The “Traditional Artistic Crafts” Olympiad (26th edition)
The purpose of this project that reached its 26th edition is to educate and raise awareness of the school population on the perennial values of folk culture and civilization, to develop the talent and skills of those, who passionately focus on these values, aiming to develop the practical skills in order to produce authentic folk art values. The event’s main objectives are: educating in the spirit of knowing one’s own cultural identity; promoting the perennial values of folk culture and civilization in an international cultural-scientific and political-diplomatic dialogue. Children aged 6-18 years old from rural areas, individual workshops, members of folk art circles, of schools and children clubs from rural or urban areas, who, through the education received at home or at school, prove themselves as being true creators of folk art, knowing the secrets and the characteristics of crafts from their village of origin, having the skills and the artistic sense of an genuine artist. The main condition to participate in this national contest is that the pupil have won the first prize at the county phase. Every edition gathers about 200 children from almost all Romania’s counties. Attendance at the competition is approved exclusively in folk costume, presenting the folk costume specific to the village and area of residence of each contestant. The works presented and made for the competition must preserve the local tradition of the genre, but also allowing the expression of the participants’ talent and creation, but in full respect for the original spirit of the tradition. The use of unconventional materials (nylon etc.) in the making of folk costumes is to be avoided. The sections of the competition are multiple: pottery, ceramics molding, making musical instruments, painting icons on glass, painting icons on wood, naive painting, painting on eggs, egg horseshoeing, artistic woodworking, carving heart icons, painted furniture, artistic metalworking, pyrography, metal molding, woodcarving, artistic bone working, artistic horn working, masks making, horizontal loom weaving, vertical loom weaving, folk costume making, doll making, sewing, embroidery, jewelry making, plant fiber weaving, tassel weaving, lace making with a shuttle, lace making, decorative art and any of the fields of folk art.
The competition consists in creating objects starting from the raw material or semi finite objects which will be completed by the participants during the competition as well as/or by presenting objects created beforehand. The students must prove they possess knowledge about the craft, and that master techniques of making, modelling and artistic decorating the objects according to local tradition. The judging for this phase is carried out by a judging committee made of specialists (ethnologists, museum specialists, art critics etc.), practitioners (folk creators, master trainers) and representatives of the county school inspectorates.
The Olympiad provides, under the guidance of the best specialists in the country – researchers and practitioners – an internship for perfecting skills and deepening general- theoretical knowledge on the history of folk art in Romania, the ethno-cultural specific of different ethnographic areas and the evolution of creative genres using the entire museum heritage as a source of documentation.
Text as provided by the organiser(s).
