Presentation of the computer graphics and animation competition: «Palmyra: Breathing Life!»
On April 16 2016, in the State Hermitage there was a presentation of projects and events dedicated to the culture and history of Palmyra. The event was designed and organised by the Sector through the work of volunteers in conjunction with HMO «School Centre» for the International Day of Monuments and Historical Places.
For the last ten years the Sector, through work with volunteers together with the School Centre of the Sate Hermitage, has organized and carried out computer graphics and animation competitions for schoolchildren. This year the theme of the competition was Palmyra. Volunteers announced the computer graphics and animation competition «Palmyra: Breathing life!», which schoolchildren of all ages can participate in.
The School Centre hosted a lecture by the head of the School Centre, I. V. Dyubanov, about the history and art of Palmyra. In the exhibition, which presented the famous Palmyra tax law, special activities took place. Participants received tasks for the competition «Palmyra: Breathing Life» and other informative materials regarding the preparation and carrying out of the «Intermuseum» festival, the «Night of the Museums» event and the «Days of Syria» programme.
Volunteers of the State Hermitage created a number of interactive games for the yearly exhibition of the Union of Russian Museums «Intermuseum 2016» in Moscow, for the traditional «Night of the Museums», and for «Days of Syria», which will take place at the Hermitage in May. The interactive games include a model of the temple Bela, a plaster model of the famous statue of the Lion Goddess Al Lat, and a puzzle map of ancient Palmyra. All of these models will be displayed in an unassembled way, so that visitors can take part in their construction. The theatre, which played an important role in the life of Ancient Palmyra, will not be overlooked. There will be theatrical presentations at «Night of the Museums» in the Restoration and Storage Centre of the Hermitage, with specially created decorations and costumes. Special attention should also be given to the holograms of the lost monuments of Palmyra and the computer game «Palmyra’s Market», created by a volunteer from Italy, Luca Otonello.
An important part of the program was a visit to the palace of Prince Abamelik Lazarev – the first to discover the tax stone from Palmyra, which is now located in the collection of the State Hermitage. The visit was organized for Hermitage volunteers by the All Russian Society of Preservation of Historical Monuments and Culture, and by the Committee for State Control, Use and Protection of Historical Monuments, in honour of the International Day of Monuments and Historical Places.