Humanitarian-spiritual projects

The “Imperial Gardens of Russia” International Festival

Venue: St. Petersburg, Mikhailovsky garden (the State Russian Museum territory)

Photos...

The “Imperial Gardens of Russia” International Festival is a new project of the State Russian Museum, started in 2008. The “EKATERINA” Cultural Foundation has become a general partner of the Russian Museum in this project since 2009.

The Festival is held under the patronage of the Governor of St. Petersburg Valentina Matvienko and her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent.

The unique by its landscape and architecture Mikhailovsky garden is an annually unchangeable place for organizing the Festival. The garden presents a unitary ensemble with the Mikhailovsky palace (The main depository and exhibition hall for the art treasures of the State Russian Museum), it shows a unique combination of two different styles of landscape design on the same territory – the “French” and the “English” styles, and it has over 200 years of history.

The Festival, which combines the idea of a museum, the idea of a contest and that of organizing a cultural weekend for the citizens, enjoyed great success with the citizens and guests of St. Petersburg. In 2010 only, about 70 thousand people visited the Imperial Gardens of Mikhailovsky.

The main event of the Festival is the exhibition-contest of landscape design. In 2008 the garden saw a contest named “Entertainment and Decoration of the Imperial Gardens of 18th – 19th centuries”, which presented original compositions and ensembles, including garden figures made of blossoming flowers, bushes and turf.

In 2009 the contest was dedicated to the theme of labyrinth. Labyrinths alluding to the Greek myth about Minotaur and Theseus were favorite elements of landscape design in history. During the contest the designers revealed the highest flight of fantasy. The labyrinths were made not only of bushes cut in a special way. Some of them, made of different other materials were created directly on the surface of the Mikhailovsky garden’s lake.

In 2010 the “Imperial Gardens of Russia” Festival was officially included in the “Year of Russia and France, 2010” program, that is why the exhibition-contest which was held that year was named “French Garden on the Banks of the Neva”. That year the Festival and the exhibition-contest were dedicated to French parks and the gardening art.

Folk art as a cultural heritage. Russian distaff

One of the main tasks of the Cultural Foundation “EKATERINA” is to preserve the cultural heritage in its various forms; a project connected with folk arts and crafts, in particular with distaffs appeared among others.

We traditionally associate a distaff with an integral part of peasant way of life. In old times a distaff was not only used accordingly but it was also connected with lots of customs and legends. And even nowadays we can contemplate not only simple, modest distaffs but original works of folk art as well. They are ingeniously decorated with carving, pictures of animals, ornaments, signs which sometimes have an implied secret meaning. Differing by great art variety, distaffs have always attracted attention of historians and arts critics who divide them into several types: Vologodskaya, Dvinskaya, Mezenskaya, Pomorskaya, Tverskaya, Yaroslavskaya distaff, etc. Vologodskaya distaff fascinates by its skilful ornamental carving. The outlines of beautifully bent blade of Yaroslavskaya distaff as well richly decorated with carving reminds of a floating swan. Mezenskaya distaff (the center of production was located in Palashchelie village on the river Mezen) is interesting due to paintings of traditional images of red horses herds on a gold and yellow background. An unsolved cryptography was discovered on some of Mezenskaya distaffs.

The Foundation works on creation of its own collection of various distaffs, it is planned to demonstrate them on exhibitions of arts and crafts, perhaps, the Foundation will establish a museum of distaffs and other folk life articles of artistic and historical value.

Pictures of different types of distaffs...

The Project “INFORMBUREAU: modern russian art”

The Cultural Foundation “EKATERINA” is actively participating in projects and activities fostering modern Russian art. Within the frames of the 1st Moscow International Biennale of modern art the project “INFORMBUREAU: MODERN RUSSIAN ART” has been successfully realised in co-operation with the Foundation “Art Projects” and the E.K. ARTBUREAU. The aims and content of the Project are manifested in its title. The “INFORMBUREAU” stands for the information center collecting documents and materials (including video) dedicated to Russian painters of 1950 – 2000-es. These materials will enable the users to get an idea of a given painter’s work, as well as of different artistic trends and contemporary painting in general. Each file will include the painter’s complete biography, photocopied articles about their activities from catalogues, journals and newspapers, a selection of reproductions and video documentation.