The results of “Let us preserve our world” competition were summarized at the Medal Workshop of the Saint Petersburg Mint 27.01.2017

Following the tradition, Goznak summarized the results of another creative competition last December. It was organized for the sixth time already at the Saint Petersburg State Academical Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after I.E. Repin. Because the next year has been announced the year of ecology that was the topic of the works the students had worked upon for a few months.

This time, there were as many participants as never before. Thirty-seven students of the Institute presented more than 60 works to the authoritative committee. All the works were modeled (a relief composition) of clay and electrotyped.  

The results were summarized in the Peter and Paul Fortress, at the Medal Workshop recently opened within the territory of the Saint Petersburg Mint. The works were exhibited on luminous tablets. The competition committee had a difficult task to solve. There were many works to be evaluated, and there were a lot of truly interesting ones among them.  
Members of the authoritative committee included Semen Mikhailovskiy, Rector of the Academical Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after I.E. Repin, Andrey Sklyarenko, pro-rector of the Institute, Albert Charkin, Chairman of the Union of Artists of Saint Petersburg, Valentin Sveshnikov, Dean of the Sculpture Department, Irina Korneeva, a supervisor of the Sculpture Department. Alexander Baklanov, Head of the Design Center, an academician, head of the Medal Workshop, Konstantin Krokhmal, Director of the Saint Petersburg Mint and Natalia Nikiforova, Assistant of the General Director represented Goznak in the competition committee traditionally.  

Five best works worth awarding (money prize) were determined during the summary as a result of the competition committee’s discussion and voting. The winners were Ksenia Kryazhova and Kirill Nikolenko, fourth-year students, Albina Fetisova, a second-year student, U Sin, a third-year student from China, and Alexander Naumov, a first-year student.
For Ksenia Kryazhova, it is not the first competition. Moreover, it is not the first time she is among the winners. By the way, Ksenia Kryazhova, U Sin and Kirill Nikolenko are among the students who study at the Medal Workshop of Goznak under the supervision of Alexander Baklanov.  

We have already said that this time there were so many interesting works that the competition committee distinguished the works of four other participants. Books published at Goznak at various years were given to four students – Maria Galina, Leonid Chernov, Maria Grishina-Nikitina and Elizaveta Davydova. All the competition participants received sets of paper for watercolors and graphics produced at the Saint Petersburg Paper Mill of Goznak and commemorative tokens struck at the Saint Petersburg Mint.

The awarding ceremony took place in the official hall of the building of the Treasury of the Russian Empire renovated by Goznak, where a representation of the Head Office of Goznak in Saint Petersburg is located now.  

Many students came to the summary. They were all very excited. However, no matter who was chosen the winners, everybody was in an excellent mood. It was a bright and important link of the creative biography for all those young ladies and gentlemen. It is possible that there are future medal artists among these young people. And some of them will make their contribution to the glory of Goznak’s medal artists. It will quite possibly be one of the winners, who slept during the awarding ceremony behind the curtain at the Medal Workshop. Which is pardonable – he had worked upon one of his creations all night long…