Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Holds Launch Ceremony for Korea-Russia University Students Art Group 'Siberia Art Expedition'

Performance scene of Russia's Vaganova Ballet Academy. (Unrelated to the main content)

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that, together with the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, it will hold the launch ceremony of the Korea-Russia cultural exchange university student art troupe, ‘Siberia Art Expedition,’ on the 26th at the Chungmu Art Center Convention Hall in Seoul.

The Siberia Art Expedition is a project supporting joint creation and collaboration among the next-generation artists who will carry the future cultural and artistic fields of both countries, marking the ‘2020-2021 Korea-Russia Mutual Cultural Exchange Year.’ The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism planned this project to discover fresh works from young and diverse perspectives and to continuously strengthen cultural and artistic exchanges with Russia, a key country in the New Northern policy and a cultural powerhouse, in the mid to long term.

The launch ceremony will be attended by a total of 26 expedition members selected from Korea and Russia (14 from Korea and 12 from Russia), as well as officials from domestic institutions such as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, and three cooperating Russian universities (Saint Petersburg State University, Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory, Far Eastern Arts University). The Russian side will participate online in real time to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

At the launch ceremony, the purpose and main schedule of the art expedition will be introduced, along with key matters for future activities, including participants and supervising leaders from both countries. There will also be a commissioning ceremony for the selected members and presentations of participation impressions by students from both countries to strengthen their commitment to cooperative activities. Additionally, an invited lecture introducing the cultures and arts of both countries in an easy-to-understand manner will enhance participants’ understanding of each other’s cultural backgrounds.

Going forward, the expedition members will form one team each in three fields?music (composition, instrumental), theater (directing, acting), and dance (ballet, Korean dance, etc.)?as the ‘Creative Chamber Ensemble,’ ‘Creative Theater Troupe,’ and ‘Creative Dance Troupe,’ respectively, and will create joint performance works with field leaders from both countries from March to August.

The expedition members will be provided with a certain amount of activity funds to support their creative activities, cultural and artistic lectures, and training sessions to strengthen relationships among members. In August, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to award the Minister’s Prize to the team that creates an outstanding work and to individuals who demonstrate excellent activities through work evaluations. Notably, the outstanding team will have the opportunity to attend and perform their work at the ‘2021 Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum,’ the largest international exchange event in Russia led by the Russian federal government.

Oh Young-woo, the First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, “I hope that through joint creation and collaboration among student artists from both countries, not only the cultural and artistic fields but also the friendship and trust between the two countries will deepen further in the future.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.