On 2 April 2018, the State Hermitage held a traditional charitable event for people with special needs and accompanying relatives, organized by the State Hermitage’s School Centre, Department for Scientific and Educational Work and Department for Theatrical and Educational Activities in conjunction with the Anima Teachers’ Initiative Centre.
This time 250 people took part in the event with the title “The Incomparably Beautiful and Magnificent Hermitage”. Staff of the Department for Scientific and Educational Work prepared ten guided tour-conversations for them on different topics. The guests were able to choose between the alternatives: to acquaint themselves, for example, with Spanish painting of the 15th–17th centuries or Italian 17th- and 18th-century sculpture, the culture of Japan or the temporary exhibition “Fantasia in Threads. Western European Lace and Glass of the 16th to 19th Centuries”.
The event then continued in the Hermitage Theatre, where the guests were welcomed by Irina Diubanova, head of the museum’s School Centre. Alexander Ivanov, the director of the Anima Centre, expressed his gratitude to the Hermitage Director, Mikhail Piotrovsky, for providing the opportunity for “special” people to become acquainted with the treasures of the Hermitage over so many years, and also thanked all the staff of the Hermitage Theatre, the School Centre and the guides from the Department for Scientific and Educational Work who took part in the running of the programme.
In conclusion, pupils of the Krasnogvardeisky Culture and Leisure Centre gave a concert that they had prepared. The audience greatly appreciated the performances and the splendid design work that went into the music and dance show.
