“A Touch of Tenderness”, the temporary exhibition drawn from the collections of the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, is set to coincide with the Week of Parental Love, which unites Mother’s Day (14 October) and Father’s Day (21 October). It will be on view from 14 October to 9 November 2026, in Hall 4 of the museum’s permanent display of Belarusian Art of the 20th–21st centuries (20 Lenin St.; entrance via the exhibition building at 24 K. Marx St.).
Parental love is not born the moment a baby utters its first cry, nor does it begin with the child’s first tentative steps. Its roots lie much deeper – in the absolute, resonant silence of anticipation, in a heart beating with awe, and in that sacred, secret time when a woman creates a new life. When her body and soul become the first cradle, an impregnable fortress, and an oasis of peace for the unborn child.
Being a parent is a daily, unseen labour woven from worry, patience, and boundless love. Being a child means knowing there is a home where you are always loved and accepted. We all need affection, comfort and support at times, especially in our unstable world. Parental love is not about loud declarations; it is the ability to offer shelter, to lose oneself in caring for another, and to share a touch of tenderness. It is contained in the little things and reveals itself in subtle gestures: a mother’s gentle hands adjusting a blanket, a father’s strong shoulder one can lean on, warm embraces, a kind smile, and a heartfelt talk after a long day.
Our temporary exhibition serves as an intimate space – a silent expression of gratitude to those dearest to us. Diverse artists, styles, and mediums come together in a tangible symphony to capture the most sacred and delicate state of a woman: the time of expecting a child. Through our choice of artworks, we have sought to convey what is difficult – or even impossible – to put into words: the absolute, pure tenderness in which new life grows, and our parents’ warmth shielding us throughout our journey.
The exhibition’s intimate atmosphere invites the viewer to step out for a moment from the daily race for success, to slow the frantic pace of everyday life, leaving haste and anxiety behind. It is an invitation to return to the very source of one’s existence, to contemplate the most enduring foundation of human life – parental love – and to remember those whose watchful, caring gaze guarded us long before we first opened our eyes.
Exhibition curators: Anastasia Karneiko, Lead Researcher of the Department of Belarusian Art of the 20th–21st centuries, and Dziyana Shantar, Head of the Department of Research, Education and Marketing.
