Vitebsk Center for Contemporary Art Takes Graffiti Artists Under Its Wing

August 22, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The "Vitebsk Center for Contemporary Art" museum intends to support young graffiti artists in Vitebsk, as reported to BELTA correspondent by the museum's director, Andrey Dukhounikov. The first protégés of the museum were three students from the art faculties of Belarusian universities, who united into the creative group "Dugrannik". Throughout the summer, Stanislav Rabunsky, Kirill Kulikov, and Pavel Kozlov delighted the residents and guests of Vitebsk with three-dimensional drawings on asphalt – so-called 3D graffiti. According to Andrey Dukhounikov, as an art critic, he was attracted to these works by the young artists' talent, execution technique, and knowledge. "It is impossible to create such drawings without knowing the laws of perspective," he explained. The cooperation between the museum and informal artists began with a three-dimensional image of seemingly cracked asphalt, through which one could see a subway train moving towards the viewer. The drawing appeared on the asphalt in the area near the museum, and until it was washed away by the rain, anyone could peek into the life of the subway in Vitebsk. The museum purchased the materials for this work – special pastels for artists. Joint projects will continue. Andrey Dukhounikov believes they will be interesting to the townspeople and will reveal a new facet of contemporary art to them. Soon, the museum also plans to gather other young lovers of informal art under its wing and hold a graffiti festival. At the same time, the city authorities are considering the possibility of allocating several unsightly walls for these artists to decorate. According to the museum director, the project is currently undergoing a coordination procedure with the city's architects. The "Vitebsk Center for Contemporary Art" museum was established in 1998 to implement a program for the preservation, study, and popularization of the cultural heritage of Vitebsk, the traditions of the Vitebsk Art School, and the legacy of Marc Chagall, Kazimir Malevich, and the UNOVIS art association. The museum assists creative intellectuals in implementing programs and cultural events in the field of contemporary art, studies the processes of art development, new trends, directions, forms, and types of aesthetics, and the theory and practice of art. -0-