The International Festival “Art Space Amur” is being held in Blagoveshchensk for the 26th time.

Photo: AmSU

Star visiting team

“The festival “Art Space Amur” received grant support from the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives last spring, which made it possible to organize the event at a new level,” says Elena Korobiy, director of the festival, dean of the Faculty of Design and Technology of AmSU and member of the Union of Designers of Russia. — Thanks to the grant, this year the festival promises to be more interesting and eventful. We managed to form a stellar visiting team. Among the invitees are both regular participants and newcomers. Khabarovsk, Moscow, Samara, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Beijing, Heihe – professionals in different areas of design, architects, artists from different parts of our country and from abroad came to “Art Space Amur”.

With the participation of invited guests, it is planned to hold several open lectures on artificial intelligence, the implementation of design projects, as well as VR, AR, MR in art and culture, design of the architectural environment of educational institutions and other relevant topics. The festival venues will host master classes for teachers, students and high school students, professionals in the field of painting and design, and for those who are just planning to connect their lives with the field of creative industries. According to tradition, the international scientific and practical conference “Innovations in the sociocultural space” will be held, as well as exhibitions and competitions. The organizers invited everyone to participate in the festival events. The creative laboratory Artlab has opened.

This year, one of the main events of the festival was the opening of the Artlab laboratory at AmSU. It is expected that the new creative laboratory will become a platform for collaboration between university teachers and students when implementing various projects.

— The new creative laboratory is equipped with modern equipment that will allow us to carry out a variety of orders – from printing on souvenirs to developing design projects for premises. The laboratory will have its own creative team. Students from the Faculty of Design and Technology of AmSU will also be involved in working on projects,” explained Elena Korobiy.

Art objects in the shape of a cube

A number of festival events started even before the grand opening. Among these is the increasingly popular art project FORMA, a creative work in the field of public maps in which student teams participate. As last year, the participating teams were asked to develop the concept of their own art object in the shape of a cube.

— FORMA is a project that has existed for only three years, but its popularity is growing. The theme for 2024 is “The ABC of Creativity.” This time, teams from BSPU, Amur Pedagogical College, Amur College of Construction and Housing, and the School of Creative Industries are participating in the art project. For the first time, a team from the Pacific State University came to the competition. Two teams are participating from AmSU – these are AmSU students and a team of Chinese citizens who are studying for a master’s degree at our university. You can look at the art objects created by the project participants in the Exhibition Hall of Blagoveshchensk,” said the festival organizers.

For the first time at the festival – paintings by Chinese masters

Several master classes will be held in the Exhibition Hall, one of the main venues of Art Space Amur. The program can be found on the website. Another festival site is the Amur Regional Museum of Local Lore, where an exhibition of works by participants in the “Kaleidoscope” children’s creativity competition is currently open, as well as an exhibition of creative works by artists from the “Design” department and master’s students of the People’s Republic of China at AmSU.

— Paintings by Chinese masters are presented in a museum exhibition as part of the festival for the first time. The topics and techniques chosen by the participants are varied and related to the topics of their dissertations. By the way, there are more works by Chinese artists at the exhibition than works by Russian artists,” noted the festival director.

Masters from around the world compete for victory

Another popular event among foreign participants of the festival is the International Competition of Decorative, Applied and Monumental Arts “MASTERSKAYA”.

Last year, about 700 people took part in the competition – representatives of various art schools in Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Australia and other countries. The best works will be determined in such categories as: “Ceramics”, “Textiles”, “Metal”, “Glass”, “Jewelry”, “Woodworking”.

The focus is on the theme of family

Festival events are held for both adult professionals and beginners and the youngest participants. Family is one of the main themes this year. Thus, the theme of the “Focus” photo competition, in which anyone can express themselves, is timed to coincide with the Year of the Family in Russia and is called “My Home. Family. A country”. A master class “Family Portrait” using collage techniques will be organized for children. Artists who are taking their first steps in painting will have the opportunity to try themselves as portrait painters or paint a tote bag at one of the master classes. A meeting is planned for graduates on the topic “Life after university: how to find yourself in a profession in any city and become successful.”

“This year, for the first time, a well-known professional brand of art materials is acting as a partner of the festival. Representatives of the company came to the festival and are organizing their own masterclass at one of the sites. Participants in the master class “Oil painting with a palette knife” – one of the most popular among our students – will also be able to try these materials in action, the festival organizers shared the details.

From student competition to fashion show

This year’s program also includes a round table on the already traditional topic of urban development. This time, Amur residents and guests from Moscow, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg at the “Boiling Point” will discuss new tourist routes of Blagoveshchensk and fashion tourism in the city. Another topic for discussion will be the creation of a brand of ethnocultural style of the Amur region. On the same day, the results of another big festival event will be summed up – the All-Russian competition for the best works in architecture and design “Profi”.

According to tradition, “Art Space Amur” will end with a display of student clothing collections and collections of professional designers. The history of the festival began more than a quarter of a century ago with the student competition “Fashion Magic”. During this time, the festival has grown from a university event into a large and vibrant cultural event on an international scale. However, one of the main and most spectacular events in it is still the fashion show. Throughout its history, “Art Space Amur” continues to support the creative initiatives of students, continues to surprise, delight, and give young people the opportunity for self-realization, learning, knowledge exchange and the implementation of their own projects.

Age category of materials: 16+