International Ceramics Festival "Leave a Trail" will be held in St. Petersburg!

From August 8 to 12 on the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress the first international festival of ceramic art "Leave a Trail" will be held.

Dozens of Russian and foreign ceramic artists together with the guests of the festival will create a large-scale art object. The ceramic symbol of peace and friendship - the globe - will be placed in the public space of the city.

Anyone can become a participant in the festival!

30 years ago, a similar festival was held in St. Petersburg. Then, right on the banks of the Neva, several thousand people “trampled” about 6 tons of clay and made a monumental ceramic panel out of it. It was a “creative answer” for the inhabitants of Milwaukee, where the first action of the Soviet-American project “Clay that Strengthens Friendship” took place.

Now the festival “Leave a Trail” expands the boundaries of co-creation and invites everyone from all over the world to participate. “The idea of uniting people through art today is even more relevant than 30 years ago, when such an event was held for the first time. We must not forget about the commonality of our culture and cultural heritage, and we must not stop creating! Including this way - jointly, by the whole world, in spite of. Creativity and art should be above political borders and should unite people, ”said Konstantin Likholat, initiator and organizer of the Leave a Trail festival.

The festival is organized by the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg and the Keramarch Museum of Architectural Art Ceramics.

In the program of the Festival:

August 8-9 - master classes and lectures from leading ceramists for adults and children, as well as for professionals in pottery.

On August 10 and 11, a central event will take place - at the same time several tens of people from different cities and countries, different continents, different nationalities, supporting each other, will knead clay with their feet to create a large-scale ceramic art object - the globe, a symbol of peace and friendship.

All days of the festival will be an exhibition of works by invited masters in the halls of the Keramarch Museum.

Applications for participation in the project: [email protected]

Peter and Paul Fortress, Sovereign Bastion, the square at the Keramarch Museum.

Free admission!

From the project history:

Friendship Clay / American-Soviet Clay Stomp

On June 11, 1989, more than 5,000 people gathered on the shores of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee (Wisconsin, USA) to knead 8 tons of clay together and create an amazing work of art, symbolizing friendship and peace between the American and Russian peoples. The initiator of this action was Joel Pfeiffer, a ceramic artist, confident that it was art that could unite people from all over the world.

The response action, led by Lev Stepanovich Solodkov, took place in the Peter and Paul Fortress on July 30 of that year. Right on the banks of the Neva, several thousand people “trampled” about 6 tons of clay and took part in the creation of ceramic panels for the inhabitants of Milwaukee.

The project resulted in two monumental ceramic panels. The first was delivered by the American delegation to St. Petersburg and installed in the port. The second - decorated the walls of the international airport of Milwaukee, where it is still located.

Mission: “You cannot knead clay alone, otherwise sooner or later you will slip and fall. You can do it next to a completely stranger, but very soon you will feel his elbow. And when in the end you look at each other, you will realize that you have something in common. I am sure that clay is a living organism, capable of not only accumulating energy, but also transmitting it from person to person. Clay can heal people. "

Joel Pfeiffer

“The main idea and value of the project is that the authors of the panel were ordinary people who wanted to express their warm feelings and desire for peace between our countries. Professional artists here are just helpers. "