On 3 June 2023, the results of the 26th graphics and animation competition were made public at the State Hermitage.
The English don Lewis Carroll (1832–1898) is one of the world’s most mischievously amusing story-tellers, the author of the famous books Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking-Glass. In 1867 he made a major journey to Russia, during which he spent time in Saint Petersburg and visited the Imperial Hermitage that had opened only 15 years earlier.
The computer competitions have been held regularly in the Hermitage for 18 years now. They are organized by the Volunteer Service and the Hermitage School Centre in conjunction with the Computer Technology Educational Centre of the Academy of Supplementary Vocational Training. On this occasion, the entrants were suggested several themes connected with the English writer’s visit to the museum: “In the Hermitage with Lewis Carroll”, “Magical creatures in Wonderland and in the Hermitage”, “The Hermitage –a Wonderland” and others.
School pupils aged 8–16 submitted entries created in a variety of formats: computer graphics, collages, multimedia presentations, videos, 3D graphics and animations. The youngsters told about Lewis Carroll’s journey to Russia, using extracts from his journals and literary works. Impressed by the quality of the entries, the jury even increased the number of prize-winning places, as well as awarding several “Certificates of Commendation”.
The awards ceremony was held in the Large Hall of the School Centre, conducted by Irina Diubanova, the head of the School Centre (Research and Instructional Methodology Department), and Mikhail Kozhukhovsky, head of the Sector for Work with Volunteers.
In conclusion, all the invited guests were able to join in a master class in making a mechanical greetings card with a little moving figure of Alice, the heroine of Lewis Carroll’s stories. Working from a prototype created by Hermitage volunteers, the youngsters produced their own colourful image of the girl who visited Wonderland.
