Professional talk at the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy

The excursionists who happened to come to the Contemporary museum of calliraphy on June 26 were into luck! On that very day Petr Chobitko, the President of the National Union of Calligraphers, arrived in Moscow to meet the Chairman of the Holy Synod Department for Church and Public Relations, archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin.  Mr. Chobitko arrived at the Museum to see a new special exhibition display dedicated to the Day of Slavonic Script.

What a lucky coincidence it was! At the very same time a group of excursionists consisting of artists, historians, ethnographers, fine art experts, musicians, people engaged in preservation of intellectual traditions and restoration of moral grounds of the society were studying the museum display.

 Among them were Decalogue XXI Art project coordinator Roman Bagdasarov, artists and director of Nartex Fund for Preservation of Christian Art Olga Annushkina, staff scientist of the Tretyakov National gallery Vera Golovina, designer, graphic artist and musician Sergey Kuznetsov, artist and book designer, author of the Book of Prayers for Children Irina Shiropayeva…

Petr Chobitko held a spontaneous excursion for the group. It is quite understandable that the excursionists’ excitement wasn’t limited by the artworks on display. Excited professional conversation touched upon a quantity of problems: from peculiarities of the national schools of calligraphy to significant role that calligraphy plays in mental and intellectual development of a personality. 

For instance, the visitors were interested to hear that calligraphy studies help treating Alzheimer’s disease and stuttering. Petr Chobitko told about Golden Porch school (the town of Petrodvorets) where daily lessons of calligraphy among other studies make it possible to obtain positive results in work with mentally challenged children.  They discussed the experience of China, Japan and Arabic countries which prove calligraphy to be one of the most exquisite arts as well as “gymnastics for mind and remedy for heart and soul”.

Meanwhile, spouse and assistant of Petr Chobitko,Victoria,  gave a tour around the museum exposition for the littlest museum-comer.