Press releases

MINSK, 5 May (BelTA) – Three countries will hold joint projects to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of artist Ferdynand Ruszczyc, Director General of the National Art Museum of Belarus Vladimir Prokoptsov said during an online conference hosted by the BelTA website.

Vladimir Prokoptsov said that plans have been made to organize several projects to celebrate the anniversary that will be marked in 2020. The graves of the artist and members of his family in the village of Bogdanovo, Volozhin District will be cleaned up and refurbished. Besides, there are plans to renovate the artist’s estate burnt down during the Great Patriotic War in 1944. The estate will house an education center. It will host plein airs and music events for different kinds of audiences. The village of Bogdanovo regularly plays host to plein air events. The next one will take place on 11 May. A book about Ferdynand Ruszczyc has recently been published on the initiative of Vladimir Prokoptsov and now makes part of the Famous Artists of Belarus series.

Belarus hopes that Lithuania and Poland will help it implement all these projects. Other celebration ideas include publishing an album of Ferdynand Ruszczyc’s works and issuing a silver coin commemorating the artist. Vladimir Prokoptsov added that Belarus will put forward an initiative to include Ferdynand Ruszczyc’s 150th birthday into UNESCO’s list of anniversaries of great personalities and events.

A large-scale exhibition will be held to celebrate the anniversary of Ferdynand Ruszczyc’s birthday. The artist’s works will be brought from four countries, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine.

Vladimir Prokoptsov added that he has plans to meet with the grandson of Ferdynand Ruszczyc to discuss the possibility of establishing a fund named after the artist in Belarus.