At 10am, October 6, 2015, donation ceremony of Russian people’s artist Mr. Zurab Tsereteli’s work & signing ceremony for cultural exchange and cooperation between National Art Museum of China and Russian Academy of Arts and Sciences was held in academic hall of National Art Museum of China. Honored guests and media in Beijing attended the ceremony, including, Dong Wei, Party Member and Deputy Minister of the PRC Ministry of Culture, Andre Denisov, Ambassador of Russian Embassy in China, Wu Weishan, Curator of National Art Museum of China & Vice Chairman of Chinese Artists Association, artist Zurab Tsereteli, Chairman of Russian Academy of Arts and Sciences, Shao Dazhen and Xi Jingzhi, notable art historians, Xu Li, Deputy Secretary of Party Leadership Group & Secretary General of Chinese Artists Association, Tomikhin Evgeny, Envoy & Counselor of Russian Embassy in China, Nienna, Officer in Cultural Section of Russian Embassy in China, and Wassily Tsereteli, Curator of Russian Contemporary Art Museum. The ceremony was officiated by Hu Wei, Associate Curator of National Art Museum of China.

Deputy Minister Dong Wei, Ambassador Andre Denisov and artist Zurab Tsereteli respectively made speeches in the ceremony. Curator Wu Weishan firstly stated the significance of the cooperation between National Art Museum of China and Russian Academy of Arts and Sciences.

As was told by Deputy Minister Dong Wei in the speech, arts most authentically record and most clearly express people’s emotions. Sino-Russian cultural exchanges have a long history and are being renewed as time passes by. As a notable artist of former Soviet Union and Russia with public sculptures spreading all over the world, Mr. Zurab Tsereteli is not only a people ' s artist, but also a social philanthropist who has generously donated many of his art works to relevant arts and charity organizations for free. This time, Mr. Zurab Tsereteli donates his important master work Cherish Peace to National Art Museum of China, which, I believe, will definitely have profound social impact. Meanwhile, as the most significant arts organizations of both countries, Russian Academy of Arts and Sciences and National Art Museum of China have also reached a friendly cooperation and exchanges agreement that both parties will carry out exchanges and cooperation on different fields including display and reservation, academic research and public education, constantly pushing the development of culture and arts in both China and Russia. He said that as the old saying goes “it is always a pleasure to greet a friend from afar”, not to mention that our closest friend has left his important artistic wok to the Chinese land, and his profound sentiments of friendship has taken root in the hearts of Chinese people, enabling them to appreciate masterpiece of the famous artist and to feel the artistic charm, as well as enhancing friendship between people of the two countries.

As Curator Wu Weishan put it, the sculpture work Cherish Peace donated by Mr. Zurab Tsereteli to National Art Museum of China this time will be an addition of masterpiece to the Russian artists’ works collection in the National Art Museum of China. The chivalrous donation deed of Mr. Zurab Tsereteli expresses the common cherish for peace of people in both countries and also expresses his trust and love to National Art Museum of China. There are two hands full of emotions in this culture work holding up a peace dove, one of which represents the hands of Chinese people while the other one represents those of Russian [people. This work stands for the most beautiful emotions of not only people in the two countries, but also all the people loving peace around the world. National Art Museum of China will hand on this trust and warmth and his work will also be contained in the list for study and display of National Art Museum of China, shining with new light in a broader interpretive space of the art museum. What’s more, in order to strengthen affiliation between National Art Museum of China and Russian Academy of Arts and Sciences, relevant intents of cultural cooperation and exchange will be signed to enrich mutual understandings and promote the long-term development and mutual cooperation in the fields of academy and technology.

Minister Andre Denisov repeatedly expressed in the speech that Russian Art Works Exhibition, which was held in National Art Museum of China for Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of The World Anti-Fascist War, was very successful. So many classic works were intensively displayed at the same time in the same hall, which was rare to see even in native Russia. Today, National Art Museum of China awards Zurab Tsereteli with the certificate of International Development Consultant of National Art Museum of China, which will have profound significance for further promoting cooperation between art organizations of Russia and China and deepening cultural and educational exchanges of both countries.

Curator Wu Weishan issued donation certificate to Mr. Zurab Tsereteli and Mr. Li Bo on behalf of National Art Museum of China. Deputy Minister Dong Wei issued to him the certificate of International Development Consultant of National Art Museum of China. Later on, Deputy Minister Dong Wei and Ambassador Andre Denisov unveiled the donated work, and jointly witnessed the signing of cultural exchange and cooperation intents between National Art Museum of China and Russian Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Under the joint efforts of Ministry of Culture of both China and Russia, National Art Museum of China has successfully displayed the Victory: 1945-2015! -- Russian Art Works Exhibition for Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of the World Anti-Fascist War during August 25th to September 17th of this year, gaining extremely high social recognition. Deputy Minister Dong Wei said in the speech that this exhibition is a great event for exchanges between Sino-Russian art fields. On August 28, Liu Yandong, Vice Premier of State Council of China & Chairman of the Chinese part for Sino-Russian Humanities Cooperation Committee, also attended the exhibition and spoke highly of it. Today, National Art Museum of China holds again a grand event of Sino-Russian art fields—Mr. Zurab Tsereteli’s sculpture work Cherish Peace is collected into National Art Museum of China, and he signs the cultural exchange and cooperation intents on behalf of Russian Academy of Arts and Sciences with National Art Museum of China. This highlights this year’s commemoration activity and is of extraordinarily important meaning, by which Sino-Russian art exchanges and the friendship between people in both countries will be further strengthened.

In the afternoon of that day, lecturing beginning ceremony of the Oil Painting Great Masters Class was also held in the art education space, which has been completed lately in the National Art Museum of China. Mr. Zurab Tsereteli and over 30 art lovers from all walks of life communicated oil painting creation together. Oil Painting Great Masters Class is a new attempt pushed by the National Art Museum of China to create zero-distance interaction between the masses and great art masters, succeeding the new brand lecture series of Great Masters Talk about Great Beauty it has successfully created.