16 October 2018

National Library’s Participation in Locarno Film Festival Covered in New Publication

On 16 October, Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania was visited by Swiss gallery owner and art collector Arminio Sciolli. The guest presented the library with the latest (3rd) edition of the photography catalogue entitled “10 Days in Locarno”. This catalogue provides a comprehensive overview of the cultural event programme which was organized during the international film festival held at the start of August in Locarno, Switzerland, and was dedicated to the centenary of the restoration of Lithuania’s state. This cultural programme included an exhibition compiled by the National Library featuring books on the history, language, literature and art of our country as well as on Lithuania’s cultural and historical links to Switzerland and the canton of Ticino, the Italian-speaking area of Switzerland.

The meeting attended by Prof. Dr. Renaldas Gudauskas, Director General of the National Library, Romas Jankauskas, the Commissioner General of Lithuanian pavilions in global exhibitions and EXPO Group Chief Advisor of the Ministry of Environment, and Jolanta Budriūniene, Director of the Documentary Heritage Research Department, was also a good occasion to discuss opportunities for further cultural cooperation with a particular focus on celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Library to be commemorated next year.

We are happy to remind readers that Mr. Sciolli had presented the National Library with “Russian Exodus Collection” and every time he visits the library, he adds new prints to this collection. This time he donated the prints published in the first half of the 20th century by a Russian community in Shanghai province, China.

The unique nature and exceptional value of the collection was also touched upon during the discussion held on 21 September this year at the National Library’s Statehood Room. The discussion was attended by Tomas Venclova, poet, Professor Emeritus of Slavic Languages and Literatures at Yale University, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pavelas Lavrinecas, lecturer at Vilnius University.