"Amber Milestones of the History"

On 7 September at 18.00, opening of the contest exhibition of the Seventh Regional Biennial of Amber Artworks takes place in the Kaliningrad Regional Amber Museum. The event is dedicated to the 70th anniversary of foundation of Kaliningrad oblast which is celebrated in 2016. Theme of the contest – "Amber Milestones of the History" – encourages all specialists, wide audience to turn to the history of the most western Russian region in the context of development of the amber branch and artistic culture of amber processing. Our land is a unique treasury of the Baltic gem (90% of the known world reserves of amber are concentrated here) and main Russian center of "sunstone" treatment.

Collection of the Kaliningrad Regional Amber Museum includes all stages of growth of the national amber branch, art of amber treatment. It is the way from the first works, made by artists of the Kaliningrad Amber Combine in the 50–60s of the 20th century (e.g.. vase "Abundance", clock "Epoch", model of the nuclear-powered ship "Lenin", jewellery mass production), to the works of contemporary authors from the "Amber House" collection – donation to the museum from the foundation "Development of Charitable Programs" (president Evgeniy Tatuzov).

Today, Kaliningrad is a center of stone-carving and jewellery art of Russia, with its shaped traditions, school. Each year interest to one of the most mysterious gems in the world – "gold of the Baltic" grows. Kaliningrad amber artists present our region properly at the international and all-Russian contests of jewellers and stone carvers, art festivals and crafts fairs including the biennial of amber artworks "Alatyr" (Kaliningrad, Russia), "Amberif" (Gdansk, Poland), "Ambertrip Vilnius, Lithuania), "Village Violet" (Paris, France), "Salon of Cultural Heritage" (Paris, France). The new generation of masters is growing up. Students of the Kaliningrad Art and Industrial College are permanent participants of contests and educational programs of the Amber Museum.

Kaliningrad regional contest and exhibition of amber artworks has been held since 2003 and is well known in Russia and abroad. It attracts artists, art experts, mineralogists, culture experts and admirers of the beauty of the "sunstone" from the whole world.

Categories of the contest 2016: "I am a Kaliningrad Citizen", "The Best Carved Work", "The Best Creative Idea", "Amber and Other Gems", "Nature of the Baltic", "The Best Mass Work", "Debut".

The exhibition will work until 30 October.