History and Culture: "Kalevala. Current Outlook" exhibition to the 180th anniversary of the first edition of the Karelian-Finnish epos

"Kalevala. Current Outlook" exhibition, dedicated to the 180th anniversary of the publication of the first edition of "Kalevala" Karelian-Finnish epos (1835), opens on January 30, 2015, at the Museum of Fine Arts of Republic of Karelia (Petrozavodsk).

The core of the exhibition consists of works from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts of Karelia, which began shaping as far back as the 60-ies of the last century and includes about 600, mostly graphic, works. It presents pieces by famous masters of art from Russia and Karelia.

Dedicated to "Kalevala" museum exhibition projects, involving contemporary authors, have proved that the themes of ancient runes continue to draw an attention of visual artists, inspiring them to pursue new means of expression.

Finnish artists from Helsinki, Oulu, Rovaniemi and Joensuu are invited to participate in the exhibition, as well as contemporary artists from Karelia, St. Petersburg and Moscow. They will contribute into the exhibition project with sculpture, video, photo, art objects and installations. Amount of the works was created by Finnish artists right before the opening of the exhibition, directly in Petrozavodsk.

Exhibition "Kalevala. Current Outlook" is a large international project, which was supported by the Ministry of Culture of Russia, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Karelia, as well as by our Finnish partners - the North Pohjanmaa (North Österbotten) and Kainuu branches of Arts Promotion Centre, Lapland Arts Promotion Centre, and North Karelia Arts Promotion Centre.