Penza, 16 May 2015. PenzaNews. The official closing ceremony of the 6th international symposium on glassmaking and glass sculpture was held in the wotn of Nikolsk in the Penza region on Friday, May 15.

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The final accord to the event held thanks to the support of the Russian Ministry of Culture and the Center of Cluster Development was preceded by the opening of the sculpture “Pamyat” (Memory) located in the recently planted Victory Garden by “Olymp” sports and recreation center.

The sculpture dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory are made by the aspiring artists Anna Vishnyakova and Anton Fokin.

It took a shape of an emerald glass wall cut in two parts by a blast that represents the war, while the doves flying up from the center of the breach represent the spirits of the soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the Motherland.

The new mounment was unveiled by Nikolai Sizov, deputy head of the Penza region Department of Culture and Archive; Mikhail Suschev, head of the office on youth policy, culture, physical education and sports of the Nikolsk area administration; Sergei Kuznetsov, mayor of Nikolsk town; the Great Patriotic War veteran Antonina Rybakova, and the sculptors themselves.

The closing ceremony of the symposium was held immediately afterwards in the Nikolsk business incubator, during which the participants and the organizers of the forum received letters of gratitude.

The now finished event is yet another proof that the art of glassmaking lives on and continues to develop, Nikolai Sizov remarked.

“And I am especially pleased to see that the Penza land has this excellent gem, the town of Nikolsk and its masters,” he said.

The official part of the event was followed by a performance of Marta Serebyakova and “Gubernia” quartet from “Penzaconcert,” after which the visitors were able to see the Nikolsk Museum of Glass Sculpture exhibition of works made in the glassmaking cluster during the symposium.

In his comment on the exhibition, the director of the regional Savitsky Picture Gallery Kirill Zastrozhny said it was very bright, unusual and pleasant.

“As a director, I am especially pleased to see we made a paved road which every visitor of this beautiful museum can now use to get to its entrance. It is a small addition, but also a very important one. Everything should be made in style, everything should be up to level,” he explained.

Even though the financial situation is difficult, the symposium organizers will strive to continue inviting the world’s best glassworkers to Nikolsk, Kirill Zastrozhny assured.

“The idea inspirer of these symposiums is [Distinguished Artist of Russia] Alexander Fokin, and, thanks to the insight of the governor Vasily Bochkarev, the officials created an opportunity for Penza to remain the front place of the glass craft in Russia – the full-fledged front place, even with Gus-Khrustalny,” he stressed.

In his turn, Alexander Fokin noted that the event preparation should not depend on just a single man, and called for the new sponsors to join the symposium.

“I think the artists board should have a constant inflow of fresh people: after all, we are making a museum exposition, and it should surprise. So we should bring in more and more new names,” he said.

According to Alexander Fokin, most participants of the symposium are the leading Russian and foreign artists who arrive to Nikolsk to meet their colleagues and bring their ideas to life.

As PenzaNews agency reported earlier, the Sixth international symposium on glassmaking and glass sculpture opened in Nikolsk on May 5.

The event involved over 20 professionals from the Czech Republic, Poland, Latvia, Belarus, and the best aspiring artists of Russia. During the event, the craftsmen were working on their sculptures using the facilities of the Nikolsk glassmaking cluster.

The symposium also held a workshop of art researchers.