In Vitebsk, trams and a trolleybus were decorated with sketches by Kazimir Malevich and Nina Kogan

...1920. In the Vitebsk People's Art School (now 5a Mark Chagall Street), Kazimir Malevich, together with his followers, created the creative association "UNOVIS" ("Affirmers of New Art"), which developed the ideas of Suprematism. They literally brought their art to the city streets and squares, which they actively decorated for revolutionary holidays. Until 1923, the UNOVIS group of artists turned the small provincial town into the "capital of Suprematism": giant Suprematist panels covering building facades, fabrics, banners, and the painting of May Day festive stands, executed by Malevich and his students, transformed Vitebsk. And for another six years – until 1925 inclusive, trams with paintings by Kazimir Malevich and his student Nina Kogan, made on May 1, 1920, ran around the city. By the way, the sketches are now kept in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery.

To revive them and implement the version of public transport painting proposed almost a century ago in the modern urban environment is the goal of the head of the project "Historical and Cultural Heritage of UNOVIS – Cultural Code for the Development of the City of Vitebsk" and the author of the reconstruction project of the historical tram paintings of 1920, Valentina Kirillova. This goal was achieved with the help of Ilya Gurko, a lecturer at the Department of Design of Vitebsk State Technological University, and Stepan Drozdov, a lecturer at Vitebsk State College of Culture and Arts, a member of the Belarusian Union of Designers. UNOVIS followers developed their own graphic version of the original sketches from a century ago to adapt them to 21st-century trams and trolleybuses, taking into account modern requirements and operational technical conditions.

The dedication to the artistic practices of K. Malevich's avant-garde association is timed to coincide with the European Heritage Days, which have been held for over half a century.

take place all over the world, and in Belarus — since 1993, when our independent state signed the European Cultural Convention. Every year, the European Heritage Days are held under different mottos, the current one being the dissemination of knowledge and cultural history.

The main idea is to inform, provide people with access to heritage sites, and showcase art that is not accessible on a daily basis for various reasons.

The departure of unusual electric vehicles turned into a beautiful solemn ceremony, which took place yesterday at 5 Frunze Street, 7, at the entrance to the tram depot, where Vitebsk residents and guests are already accustomed to seeing the composition: an old Vitebsk tram and the sculpture of the first conductor. The holiday was opened by the participants of the folk youth theater "Koleso" with the performance "Route — UNOVIS", and the transport was sent off on the new "route" by the Deputy Chairman of the City Executive Committee, Zinaida Koroleva. This event would not have been possible without the support of the City Executive Committee and the active participation of the staff of the Vitebsk Tram and Trolleybus Directorate and its head, Vasily Pavlyuchkov. As Vasily Mikhailovich rightly noted, the history of the tram for almost 120 years has always been closely linked with the history of the city. Today, the fleet of the Vitebsk Tram and Trolleybus Directorate numbers about 100 trams and 85 trolleybuses, and these types of public electric transport account for more than 50 percent of all urban passenger transportation. Two unusual trams and a trolleybus will run on the busiest routes in the city, introducing passengers to the sketches of UNOVIS. These vehicles also feature quotes from Kazimir Malevich's treatises, information about the author of the original sketches, the history of their creation, and the authors of the project. And it is aimed, as Valentina Kirillova noted, at fostering a patriotic attitude of Vitebsk residents towards the history of their native city.

Natalia DROZDOVA. Photos by Oleg KLIMOVICH, "Vitbichi".