I. Metshin: “There is no intelligible concept of the Chaliapin museum yet”

(KZN.RU, January 30). Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Tatarstan's capital, ordered to carefully consider the organization question of the museum dedicated to Feodor Chaliapin, the Great Russian singer, a native of Kazan, at today's Business Monday.

Azat Abzalov, the head of the Department of Culture, said that the new museum “could become an important tourist magnet because Chaliapin’s name known throughout the world”. Unfortunately, the speaker added, the issue of the collection accommodation, devoted to Feodor Chaliapin, in a separate room still remains unsolved. “The Chaliapin collection of the St. Petersburg collector Kotlyarov, dissolved in the collections and exhibitions of the 1000th anniversary Museum, does not correspond to the scale of the Chaliapin’s personality. Kazan needs a personal museum of the great singer”, said A. Abzalov.

Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, said that talk of a separate Chaliapin’s museum arose repeatedly, but there is no intelligible concept of the museum space organization yet. “I expect specific proposals from you. We must work on this issue, it should not be just a museum exposition, let us consider how to do this best with current approaches”, concluded the Mayor of Kazan.

The network of municipal museums has expanded last year. “Now the city museum complex includes six museums: the Museum of Kazan National Culture, the Museum of Baki Urmanche, the Children's Art Gallery named after Zaripov, the Art gallery of Konstantin Vasiliev, the Museum od Amir Mazitov, and the Memory book in the Park Pobedy, which began to function as a museum since September last year”, said A. Abzalov.

Number of visitors to the municipal Kazan museums complex has increased by 19% and reached 160 thousand for 2016.

According to head of the Department of Culture, the city's museums are planning to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the birth of Baki Urmanche, the 85th anniversary of Vasily Aksenov and the 75th anniversary of Konstantin Vasilyev this year. The interesting program, which will involve not only a museum, but also representatives of contemporary art, awaits Kazan residents on the day of the international campaign “Night of Museums” in May.