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Travel Notes Show Europe Show Belarus

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Travel Notes Show Europe Show Belarus

Travel Notes:

“Show Europe- Show Belarus”,
The Portuguese Event.


The joint cultural campaign “Show Europe-Show Belarus”, including Belarus and five European Union countries, Germany, Lithuania, Portugal, Sweden and Estonia, was recently successfully launched in Portugal, in the ancient city of Evora.

The opening presentation of the event was given by the director of the Portugal-based “Oficina de Courela”, and the Belarusian - American artist, Yelena Tylkina. Tylkina’s personal exhibition entitled “The Divine Female”, which included 13 of her monochrome works and a lecture-dialogue about Belarusian art abroad, took place amidst the elegance of the “Museu de Evora”, on May 26 through June 19, 2011.

On the June 3rd through June 5th , at the “Sociedade Harmonia Eborense” (The Harmonious Society of Evora), the cultural exchange campaign “Show Europe- Show Belarus” continued with a group exhibition of Belarusian and Portuguese artists. Among them were artists Yelena Tylkina, Konstantin Selihanov and Antonio Monteiro; photographers Pedro Lobo and Yra Matsiyun. The exhibition was follow by a concert of the Belarusian folk vocal group “Akana” and a popular Portuguese local band known as the “No Mazurka Band”. Both performed together and produced a unique potpourri combining the antique songs of Belarus with the colorful background of a Portuguese band. The artistic and musical mixology was suitable to all tastes: from toddlers to the elderly. The music traveled through the many Portuguese and Belarusian hearts assembled there and engaged the audience to sing along. Couples of every age were soon dancing through all the long corridors and endless rooms of the Sociedade Harmonia Eborense.

Thereafter, a series of engaging workshops were conducted every afternoon that surpassed usual convention and were received with great participation and interest.

Together the participants accomplished the creation of an exciting and comfortable cultural space in which everyone became freely acquainted with the contemporary art of Belarus and Portugal.

While the event had an authentic Belarusian- Portuguese flair to it, it was truly international. The language of harmony and understanding blossomed fully along with the great promise of a fruitful tomorrow. Hopefully, a new cultural chapter has opened for Belarus, and international audiences will be challenged to broaden their horizons and examine their assumptions.

This was a truly historical moment in view of the fact that this was the first cultural connection between these two countries in history.

Much credit for the success of this extraordinary and experimental venture goes to the President of the Oficina de Courela, Ms. Elza Neto, the Portuguese partner of the campaign, whose high level of organizational skill made this venture so successful.

Yelena Tylkina,
30th of June, 2011