Computer Graphics and Animation Competition
"Nine Days before the Kalends of September"

The "Nine Days before the Kalends of September" competition will take place as part of the Year of Italy in Russia events, and is intended to coincide with the opening of the Herculaneum Antiquities exhibit (December 2011).
This competition was created to celebrate the 250-year anniversary of the State Hermitage Museum in 2014.

Objective of the Competition: developing children's creative abilities, deepening cooperation, as well as international and museum-level coordination with youth and educational volunteer programs.

Tasks of the Competition:

• Discovering and supporting creatively gifted children
• Making history, art and archeology appealing to the next generation
• The ability to use information from books in one's work
• Attracting the attention of children and young people to the history and traditions of the Hermitage
• Familiarizing children and young people with artifacts of Italian history and culture
• Involving children and young people in the preparations for celebrating the 250-year anniversary celebration of the State Hermitage Museum

Timeline for the Competition:
Stage One I: October 15th, 2011- December 1st, 2011
Stage II (International): October 15th, 2011 - February 1st, 2012

Terms of the Competition:

1. Entries for the following categories will be accepted:

• Computer drawings and graphics
• Multimedia presentations (PowerPoint, etc.)
• Flash and Gif animations
• Video

2. Each entry should be accompanied by the following information: title, name of artist, age, educational institution (number of group), city, country. The folder containing the entry should include details on the artist's grade and school, the full name of the artist's teacher, and contact information (email, telephone number).

3. Submission Deadlines:
Stage I: December 1st, 2011
Stage II (International): February 1st, 2012

4. Submissions are accepted by email: hermitage.competition@gmail.com;
as well as in the Volunteer Service Office, Telephone Number: (812) 710-98-76)

5. Judging procedure:
A panel of judges will determine the winner of Stage 1 by December 5th 2011,
and the winner of Stage II by February 1st 2012.
The best entries will be displayed on monitors in the halls of the State Hermitage Museum, and the winners will receive awards.

The "Nine Days before the Kalends of September" competition will set the stage for a unique exhibit of artwork from Italy, the "Herculaneum Antiquities," which will be the capstone for the program of cultural events conducted as part of the Year of Italy in Russia and Year of Russia in Italy.

Almost two thousand years ago, nine days before the kalends of September, or on August 23rd, 79 C.E., to be precise, in one of the most powerful states of antiquity - Rome - the erstwhile dormant volcano, Vesuvius, cut short the lives of three flourishing cities: Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae.

We offer participants a chance to reconstruct one day in the life a city that was buried for many centuries by the ash of Vesuvius, by choosing one or more of its inhabitants as the subject of their entries. Participants will be able to present their subject(s) and his/her profession and social status in one of these ancient Roman cities, and live any one in his life. This day might be full of commonplace worries, or marked by a major event in the life of the whole city or a particular family. Better yet, participants and their characters will be able to stroll among the streets, plazas, municipal buildings, temples, villas, craftsmen's shops, bathhouses, palaestrae, theatres, markets, etc.

It is required that evidence from recent archeological discoveries and findings at the sites of the three cities damaged by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 C.E., Herculaneum, Pompeii and Stabiae, should be used in order to get your work fully compliant with the theme. Museum exhibits, ancient texts, contemporary research, internet resources and your own imagination can help you to make your Roman's day fuller, more engaging and more colorful.

The Organizers of the Competition
Hermitage Volunteers' Service (www.benevole.ru)
The Computer Technology Educational Center (www.ucvt.org)
The "School Center" Scientific-Educational Center at the State Hermitage Museum
The Department of the Ancient World at the State Hermitage Museum