The International Traditional Artistic Culture Congress: issues of fundamental research of folk art

The materials of the Congress include the results of the International Finno-Ugric Peoples’ Crafts Festival (2000 to 2010); scientific conferences; the Program by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation – Analytical Departmental Target-Oriented Program 'The Development of Scientific Potential of Higher Education System’: ‘The Ontology of Artistic Culture’ and ‘The Theory of Artistic Culture in Education Methodology’; the Program ‘Scientific and Scientific/Teaching Skill Pool of the Innovative Russia’.

Working languages of the Congress are as follows: Russian, English, German, and French.

In accordance with the resolution of the 5th International Conference held within the framework of the Sixth International Finno-Ugric Peoples’ Crafts Festival which took place in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra (Khanty-Mansiysk, 23 to 25 June 2010), the decision was made to prepare and conduct the 1st International Congress on the Issues of Fundamental Research of Folk Art as a Type of Artistic Culture’.

The scientific forum is driven by the need for international collaboration and development of integration principles of social representation of ethnic cultures and usage of typological fundamental structures within the context of science, creative work, education, upbringing, labour, legal, and economic areas.

The reflection of the artistic structure of traditional art and the means of establishing ethnic traditions as a fundamental scientific problem is related to preservation and development of unified ethnic space. The practices of scientific discussions touch upon central themes: categoric order of methodological provisions of theory; principles of sustainable reproduction of traditional art forms; development of terminological and conceptual structure for regulatory legal support to the phenomenon; support to practices and processes for reconstruction of traditional heritage; usage of teaching structures of art that are important for the development of personality and society.

During the 10 years of the Festival’s existence and conferences conducted within its framework, the need for theoretical penetration into the problems of folk art and folk artistic culture was detected:

• systemic representation of applied and non-applied arts under study via concepts:  traditional culture typology, cultural landscape, ethnic Images of the World;
• theoretical statement of crucial conclusions of art history, ethnic art science, cultural studies obtained within the past thirty years:  ontology and typology of folk art; methods for reconstruction of archaeological, ethnographical, architectural sources;
• definition of contemporary sociopractice establishment patterns:  educational, rehabilitational, retraining of specialists;
• establishment of a strategy for the new policy of folk artistic crafts of Russia and the structure of 3rd generation education standards related thereto, as well as the improvement of the training program structure for all education levels.

Goals of the Congress:  

1. Determining the place for folk artistic culture within the system of fundamental and applied research of the ethnic tradition phenomenon;
2. Reviewing the basic principles of existence and functioning of traditional cultures' ethical principles;
3. Defining fundamental scientific systems of the traditional culture:  ontology, typology, morphology, phenomenology with the sociocultural practice structures;
4. Developing the concept for using the potential of the traditional culture in social reproduction processes:  cultural, educational engineering, production development;
5. Defining the principles for the functioning of traditional cultures’ ancestral values as the condition for preserving the people’s specific mentality:  spiritual identity and moral implications, relations of the people with other peoples;
6. Studying the issues of artistic heritage reconstruction in regulatory legal control in the area of public administration in culture and education;
7. Solving the issues of sociocultural practice techniques:  economic, educational, upbringing, creative;
8. Developing a set of measures for the development of folk artistic crafts, their adaptation within the structure of artistic industry means of creating a figural space environment;
9. Developing a set of programs and methods:  ‘Traditional artistic culture within the structure of liberal arts disciplines in the college environment’;
10. Developing a set of programs and methodologies 'Traditional artistic culture in schools';
11. Informatization issues in the area of scientific and applied programs for traditional artistic culture development;
12. Establishing concepts of Centres for reconstruction of tangible and intangible heritage:  archaeological and ethnograpical textiles, ceramics, metal work, wood work, folklore, musical, singing, theatre traditions;
13. Creating concepts for informatization of scientific and educational environment;
14. ‘Ethnosoundtrack’ – philosophical apprehension of principles of existence of ancestral man.
15. Enhancing the role of Russian ethnic art in the development of international cultural relations;

Implementing innovative forms, methods, programs for preserving and developing the traditional artistic culture withinthe Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Ugra.