Exhibition of Abkhaz artists and photographers opened in Sukhum and is timed to the International Day of Monuments and Historical Sites.
Said Bargandzhia
Pictures and photographs of famous artists and photographers of Abkhazia, devoted to the historical and cultural heritage of the Republic, are displayed at the exhibition in the Central Exhibition Hall of Sukhum. The exhibition opened on the International Day of Monuments and Historic Sites on Thursday, April 18.
It was organized by the Ministry of Culture and Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage of Abkhazia, together with the Abkhaz State Picture Gallery.
The central exhibition hall was decorated with photos and paintings depicting Bedia, Pitsunda, Mokva temples, Bagrat Fortress, dolmens of Abkhazia, Beslet bridge, Dranda cathedral and many other objects of historical and cultural heritage of the Republic that are of particular value. Special attention of the exhibition visitors is also attracted by photos depicting everyday objects of the ancient Abkhaz.
Elvira Arsalia, Minister of Culture and Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage of Abkhazia, noted that the purpose of the exhibition is to show the diversity of the monuments of Abkhazia. According to her, the exposition is of particular importance, since the main exhibits are images of religious buildings in the entire history of the Abkhaz land.
“Monuments of culture attract many travelers, artists, writers and researchers. The exhibition presents photographs from archival documents. People who come here will not see something new, these monuments and artifacts are very familiar to them, but the point is to stop and think, make every effort to preserve them,” she said.
Commenting on the reason for the opening of the exhibition - the Day of Monuments and Historic Sites - the director of the National Art Gallery, Suram Sakania, noted that this year it was overshadowed by a fire at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in the capital of France.
“I am greatly shocked by this tragedy. It's hard to say anything festive. Our exhibition, despite the fact that we are not among the countries recognized by all UN members (the independence of Abkhazia is recognized by such UN member states as Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, Syria, Tuvalu and Vanuatu - ed.), supports the main message of this day: “save our historic homeland.” This is our answer to the destroyers of cultural heritage sites, who, unfortunately, are still there. We must preserve our heritage for posterity,” Sakania stressed.
The International Day of Monuments and Historic Sites, or World Heritage Day, was established in 1982 by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), established at UNESCO. The holiday has been celebrated since 1984 in order to draw public attention to the issues of protection and preservation of the world cultural heritage. It also provides an opportunity to learn more about the diversity of world heritage and the forces that are applied to protect and preserve it.
In Abkhazia, according to official data, there are over 1,500 sites of historical and cultural heritage, among which are objects of cultural heritage of world importance. Due to a number of objective reasons, including because of the political situation around the Republic, these sites are not yet included in the international list of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage.
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