In April 2017, a permanent exhibition of African art was opened at the State Hermitage Museum. She was timed to the Day of the patron, which is traditionally celebrated in the museum. And this is no coincidence. A significant part of the exposition was presented to the Hermitage by the president of Marvel Distribution, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Guinea, Sergei Alekseevich Girdin.
At the opening of the exhibition, Sergey Girdin noted: “I was born and raised in St. Petersburg. I believe that my mission is to make this city even more interesting and culturally vibrant. ” According to him, the first acquaintance with the Black Continent took place in 1998, the year Sergey Girdin visited South Africa as part of the first dealer academy. Years later, colleagues from the Public Chamber of St. Petersburg recommended him to the post of Honorary Consul of the Republic of Guinea.
“Getting such a position is not easy. This is a serious responsibility, a lot of work and considerable financial burden. Assessing my strength, I agreed. Apparently, the African topic for a reason periodically arose in my life, ”said Sergey Alekseevich in one of his interviews.
The work of the honorary consul implies the development of cooperation between countries on economic and cultural issues. It should be noted that in recent years one can observe a rather intensive development of relations between Russia and the Republic of Guinea. Thanks to the work of the Honorary Consul, representatives of the republic have the opportunity to discuss with the deputies of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg issues of increasing the share of Russian business in Guinea, the development of trade, as well as the exchange of experience in the field of education and culture.
The first exhibits for the exhibition “The Art of the Nations of Africa” were given to the Hermitage back in 2016. This year, the founder of Marvel Sergey Girdin presented ten more art objects. He plans to further expand the collection of valuable cultural artifacts from the Black Continent. So, an expedition to Sudan is planned, where the collector hopes to purchase clothes from local fabrics, as well as ancient household items and weapons.
The exposition of artifacts from Africa includes about fifty exhibits. They were not located in the Winter Palace, where Ancient Egypt and the East are represented, but in the General Staff Building. According to museum workers, African artifacts are the forerunner of modern art and perfectly coexist with the paintings of Matisse, Gauguin and Picasso. So, for the first exhibition, things were specially selected that influenced the aesthetics of European art of the 20th century.
Sergei Alekseevich plans to continue cultural cooperation with the Hermitage. “Now we are buying all interesting and culturally significant items. Perhaps in a few years, when we will have all the main exhibits revealing the cultural wealth of Africa, we will begin to “hunt” for unique things, ”said Sergey Girdin in an interview. He noted that the African collection is “for growth”. So, for 2018, it is planned to open four more halls of the permanent exhibition of African art in the State Hermitage.
