The International Watercolour Festival will bring together artists from the regions of Belarus and Russia in Vitebsk

The organizers plan to unite up to 30 artists in such a project, BelTA learned from Anastasia Paprotskaya, an art critic of the Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore.

The artists ' festival program continues to be developed. It is already known that the grand opening of the forum will complement the opening of the exhibition of Vitebsk watercolorists. A fashion show with a collection of watercolors is also planned. The next day's project will be based on an open-air event at the Zdravnevo Museum-estate of Ilya Repin in the Vitebsk region and an exhibition based on its results. It is up to the organizers to decide whether the masters will have a single theme for creativity. It will definitely touch on the artistic history of the regional center.

The third day, which will be the closing day of the festival, will be remembered for its participants with a sightseeing tour of the city, a climb to the observation deck of the Town Hall tower and a visit to the Art Museum. In the latter, by the way, they will organize an educational part: master classes in watercolors, creative meetings, and art platforms will be held for all guests.

More than ten artists have already announced their participation in the project. "The Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore is trying to make a large-scale festival. As far as we know, such forums have not been held in Belarus in recent years. We try to gather as many artists as possible in the open air. There are already applications from different cities of Belarus, such as Minsk, Brest, Gomel, Novopolotsk and Vitebsk. We are currently negotiating with our colleagues from Smolensk and Pskov," said Anastasia Paprotskaya.

According to her, young Vitebsk artists also want to join the forum. Therefore, it is possible that the organizers will provide a small section for them. The art critic stressed that the festival is designed to promote watercolors among young people, as well as art in general. "The project plays an important role in cultural exchange between regions, helps to form a single cultural space," she explained. "If we talk about its other significant functions, it is to support talented watercolour artists, preserve the best traditions of watercolour art, and, of course, establish relations with our Belarusian colleagues and international partnership."

The International Watercolour Festival Vitebsk-2023 will be held from 22 to 24 September.