August 15, 2019
by Vladimir Ionesov
Dear colleagues,
Greetings from Samara State Institute of Culture!
International Archaeology Day came last year to Samara, Russia!
As a 2018 IAD collaborator with the AIA, our Institute and its partners sponsored several projects around the theme “Archaeology as a Scene of Culture: Voices of Things / An Art-Archaeological Performance” during October 20-24, 2018. These included a variety of thematic seminars, master classes, wonderful performances, exhibitions, art installations, screenings, presentations, and more. The events were attended by more than 50 students representing the departments of Theory and the History of Culture, Arts and Crafts, and Theater/Stage Direction.
The focal presentation, Archaeology as a Scene of Culture: Voices of Things / An Art-Archaeological Performance, was embraced by the public in Samara. Personified artifacts that move and speak were shown in scenic images, groupings, and interactions with historical personages. We created some dramatic art-performances that examined ideas about communication and the dialogue that occurs between an audience and material things. Archaeological objects (“artifacts”) and their replicas serve as translators linking times and cultures, traditions and innovations, and point to urgent tasks and challenges that remain within contemporary society.
Thank you for your support and collaboration.
And, let archaeology unite us and bring us together in the future as well!
Best regards to you from all of the Samara cultural community!
Vladimir Ionesov
Chairperson, Samara International Society for Cultural Studies
Director, International School for Advanced Research in Cultural Studies
Head, Professor, Department of Theory and History of Culture
Samara State Institute of Culture
