library – Center for Spiritual Enlightenment and Education".

Students of colleges and institutions of additional education worthily represented the Belarusian performing and artistic schools at republican competitions and prestigious international forums in Austria, France, Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, and Russia. 20 students from the region's children's art schools are included in the database of the Special Fund of the President of the Republic of Belarus for the Support of Talented Youth.

Larisa Olenskaya addressed special words of gratitude to the current laureates who work in the field of culture. Traditionally, the awards were presented in several nominations. Lyudmila Shcherbina was recognized as the best philharmonic artist, and Margarita Tsvetnikova, head of the exemplary drum majorette ensemble "Vivat" of the Glubokoe District House of Culture, and Antonina Slinkova, chief conductor of the Regional Methodological Center for Folk Art, were recognized as the best club workers. Prizes in the amount of 20 basic units were also awarded to Olga Kvashko, a craftswoman from the House of Crafts of the Senno District Center for Culture and Folk Art; Galina Nisnevich, director of the Vitebsk District Centralized Library System; and Oksana Sinitsa, director of the Sharkovshchina District Center for Culture (as an organizer of paid services to the population). In the nomination "For Pedagogical Achievements," teachers Margarita Martas from Novopolotsk Children's Art School No. 1 and Galina Vysotskaya from Orsha Children's Art School No. 3 were awarded. The best museum workers were named Natalya Andreeva, head of the Children's Museum – a branch of the National Polotsk Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve, and Vera Shushko, junior researcher at the Museum of History and Culture of Novopolotsk.

Honorary diplomas and letters of gratitude from the regional executive committee and the regional council of deputies were presented, as well as diplomas for the best presentation of city and district brands at "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" and "Dazhynki".

Tatsiana Pasternak. Photo by Anton Stepanishchev. "Vitebskiye vesti".