The State Hermitage Museum: Children and Education

Cycle "40 weeks of Woman's Art"

The first lecture called "Woman's Art as a culture phenomenon" that went off on September, 6th, 2011 in Youth Educational Center, became a fine start for absolutely new cultural project "40 weeks of Woman's Art". Ekaterina Lopatkina, the Sector of Modern Art's scientific associate of the State Hermitage Museum became the ideological initiator of this project.

At first lecture Ekaterina Lopatkina disclosed the sense of the name of all cycle, told about a principle of its division into several thematic clusters, made brief historical analysis of woman's role in culture and told listeners about women who has first declared about their rights.
The meeting concluded with lively discussion touching upon common provocative questions about woman's art to which the State Hermitage Museums' staff members will try to provide the answers during this cycle.
Employees of the Youth Educational Center and a group of guides of Scientifically-educational department participate in the project.

The 40 Weeks of Women's Art is ongoing The schedule for May-June 2012

May 15th, 2012 Annette Messager (born 1943) Lecturer: E.V. Lopatkina Annette Messager is a famous figure in the world of contemporary art. She is one of the first French women to reach such a high and significant level of mastery that specialists justly compare her wonderful work with that of the avant garde artists of the early 20th century.			Annette Messager

May 22nd, 2012 Leni Riefenstahl (1902-2003) Lecturer: P.V. Deineka Leni Riefenstahl is perhaps the most famous and talented woman cinematographer of the 20th century. Her entire life is one burst of unfading glory as a great artist and innovator in the field of cinematography. While completing projects for the government of Nazi Germany, she managed not only to express her vision of the beautiful, but also preserve the artistic beauty of her documentaries.			Leni Riefenstahl

May 29th, 2012 Zaha Hadid (born 1950) Lecturer: K.A. Malich It is difficult for a woman to play a leading role in architecture. It is a discipline that demands decisive courage and tremendous concentration; it combines money and power, artistic breakthrough and utopia. Not everyone has the strength to handle that kind of responsibility. In this sense, Zaha Hadid is a unique architect: she not only managed to become one of the stars of contemporary architecture; she had enough will and determination to bring deconstructionism, one of the most complex and refined movements in the architectural thought of the late 20th century, into the mainstream.			Zaha Hadid

June 5th, 2012 The Body: Pain / Pleasure Lecturer: E.V. Lopatkina There are many aspects of using the language of the body as the main element of a work of art. The body can suffer or feel pleasure; it can be the victim of violence or express rapture. It is precisely the body that many woman artists in the 20th century chose as an art object.