Following tradition, the first Sunday in October was celebrated as Student Day in the Hermitage Theatre. Each year over the course of more than 10 years, museum staff has developed a special program for students. Since the inception of this special holiday, it has provided the context for gatherings, concerts and tours of new exhibitions. Students climbed to the roof of the Winter Palace, strolled through the General Staff building - a unique structure designed by the architect Rossi at the beginning of the 19th century and handed over to the State Hermitage at the end of the 1990-s. Student Day 2006 was dedicated to modern art in the Hermitage.

At the present time works by 20th century masters are located on the second floor of theWinter Palace. According to Director of the Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky, who has spoken several times to students from around the city and told them of the museum-s development plans, "it is precisely in the Eastern Wing of the General Staff building that the State Hermitage plans in future to create its own museum of 19th and 20th century art."

An international symposium on the Museum and the Art Market which took place in the State Hermitage in September focused on topical issues of modern art. In the words of Sofia Kudryavtseva, one of the Hermitage-s leading researchers and initiator of the symposium, the event was "a step in the direction of implementing the given project" of creating a modern art museum. Mme Kudryavtseva is director of the Hermitage-s Youth Educational Centre sector.

The large and varied program marking the holiday included presentations on the work of the Hermitage Student Club. This year there will be 19 sections of activities led by the museum-s research staff. The topics for these sections are diverse and encompass all historical ages. Students can come either to previously existing sections such as Painting Genres, the Petersburg Club, Artist and Poet, the French Club, and the Medieval Workshop, or they can visit the newly created sections open for enrollment - the Dutch Club and the section on the Orient, which will be devoted this year to the art of China. This year will also see a continuation of the work of the section on the Yamalo-Neniets regional association, which was created in 2005 on the basis of an agreement concluded between the State Hermitage and the Administration of the Yamalo-Neniets Autonomous District.

In keeping with tradition, a surprise directly related to the theme of the day awaited students from around the city at the end of the program. This was a unique opportunity to visit the attic area of the Winter Palace, where works by Hermitage photographer Yuri Molodkovets were presented. The exhibition entitled the New Hermitage opened in mid-September within the context of the international symposium on the Museum and the Art Market. For the young people of St Petersburg, this exhibition was a splendid conclusion to their gathering in the Hermitage dedicated to modern art.

Enrollment in the Student Club sections will continue in the Youth Educational Centre from 3 to 8 October during the opening hours of the sections.

Youth Educational Centre
General Staff Building
Moika River Embankment, 45
Tel. 710-95-91
710-95-30

Poster

Mme Kudryavtseva, Head of Department of the Hermitage-s Youth Educational Centre sector

At the Hermitage Theatre

Students present the Landmarks section