The Colors of Childhood Inspiration, the I International Children’s Art Festival, was held under the auspices of UNESCO and timed to the International Children’s Day. Ulyanovsk UNESCO City of Literature designed the event’s concept and organized the festival.

The festival will be dedicated to a new creative field annually, this year’s topic is painting. Over 2600 people all around the world participated in the event and over 500 children took part in painting activities. Project’s mission is to create an environment where children are able to explore art freely and discover their talents.

Turkey, China, South Africa, Republic of Kazakhstan and Republic of Belarus joined the project. Russian cities – Kazan (Tatarstan) and Sibay (Bashkiria) - participated in the event as well. Ulyanovsk hosted the event in all parts of Ulyanovsk, 7 Children’s Art Schools, 2 Children’s Art Centers and Children’s Art School №1 of the Cherdaklinsky District took part in the festival. Each city has its own unique style. We are happy to share the wonderful photos of the celebration of The Colors of Childhood Inspiration Festival.

China

Wuhan (China) UNESCO City of Design joined the project. During the Colors of Childhood Inspiration Festival children from Wuhan had an opportunity to learn new facts about Russian culture. 80 people participated in the celebration.

On June, 1 the "Hand in Hand, for a Shared Future" National Children's Creative Works Exhibition was held. Over 300 children’s artworks were on display of the exhibition. The CITY1000 Creative Classroom event invited Professor Pan Jun, the Deputy Dean of the School of Fine Arts at South-Central Minzu University. The class, titled "Design in Literature, Literature in Design", centered around the Russian nesting doll. Professor Pan Jun guided the children to create their own nesting doll paintings on a 20-meter-long canvas to bring their ideas to life. It was fantastic!

Wuhan got inspired by the Ulyanovsk’s festival and decided to host one more event. On June, 3, Chen Cong, a children’s reading ambassador from Wuhan Children's Library, and artists from Wuhan Classical Orchestra introduced the participants to the "Swan", children's picture book. During the presentation, a 5-year-old child performed a ballet solo.

In the evening, the audience witnessed the East Lake Eye Ferris wheel lit by children’s creative video works featuring eight Russian nesting dolls. The light show concluded with an image depicting a handshake between Wuhan and Ulyanovsk. 

This image became a symbol of partnership of Wuhan and Ulyanovsk, the cities united by the International Children's Art Festival. 

South Africa

Hermanus (South Africa) UNESCO City of Tourism joined the celebration of The Colors of Childhood Inspiration Festival and hosted ‘Welcome, Whales!’ - a fun painting class. On June, 1, 40 children spent some time painting marine creatures. The participants celebrated the International Children’s Day through art and had a great time together. Pringle Bay, Mount Pleasant Primary, Hermanus Library, Dyer Island Conservation Trust, Deep Blue Ambassadors and Grootbos Foundation’s Hub in Masakhane helped with the organization of the event. Look, the kids clearly enjoy the process of painting! 

Turkey

Kahramanmaraş (Turkey) decided to name the event “My colors & My dreams”. Before the painting part of the celebration, the children learned about Ulyanovsk. 15 kids participated in the event.

«The kids were very happy to join the festival participants from Ulyanovsk and other partner cities. We all, especially the children, had lovely time in the garden of Köker Konağı, a historical mansion. The children painted their canvas with the colors of their imagination», - said associate professor Dr. Elif Kocagöz, the coordinator of the event in Kahramanmaraş.

The event was hosted by the Continuous Education Center of Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University (KSU-SEM), in cooperation with the Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports of Metropolitan Municipality. Children from Kahramanmaraş participated in the event under the supervision of Melih Gemci, an art teacher. At the end of the event, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selim Somuncu, a member of the UNESCO City of Literature Application Committee and the director of KSU-SEM, presented each child with a book set as a gift.

Republic of Kazakhstan

Abilmansur Bukenov, a young artist, became the first participant from another country to join the festival. He represented Almaty UNESCO City of Music. Abilmansur, a 6-year-old, painted the pictures on topics of ecology and the world.

Republic of Belarus

We are happy to see the Republic of Belarus among the participants. UNESCO associated schools – Minsk gymnasiums №33, 50, 24 joined the festival. The students had a fun time painting and drawing during the first day of summer holidays: some painted on canvas, some decided to draw on asphalt. Ulyanovsk’s festival was celebrated through plein-air events (with photo and video reportages), painting classes and lectures on the topic of the International Children’s Day. Evrika, Minsk Center for Additional Education for Children and Youth and the Belarusian Association of UNESCO Clubs hosted drawing classes for children. The event was attended by members of the "UNIC" and "Gulfstream" UNESCO Minsk clubs, students of educational institutions of the Frunzensky district of the Belarusian capital.

Students from gymnasium №3 of the Belarusian city of Borisov and children from Snovskaya secondary school (the agricultural town of Snov, Nesvizh district) joined the festival. Borisov is a member of the UNICEF initiative and is considered a “child-friendly city”. Children from the UNESCO school club drew in the city's park and demonstrated that art has no boundaries. In the city of Snov, they organized a competition of asphalt drawings.

Minsk Gymnasium №24

Minsk Gymnasium №33

Minsk Gymnasium №50

Evrika, Minsk Center for Additional Education for Children and Youth and the Belarusian Association of UNESCO Clubs

the city of Borisov

the city of Snov

Russia

Kazan UNESCO City of Music joined the project as well. 25 students from Kazan Children’s Art School №1 have chosen one of the most beautiful buildings in the city – the Ekiyat Tatar State Puppet Theater – and created wonderful sketches of it. How charming is children’s art!

The Bashkir city of Sibay organized a competition of asphalt drawings. The Colors of Childhood Inspiration festival became a part of the city’s celebration of the Children’s Day and was held in the City Park of Culture and Recreation. 35 children took part in the competition, and in total there were about 2,000 children at the festival, who shared the joy of creativity with the artists.

In Ulyanovsk, the festival was celebrated in every part of the city.

The largest event took place in the Zavolzhski District - on the UNESCO Alley in the Pribrezhny Park. Students from Children's Art Schools №8, 10, Children's Art School №1 of the Cherdaklinsky District and anyone interested in participating had a chance to explore painting. About 90 children took part in the plein air event, and everyone loved it - all the children got to ride the rollercoasters and enjoy ice cream.

In the central part of the city, in the "Pobeda", "Molodyozhny" and "Vinnovskaya Rosha" parks, fun and creative plein-air sessions were hosted – the students of Children's Art Schools №4,6,7,12,13 and Children's Art Centers participated in the events.

Ulyanovsk UNESCO City of Literature team would like to thank all the participants of the Colors of Childhood Inspiration, the I International Children’s Art Festival. The festival brought together children and adults from different countries and stimulated the intercultural dialogue while strengthening peace and cooperation between peoples.