In My Homeland: Winners of Contests Received Deserved Awards
If spring is planting time for school gardens, it is harvest time for the participants of the project "In My Homeland". Exactly in spring the winners of the contests of the International Art Project "In My Homeland" reap the fruits of their creative labour and receive awards, the main of which is work in the exposition of the final exhibition of the art contest "In My Homeland".
On April 25, 2025 more than a hundred guests - young artists, photographers, cartoonists, their relatives and friends - gathered in the camp "Ecology and Health" of the Green Cross Belarus NGO to see the exhibition, enjoy the nature and, of course, receive awards from the hands of the organisers, jury members, friends and partners of GCB.
From the very morning, despite the cool weather, the centre was filled with warmth, light excitement and an atmosphere of joyful anticipation. Before the start of the ceremony, guests got acquainted with the programme of the day, the centre - on their own and together with volunteers from the Minsk Family Club during an eco-walk, admired the blossoming magnolia and peach trees, and, of course, viewed the final exhibition of the 20th International Art and Graphics Contest, taking photos with their drawings and getting acquainted with the works of other authors. In one of the halls of the centre, it was also possible to watch the best works of the 10th International Cartoon and Strip-Film Contest, as well as cartoons included in the Golden Fund of the contest.
As it has happened in recent years, the ceremony began under the shade of trees. All the guests of the centre gathered on a picturesque site where an improvised stage was arranged. In the opening speech, Elena Popova, deputy director of the organisation, said that the event was a jubilee one, as it summed up the results of the 20th art competition and the 10th animation competition. She also announced some figures - a total of 6 500 works from 17 countries were submitted to the contest, of which 1419 works received Diplomas of different degrees.
After a short introduction, the guests of the ceremony were welcomed by Vladimir Shevtsov, Director of the GCB. Speaking about the exhibition and the competition, he noted the importance of supporting children's creativity, children's view of the world around them, which often helps adults to better understand the processes taking place in their own land. He paid special attention to the teachers, their significant role in the education and formation of creative individuals. In continuation of his words the honouring of artists-teachers, who for many years have been supporting the International Art Project "In My Homeland" with their ideas and creativity of their students, took place. Fifteen Belarusian artist-teachers from different parts of the country were gifted with thanks and bouquets from the organisation and the project.
The first awarding ceremony also took place in view of fresh spring greenery. The winners received special diplomas "For deep reflection of the beauty and uniqueness of the native land", annually awarded by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus to 10 young artists and 2 cartoonists, from the hands of the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Ivan Prikhodko. In his welcoming speech he noted that the competition and its subject matter make a significant contribution to environmental education and fostering a responsible attitude to nature in the younger generation.
Young artists and photographers received the awards of the International Project "In My Homeland" in one of the exhibition halls. The special mood throughout the ceremony was created by students of the string and violin department of the Children's Music School of Arts No. 18 in Minsk. Diplomas and gifts from the organisers were presented to the children by the chairperson of the jury of the art contest of the last years Yanina Krukovich and the permanent jury member of the animation contest Tatiana Shilova, as well as ambassadors and representatives of the embassies of Austria, Great Britain and Switzerland. During the award ceremony, everyone in the hall could see not only the author, but also his work.
Some authors were honoured with special attention, as they also received special diplomas from the UN Resident Coordinator in Belarus and the Minsk State Art College named after A.K. Glebov. It should be said that the establishment of special diplomas was the result of an experiment that was conducted in February, during the jury's work. Then the UN representatives attended the viewing and were able to see all the variety of works submitted to the competition, which resulted in the idea to establish a separate nomination "Live! The world through the eyes of a child". After additional review by UN representatives, 8 works received special diplomas in this nomination. Presenting the diplomas and gifts, UN Resident Coordinator Rasul Bagirov focused on one work, which reflected very clearly the author's personal experience - the basis for many creative ideas.
Representatives of the Minsk State Art College named after A.K. Glebov - one of the leading art schools in Belarus - also decided to support the contest participants after communicating with the organisers and participating in the conference that took place in February 2025. They chose 6 works from among the Belarusian winners.
As has happened in recent years, while some children received awards, others took part in creative workshops. As a result, the participants took away not only diplomas and gifts, but also drawings of birds living on the mini-farm, magic lanterns and Easter wreaths created with their own hands. At the same time, their teachers were able to discuss the results and prospects of the project together with its coordinator Natalia Svyatkina.
After the solemn words and master classes, the children with their parents could take a quiet walk around the centre, eat homemade cakes in the "Tea House", listen to birds singing together with the ornithologist and learn from him whose voices sound in the centre, play logic and board games.
Full of joyful emotions and bright impressions the guests went home, and the organisers started planning the next year of the International Art Project "In My Homeland".
See the online exhibition of art and photo contest
You can visit the final exhibition of the 20th International Art and Graphics Competition "In My Homeland" on weekdays from 10:00 to 16:00 by prior arrangement (tel./viber +375 29 627 79 23 Yulia). Entrance is free.