The main function of the department is to ensure exhibition activities in the museum in accordance with the annual plan, as well as the participation of the institution in exhibitions both in the republic and abroad. The tasks of the department include the construction of new expositions and temporary exhibitions in the museum and beyond, the storage of museum exhibits and exhibition equipment. The staff of the department represents one of the newly formed museum professions, associated with the performance of responsible functions for documentation, management, and logistics in exhibition business.
The exhibition department performs:
- maintenance of permanent exhibitions (installation/dismantling, preparation of exhibits for transportation, packing and unpacking of exhibits, artistic design of graphic works);
- maintenance of temporary exhibitions (conclusion of contracts for holding exhibitions with authors and organizations, preparation of documentation for the acceptance and return of exhibits, packing/unpacking and loading/unloading of exhibits, inspection of the state of preservation of museum objects and objects of museum significance before exhibitions, installation and dismantling of exhibitions, artistic design of graphic works; installation and dismantling of outdoor advertising);
- maintenance of specialized promotions, presentations and other events related to the museum’s activities.
In addition, the staff of the department conducts research and educational work. Its results are presented at seminars, scientific and practical conferences in the museum and other institutions.
The exhibition department was headed by Marina Malgina (2008–2010; 2013–2018), Nikolay Mishchenko (2010–2013) and Yevgeniya Sobolevskaya (from 2018 to the present). A sector for exposition services was founded in the structure of the department under the leadership of Nikolay Mishchenko in 2013. A. A. Zimenko, D. G. Shantor, K. O. Dolgaya, O. L. Noskova, A. N. Gavrilova, O. S. Kletskina worked in the department over the years.
During its existence, the exhibition department organized a number of projects that were successfully held at the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus:
‘Da Vinci’s Inventions’ (2015),
‘Goya... Picasso’ (2016),
‘Treasures of Ancient Egypt’ (2017),
‘The Great Rembrandt’ (2017),
‘Dottori, Chagall, Soutine and Khodasevich-Léger. Energy, expression, symbolism and dreams. A look at the art of Italy and Belarus in the first half of the 20th century’ (2017),
‘Exhibition of works of Russian painting in the 19th–20th centuries from the collection of Russian collector Aleksandr Volodchinsky’ (2017),
‘Salvador Dali’ (2019),
‘Johann Ludwig Bleuler (1792–1850). Journey along the Rhine’ (2019),
‘Literary landscape. Graphics from the Federal State Budget Institution of Culture ‘State Memorial Historical-Literary and Natural-Landscape Museum-Reserve of A. S. Pushkin ‘Mikhailovskoye’ (The Pushkin Museum-Reserve) (2021).
The staff of the exhibition department also organizes exhibitions from the funds of the National Art Museum outside the museum:
‘Memory of the People. The Great Patriotic War in Art’ (Memorial Complex ‘Brest Hero-Fortress’, 2022);
‘Exhibition of graphics by Napoleon Orda from the collection of the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus’ (The Pushkin Museum-Reserve ‘Mikhailovskoye’, 2022).
He graduated from the Belarusian State University (Faculty of History, Department of Museum Studies, specialty ‘Museum Studies, Specialist in the Protection of Cultural Monuments’) in 1997. He worked at the exhibition department of the Museum of Contemporary Fine Arts (1997–1999 – a research associate, 1999–2007 – a senior research associate). He worked at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in the Republic of Belarus – the Polish Institute in Minsk as a ‘coordinator of art projects’ in 2007–2019. He has been a researcher at the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus since 2019.
He organized more than 350 art, historical and literary exhibitions, including: ‘Ferdynand Ruszczyc. To the 150th Anniversary of the Artist’s Birth’ (2020–2021), ‘Akim Shevchenko (1902–1980). Painting. On the occasion of the 120th Anniversary of the Birth’ (2022), ‘Enchanting Moment of the Everyday’. To the 120th anniversary of the birth of Jadwiga Rozdziałowska (2022), ‘Steps of Mastery. To the 75th Anniversary of the Minsk State Art College named after A. K. Glebov and the 120th Anniversary of the Birth of Aleksey Glebov’ (2022).
He makes presentations at scientific conferences: ‘Graphic design in the work of Ferdynand Ruszczyc’ (research and practical conference ‘Creativity of Ferdynand Ruszczyc in the context of European artistic culture’, dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the artist’s birth; National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, December 9-10, 2020); ‘Unknown portrait of Vladislav Mitskevich by Mecheslav Voitkevich from the collection of the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus’ (International research and practical conference in memory of Mikhail Dobroklonsky ‘Art and Science. Current Issues of Education, Research and Technology’; Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts named after I. Ye. Repin, November 11–13, 2021); ‘Famous and Unknown Tadeusz Nartovsky’ (20th International Research and Practical Conference ‘Aladova Readings – 2022’, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mikhail Savitsky, the People’s Artist of Belarus; National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, May 26, 2022).
He organizes meet-the-artist events, music festivals and concerts.
He graduated from the Vitebsk State Pedagogical Institute. He has been working at the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus since 2009: a research associate of the exhibition department (2009–2010), the head of the exhibition department (2010–2013). His activity area is exposition services. He was the curator of the exhibition ‘Teacher and Students’ by Ivan Stolyarov (2015).
Nikolay Mishchenko has been a member of the Belarusian Union of Artists since 2005. He is a participant in republican, group and international exhibitions, international plein-airs. Nikolay Mishchenko’s solo exhibitions were held in Minsk, district and regional cities of Belarus. He has participated as an author in exhibition projects of the National Art Museum. The artist’s solo exhibition ‘By the Path of Art’ was held in 2019.
She graduated from the Minsk Art College named after A. K. Glebov. She has been working at the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus since 1992: an assistant of the restoration department (1992–1993), a fine art restorer of the 3rd category (1993–2003), a fine art restorer of the 2ndcategory (2003–2006), the head of the sector of the scientific and restoration department (2006 –2008), a fine art restorer of the 1st category (2008).
The main activity is inspection of the condition for conservation of museum objects and objects of museum value for temporary exhibition projects. She participates in the preparation of conclusions on the possibility of issuing museum items for temporary use for exhibitions outside the museum.
She performs different work of varying degrees of complexity for the restoration and conservation of works of art of high artistic and historical value: ‘Storm on the Sea of Azov in April 1886’ by Ivan Aivazovsky (1887; the work was first displayed at the exhibition ‘Aivazovsky and Marine Painters’ in 2017–2018, and it was the key work at the exhibition); Arkhip Kuindzhi ‘Mist’ (1905–1908; the work was displayed at the exhibition ‘Arkhip Kuindzhi’ in the Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow) in 2018–2019); Vladimir Makovsky ‘Mother and Daughter’ (1893); Alexandre-François Desportes ‘Dog and Hunter’s Trophies’ (2021).
