The Museum of Calligraphy in Sokolniki is a small private institution, opened not so long ago. Art itself has the same ancient roots as the writing of each nation. On the territory of Russia, the museum with such an exposure is the only one so far.
About the museum
The opening of a one-of-a-kind museum in Russia dedicated to the ancient art of calligraphy took place in August 2008. A private collector A. Yu. Shaburov took the initiative in creating, there are not so many such museums in the world, and most of them are located in China, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Turkey, for Russia - this is a completely new principle of collecting the exposition. The museum is admitted to the International Council of Museums.
The mission of all the work, the employees and the directorate, consider the formation of a healthy society, able to appreciate beauty and be attentive to details.
Exposition
The museum in Sokolniki collected typical examples of writing from European, Arabic, Jewish, Chinese, Japanese calligraphy. Rare samples of Russian Slavic ligature are also presented. On the examples of exhibited works, one can trace the origin and development of art. In addition to written masterpieces, accessories for their creation, come from the past and modern devices are demonstrated.
Especially popular with visitors are manuscript books, the publication of which is limited to a single copy. The museum of calligraphy in Sokolniki considers the pearl of the book collection to be the hand-written Constitution of the Russian Federation, the creation of which was accepted by the masters of the National Union of Calligraphers.
The exposition presents rare examples of works by eminent artists of their craft and their students, who are just starting their journey in art, and those who have already proven themselves to be successful works.
Public events
In 2009, the Museum of Calligraphy in Sokolniki took part in the eleventh Moscow festival of international level museums “Intermuseum 2009”, founded and held the first All-Russian competition “Holy Scripture in Calligraphy”.
September 2010 the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy in Sokolniki celebrated with a large-scale event held in Veliky Novgorod. From September 10 to 12, the third International Exhibition of Calligraphy was held, which was held near the walls of the ancient Novgorod Kremlin. It aroused great interest among the townspeople, during the period it was visited by about 37 thousand people.
In 2012, the next International Exhibition of Calligraphic Art was held in Moscow and lasted 45 days (November 1 - December 15). The exhibits were presented by masters from 44 countries, their total number was 143 unique masterpieces. More than 42 thousand people came to see and join the beauty of the letter.
2015 continued the tradition of conducting international communication in the framework of the traditional exhibition of calligraphic art. This time, the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy in Sokolniki brought together participants from 52 countries who brought 201 paintings created in the genre of calligraphic art. A common theme was chosen for the exposition - “Reflection on the Homeland”.
The next stage of the international exhibition activity will be held in 2017, the planned period of conducting is from September 1 to September 10 in Sokolniki Park. The theme of this phase is “For Life”. To participate in the exposition are invited not only successful masters who submitted their works for the exhibition, but also new faces. Calligraphy is based on the individuality and versatility of the personality of the master, and therefore each work is unique in its originality.
Master classes
The Museum of Calligraphy in Sokolniki holds copyright workshops during exhibitions and other events. In the process of mastering the secrets of writing, each participant can get acquainted, chat with the master, learn a lot about ancient art and take his first steps in it.
Each of the past master classes was conducted by a specialist in a particular area of calligraphy. So, in 2016, the participants tried their hand with brushes and brushpen under the guidance of St. Petersburg illustrator artist Daria Biryulina.
Many remember the experience of creating stained glass mosaics, which was conducted in March 2015 by stained glass artist Elena Nechiporenko. Participants learned about the technique of creating stained glass, its features and were able to see the calligraphic painting of stained glass.
Crowded and brightly conducted master classes with the participation of recognized world masters. In April 2016, the Japanese guests Sauri Ishimaru, Sashida Takefus, Hirose Shoko and others spent several days in Moscow and gave lessons for visitors. During the classes, the participants learned some laws of composition creation, gained experience with brushes and mascara.
The Museum of Calligraphy in Sokolniki offers the organization of master classes and excursions for children and adults. For this, it is necessary to gather at least 10 people in a group and agree with the employees of the institution. The event lasts 90 minutes, during which a guided tour is conducted and a thematic lesson is given, in which the basics of art are learned in practice.
New master classes are planned at the upcoming international exhibition, which will be held in September 2017, the venue will be Sokolniki Park. The Museum of Calligraphy promises a lot of interesting things and invites you to visit the expanded exhibition and master classes, where you can spend time communicating with many masters of this art.
Reviews
The museum of calligraphy in Sokolniki conducts active educational work. Feedback from visitors tells about the unusualness of the exhibits and their own surprise at the possibilities of this art. Many appreciated the beauty of strokes, the skillful writing of individual characters and entire books. Those who managed to see handwritten lists of the Koran, Torah, Japanese engravings, report that they did not even suspect how thin the work could be. A lot of positive reviews were expressed about the master classes of the museum, where employees introduce children not only to the writing technique, but also to materials, tools, and history.
Negative reviews were expressed about the location of the museum, which is located far from popular routes and about the room itself, which is an ordinary pavilion in which few people can suspect the existence of the exhibition. Some visitors were dissatisfied with the staff of the museum, which did not allow viewing the exposition in a company with compact vehicles.
Address and route
The Sokolniki Museum of Calligraphy has the following address: 5th Radiation Avenue, Building No. 2, Building No. 1, Pavilion No. 7. Contact phone: 8 (495) 728-77-58.
To get to the museum, you need to drive to the Sokolniki station and walk through the park alleys to the building. Road access is allowed through the third Radiation clearing (there is a regulatory permit for this part of the park).