The centenary of the art college building will be celebrated during the City Day festivities in Vitebsk
The centenary of the People's Art School building will be celebrated during the City Day festivities in Vitebsk, as reported to a BELTA correspondent by the "Vitebsk Center for Modern Art" museum.
Currently, the building at 5A Pravdy Street, which was constructed in Vitebsk exactly 100 years ago, is undergoing renovation. Upon its completion, it will house the museum of the Vitebsk People's Art School.
On June 29, as part of the City Day celebrations, a special exhibition will be organized for the residents and guests of Vitebsk. Stands placed near the historical building will feature materials dedicated to the history of the Vitebsk People's Art School and the concept of the future museum. Archival documents and photographs detailing the history of the building will form a separate section of the exhibition.
The uniqueness of this structure lies in the fact that it was not only a workplace but also a residence for great artists who left a significant mark on world art culture. Art historians emphasize that the Vitebsk Art School can only be compared to the Bauhaus building in Berlin.
The Vitebsk Center for Modern Art noted that the celebration of the school building's birthday will follow a classic scenario. Guests will view a "family album" (stands with photographs and archival documents), and art historians will discuss the stages of activity of the Vitebsk People's Art School's teachers: Kazimir Malevich, Marc Chagall, El Lissitzky, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, and the history of the formation of the art association UNOVIS (Affirmers of New Art).
The building of the People's Art School was originally a family mansion built in 1913 by Vitebsk banker Israel Vishnyak. After the October Revolution, the house was nationalized. The school was located here from 1918 to 1923. It was the first state educational institution of an artistic profile in the territory of modern Belarus.