14.05.2017, Saint-Petersburg: An award ceremony for the participants of the computer graphics and animation contest «Tour de France 1717: The Grand Journey of Peter the Great» took place on May 14, 2017, at the Menshikov Palace. The project, created by the Volunteer Service together with the Hermitage’s «Shkolny Centr», the department of the history of Russian culture, and the Department of Western European Applied Art, was dedicated to the 300th anniversary of Peter the Great’s foreign trip in 1717.
The ceremony was opened by V.V. Meschcheryakov, the head of the Hermitage’s «Menshikovsky Palace» department, who reminded the audience about the French creators of the palace of Peter the Great’s closest ally.
The head of the «Shkolny Centr» I.V. Dyubanova thanked the participants, their parents and teachers for the work on their difficult projects. O.E. Petrova, a representative of the Academy of Further Vocational Education, said words of gratitude to the Volunteer Service for the 12-year long partnership in administering such contests. The head of the Volunteer Service, M.Yu. Kozhukhovsky told the audience about the multitude of events in 2017 in France and Russia dedicated to Peter the Great’s trip to France in 1717. The contest «Tour de France 1717: The Grand Journey of Peter the Great» and Hermitage’s Museum Night that took place on May 20th, 2017, at the Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Centre were just a few.
Anyone between 6 and 17 years of age could take part in the computer graphics and animation contest «Tour de France 1717: The Grand Journey of Peter the Great». The participants were given topics that had to do with momentous occasions of the early XVIII century history in Europe and Russia, a multitude of Peter’s reforms and the influence of French art on the development of Russian culture. Some topics related to the history and building of St. Petersburg. The works were done in three media: computer graphics, animation, and multimedia presentation.
After the ceremony, the volunteers organized a set of educational events, during which the participants could feel the atmosphere of early XVIII century France by playing games and learning about the era. Music was playing throughout the day and the events even began with the performance of the epoch’s most popular dance — the menuet.
The participants were offered to create a paper model of the Big French coronation carriage that was ordered by Peter the Great on the Gobelins Manufactory in 1717 and that is now in the collection of the Hermitage. An event «French sheen of Peter’s parties» introduced the participants to French fashion and a lotto game — to the particularities of French and Russian art during Peter’s reign.
Moreover, the participants not just learned about exotic plants and animals that were the characters of the «Indian» tapestry series that were given to Peter the Great by the Gobelins Manufactory, but could also create their own tapestries both on paper and in a computer game «Create your own tapestry» developed by the volunteers.
The most artistic event was the reenactment of scenes from the comedies of French playwright Pierre de Marivaux by the ceremony’s participants. They could pick the story, learn their lines and perform on an improvised stage.
The celebration’s program finished with a tour of the Menshikov Palace. All the participants received diplomas, gifts, and invitations to the Museum Night that would take place at Staraya Derevnya.
The contests in the field of IT for students have been held since 2005 by the Hermitage’s Volunteer Service together with «Shkolny Centr» department and the Hermitage’s research departments. The works submitted to the contests are in the form of multimedia presentations, computer graphics, and animation. The winning works are displayed on monitors in museum’s halls.