Press releases

BelTA opens exhibition dedicated to 35th anniversary of Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk

VITEBSK, 3 July (BelTA) – A BelTA exhibition dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the international art festival Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk opened in Vitebsk.

The exhibition features 35 posters with photographs taken by BelTA’s leading photojournalist Aleksandr Khitrov. The exhibition is located on the bridge dedicated to Vitebsk’s 1,000th anniversary. The photos capture the most vivid moments of the massive art festival. Rising stars and famous performers, emotions of spectators and participants – every photo is like a page in the chronicle of Slavianski Bazaar since 1992. Particularly valuable and touching photos are related to cultural figures, who are no longer alive but remain with us in our memory.

BelTA Director General Andrei Mokhor, who took part in the opening ceremony, emphasized that this is a joint project of the news agency and the directorate of the international art festival Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk. “More than 120 unique, emotional, vivid, color photos and black-and-white photos are featured on 35 posters,” the BelTA head said. “For us this is not just a set of photos. For us it is an entire history. The absolute majority of these pictures were taken by BelTA’s leading photojournalist starting from the very first festival, from film photographs. He literally keeps the chronicle of this wonderful festival.”

Andrei Mokhor also noted that the photo chronicle of Slavianski Bazaar relies on a great deal of work – night development of photographic film, intense hours of shooting in rain and heat. “Everything we see is a look at festival life. I would like as many people as possible to see these pictures,” the director general stressed. “I am proud that the Belarusian Telegraph Agency and Slavianski Bazaar have been going hand in hand for 35 years.”

The exhibition has already been seen in all regions of the country. It visited the oblast capitals during the Cornflower Tour organized by the festival directorate. Guests and participants of the festival will see the rare shots. The exhibition will also be presented in Moscow.

Director General of the Vitebsk Culture Center, Director of the international art festival Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk Gleb Lapitsky noted the special spiritual component of the exhibition and of the festival. He stated that the exhibition had managed to reflect the history of Slavianski Bazaar’s development while the works by Aleksandr Khitrov had made a special contribution to preserving important moments of the festival’s history.

Today the directorate also presented postcards created on the basis of the BelTA exhibition. They can be purchased both during the days of the upcoming festival and afterwards and they can be sent to friends and relatives so that they can touch the history of the massive brand art forum that gathers under its wing artists and guests from tens of countries from different continents.