From 28 to 30 November, the XIII Eurasian Creative Week took place in Greenock, Scotland. The event brought together artists, writers, poets, diplomats and creative figures from 15 countries: Canada, France, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Israel, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Scotland, England, and Ukraine. The festival included exhibitions, book presentations, an award ceremony, and a film screening.
Eurasian Creative Week opened on 28 November at Beacon Arts Centre, West Scotland’s main cultural centre. On that day, paintings from the art catalogue ‘The Great Steppe Treasure’ by Maria Muchinskaya, Seidbek Atambayev, Polina Lakhtina, Shaizada Baikenova and Larisa Pak were presented, as well as works by Oksana Zhukova, Timur Akhmedjanov, Anna Gharib, and Anastasia Kalinovskaya.
On 29 November, one of the most anticipated events took place — the presentation of books by Hertfordshire Press published between 2022 and 2024.
Editor Laura Hamilton and translator Anton Kovalenko presented a collection of novels and short stories ‘Zinziver’ by Viktor Slipenchuk.
The premiere of a unique film project was held – the screening of the first film created with the use of artificial intelligence technologies, based on Viktor Slipenchuk’s poem ‘Chingis-Khan’.
The festival’s main event on 29 November was the Hertfordshire Press Award, the Jonathan Fryer Medal and the Barbara Yurkowska-Nawrocka Medal. The ceremony honoured artists who have helped cultural exchange in the Eurasian region. Traditionally, the ceremony was held to support Eurasian Creative Guild projects for children with autism.
Hertfordshire Press Award winners:
Bestseller category for the novel ‘War will show the plan’, Alexander Kazarnovsky (Israel).
The Gold Certificate of Achievement in this category was awarded to Timur Akhmedjanov (Uzbekistan), a young artist originally from Uzbekistan, for the second volume of the charity comic book ‘Elish and the Wicker Tale’.
Critics’ Choice category for the collection of novels and short stories “Zinziver”, Viktor Slipenchuk (Russia).
The Gold Certificate of Achievement in this category was awarded to the young writer Alikhan Zhaksylyk (Kazakhstan) for his novel ‘Is It Necessary to Worship at Notre Dame?’.
The Best Adaptation for Children category went to Gulchehra-begim Makhmudova (Uzbekistan) for the first book in the series of children’s stories “The Legends Of The Great Silk Road: Adventures Of The Spirit Of Time”.
Gulsifat Shahidi (Tajikistan) won the Best Love Story category for her collection of works, Labyrinths of Loneliness.
The poem ‘Narqyz’ by Nurpeis Baiganin won the Best Epic category.
Best Female Author category for the collection of psychological fairy tales “Wise Tales for Children and Adults”, Marina Alyassova (Kazakhstan). The book was presented at the awards ceremony by editor and translator Jonathan Campion, who worked on the English-language adaptation of the work.
Marta Brassart, Chairman of the Guild, presented the Medal after Barbara Jurkowska-Nawrocka to designer Alexandra Rey and artist Anastasia Kalinowska.
ECG Vice Chairman Marat Akhmedjanov presented the Jonathan Fryer Medal to public figure Farhod Tashtemirov and poet Oksana Zhukova.
On 30 November, a tour of the town of Greenock took place, during which participants were able to learn more about Scotland’s heritage and visited the Watt Institution Museum.
The 8th Eurasian Culture Week in Scotland was a great success and a big step forward in building cultural ties between countries in the region.
The next event in Greenock will take place in August 2025. It will be the 14th Open Eurasian Literature Festival & Book Forum.
