Maria Zakharova, Evgeny Margulis, Vladislav Lisovets, Elena Kuletskaya, Igor Gulyaev, and many others at the opening of the International Festival of Contemporary Art "Traditions and Modernity" at the Gostiny Dvor in Moscow.

      The XV International Festival of Contemporary Art "Traditions and Modernity" has opened at the Gostiny Dvor in Moscow and will run until June 14. The exhibition brings together key areas: painting, sculpture, photography, digital and applied arts, installation, museum studies, and jewelry art.

      The festival has existed since 2006 as a space for cultural diplomacy, where art becomes a universal language of mutual understanding and cooperation. By uniting leading artists from Russia and around the world, it reveals the richness of national traditions and the strength of innovative ideas, demonstrating that cultural diversity is not a boundary but a point of contact. The festival is held with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Rossotrudnichestvo, and the Department of Culture of the City of Moscow.

      "Despite all attempts to present culture and art in a distorted light, to convince that the world is not developing and has reached a dead end, the festival provides an opportunity to show that humanity is alive, that it fights for the right to create, to strive for the light. This is another opportunity to show that we have much in common, that people can find common ground through art, creativity, through knowledge of cultural history and respectful dialogue — the very dialogue of civilizations," said the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.

      The artworks are presented by authors and galleries from Russia, Turkey, France, Italy, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries.

      "The main idea of the festival is to show that cultures from different countries can come together in one place and present their art. There is much to see here: many interesting artists, both young and already well-known," noted the president of the festival Vera Kiseleva.

      A significant part of the exhibition area is dedicated to the art of African countries. On an area of 720 square meters, more than 400 exhibits from Libya, Congo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, and Nigeria are presented. The exhibition includes paintings, sculptures, and traditional masks.

      A number of exhibitors are represented under the auspices of the Russian Academy of Arts, which also showcases works by Zurab Tsereteli at the festival. Among the participants in the exhibition are Natalia Somova, Oleg Putnin, Dmitry Belyukin, Massimiliano Robino, Daria Sanatina, and other authors.

      "From the very first day, Tair Teymurovich Salakhov and Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli have always supported this festival. It shows how multifaceted and beautiful painting is in our country. In the Year of National Unity, we see wonderful examples of different arts here," emphasized the president of the Russian Academy of Arts Vasily Tsereteli.

      The business and educational program includes discussions and lectures dedicated to cultural diplomacy, support for traditional values, futurism, technologies, and investments in art. Participants in the discussions include Maria Zakharova and State Duma Deputy Maria Butina.

      "The next days of the festival will be very significant, with informational and discussion sections taking place. Come and listen, share your impressions with us. Believe me, for the artists who presented their works, this is very important," said Maria Butina.

      The opening evening continued with performances by pianist and People's Artist of Russia Yuri Rozum and vocalist Konstantin Legostaev. One of the notable events was the musical-artistic performance by contemporary painter Alexey Klokov. The show was accompanied by the largest symphony orchestra in Russia, "Imperial." The soloists of the ensemble performed several iconic electronic music hits from the new large-scale show "Symphony of Life," the premiere of which is scheduled for September.

      Guests of the event included: Evgeny Margulis, Vladislav Lisovets, Elena Kuletskaya, Igor Gulyaev, Konstantin and Olga Andrikopulos, Nastya Krainova, Svetlana Stepanovskaya, Daniil Fedorov, Anastasia Voznyuk, Elena Novikova, Soprano Turetsky, Nikita Nikitin, Irina Yovovich, Istokiya, Arthur Nechaev, Aktash, and many others.

      The culmination of the festival will be the awarding of the international prize in the field of visual arts — the bronze statuette "Vera," with the ceremony taking place on June 14. Awards will be presented to the winners in nominations across all areas of art represented at the festival. The evening will conclude with a concert program featuring vocalists from the Moscow Gubernatorial College of Arts, ballerinas from the Bolshoi Theatre, gold medalist of the Isaac Dunayevsky International Competition Elizaveta Semircheva, opera singer Daria Pankova, as well as jazz performers Oiden Ablekova and Sandra Radulovich, representing the Institute of Contemporary Art.

      Since its inception, the festival has featured more than 7,000 galleries and artists from over 60 countries. The number of visitors has exceeded 5.5 million people. The "Vera" awards have honored 357 laureates.