On 7 August, a solemn opening of the cultural and educating project “The bell of centuries” timed to the 100th anniversary of the First World War was held in the gallery “Labyrinth”.
The project includes three thematic expositions prepared by the National Library of Belarus, the US Embassy in Belarus and the non-governmental organization Green Cross Belarus. “Such a complex approach to the preparation of this project should make it interesting to wide public”, – Elena Dolgopolova, First Deputy Director of the National Library of Belarus said at the opening ceremony.
The exhibition "The First World War in lithographs by Jean-Louis Forain" is based on the collection from the stocks of the National Library of Belarus. The artist depicts the horrible nature of the Great War. His characters are not only soldiers and historical figures but civil population as well. He created his lithographs between 1914 and 1917; they were published in an edition of 300 copies and signed by the author. Most of them were published in French newspapers Le Figaro and L’Opinion.
Elena Dolgopolova said there were over 200 lithographs by the artist in the stocks of the National Library of Belarus, and 56 works with the author’s original sign were currently on display.
The exposition "The First World War in American posters, literature, cinema and music" includes reproductions of American posters created during the First World War, CD collections of music of that time, literary works and movies. Mr. Scott Roland, the US Charge d’Affaires ad interim, told about the exhibition features and the contribution of the USA to the victory in the First World War. The diplomat also cited former US President Woodrow Wilson who had told about the necessity of making the world safe for all. “Unfortunately, the First World War did not become the last... We should hold it in remembrance and aspire to peace in the whole world”, – Mr. Scott Roland said.
Director of the non-governmental organization Green Cross Belarus Vladimir Shevtsov told about the third part of the project – the exhibition "Reechoing centuries: the First World War and today’s world". The exposition includes graphic works based on the poetry of A. Akhmatova, А. Blok, М. Voloshin, N. Gumilev, О. Mandelstam, V. Mayakovski, M. Tsvetaeva, and also prose by H. Barbusse, E.М. Remark, F. Stepun, А. Tolstoy, М. Sholokhov concerning the theme of the First World War. Authors of graphic works are young and mature artists and pedagogues from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. According to Vladimir Shevtsov, artists had devoted a lot of time to study of books written during the First World War, and they had often gathered for open-airs in the fields of battles in order to depict the war as brightly as possible in their works.
Head of Rossotrudnichestvo Office Victor Malashenko told about the importance of the project for the international dialogue in Belarus. Alla Belyavskaya, the winner of numerous author’s song festivals, impressed the audience with thematic verses and songs.
Along with the offered exhibitions the National Library of Belarus has prepared the online project “Belarus in the first World War”. The resource is based on items from its collections: books, magazines, graphic documents of 1914–1917. Within the framework of the project about 70 editions have been digitized including more than 10 thousand text pages and about 150 pictures – illustrations, postcards, photos and lithographs. Interesting is a set of fiction by Belarusian authors many of whom were participants and witnesses of those tragic events.
The project expositions are located on the 3rd floor of the Library and in the galleries “Atrium” and “Labyrinth” and run till 10 September, 2014.
For more information, please, call: (375 17) 293 27 56, 293 29 80.
Е-mail: pr@nlb.by
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