The best and certainly most promising result of a genuine church revival in the Post-Soviet space is the flourishing of Christian art in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Since 2013, our close colleague, Sergei Chapnin, has been promoting contemporary Christian art – he gives lectures, hold conferences, and for seven years he has been publishing the almanac of contemporary Christian culture “Дары” (The Gifts).
Evidence of beauty that transcends political, cultural, and social boundaries has become an important part of the Artos Fellowship’s work, which has received recognition both in Russia and abroad. Dozens of exhibitions in Russia, Belarus, Italy, France, and Finland are proof of this.
The Artos Fellowship, where Sergei Chapnin is the chairman, brings together artists, musicians, writers, designers, art historians, theologians, and philosophers. It sets as its principal goal not only the preservation but also the living, creative expression of contemporary Christian culture. The Fellowship was founded in the fall of 2013 during the preparation of the First Christmas Festival of “The Gifts” and conducts exhibition activities, organizes conferences, and publishes the eponymous almanac.
In 2023 RBR Inc. plans to support publishing of this almanac of contemporary Christian culture in English. As a result of conversations with many people, we feel confident that the English-speaking audience would be no less interested in this almanac than the Russian-speaking audience. In our opinion, “The Gifts” is a remarkable idea that is needed today like no other. In a time of great conflict and confusion, this publication creates capacity to share and respect others’ cultures and to build a common language through which this occurs. We view “The Gifts” project as instrumental to its success.
