World Art Day 2020
Declared by the International Association of Art (IAA) in order to promote awareness of creativity and celebrate it internationally, World Art Day was established eight years ago. The specific date of April 15 was chosen to honor Leonardo Da Vinci, making the artist a “symbol of world peace, freedom of expression, tolerance, brotherhood and multiculturalism, as well as art’s importance to other fields.”
According to UNESCO, “World Art Day celebrations help reinforce the links between artistic creations and society, encourage greater awareness of the diversity of artistic expressions, and highlight the contribution of artists to sustainable development. It is also an occasion to shine a light on arts education in schools, as culture can pave the way for inclusive and equitable education.”
On this day every year, different events are organized to celebrate the beauty of art worldwide. This celebration, like everything else, was disrupted this year by the coronavirus pandemic.
Georgian Minister of Science, Education, and Sports Mikheil Chkhenkeli, published a statement on World Art Day, congratulating the Georgians working in the sphere of culture.
“April 15 marks World Art Day in many countries around the world. Congratulations to our compatriots working in various fields of culture on this day. Our ancient and rich culture is based on universal, supreme human values, and at the same time enriches the world cultural treasures with its own unique colors,” Chkhenkeli noted.
“Today, when the whole world, including our society, is facing an unprecedented challenge, the search for new, creative ways is of particular importance, so I would like to thank our artists, writers, museums, theaters, galleries, archives, and other cultural and creative organizations, who were enthusiastically engaged in the project ‘Culture Online’, thus making their contribution for a better tomorrow”.
Within the scope of the project Culture Online that Chkhenkeli referred to, any interested individual can watch video clips on cultural heritage sites, view and visit virtual museums and art galleries, and experience King's Palace Memorial Halls, through the social network of the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia. However, that’s not all that the project is offering.
Writer’s House is conducting a literary workshop, with teacher David Gabunia delivering online lectures on literature and art, through the Zoom online conference platform.
Moreover, the project “Children Writers' House" continues, and is once again led by children's author Vaso Guleuri, who reads poems and works of various authors and fairy tales online three times a week. The US Embassy in Tbilisi has started up a similar project, with American diplomats reading one of their favourite short stories in English live on the platform of the Embassy’s Facebook page.
In addition to Culture Online, the National Film Center offers films by famous Georgian filmmakers in the format of online film screenings: "Name" - directed by Zaza Khalvashi, "Moira" - directed by Levan Tutberidze, "Is there a theater there?!" - Directed by Nana Janelidze, and many more, all perfect to catch a break from the worrying news of the coronavirus.
The Ministry has promised to continue offering a variety of “exciting and thrilling online activities” in the future. These online efforts can still somehow compensate for the coronavirus depriving us from celebrating World Art Day in real-life art environments.
By Nini Dakhundaridze