From 3 September to 4 October, 2025, the Mikhail Savitsky Art Gallery in Minsk will host the exhibition of contemporary Shanghai photography Dialogue of Cultures.

The project aims to strengthen cultural ties between Belarus and China while fostering collaboration in the field of contemporary art between Minsk and Shanghai.

The exhibition presents photography as a universal language – a medium through which viewers can sense both the pulse of the metropolis and the depth of the artists’ humanistic vision. These works merge the personal with the collective, the past with the present, documentary precision with artistic expression, turning visual images into a space for dialogue.

According to the Shanghai Association for External Cultural Relations, Dialogue of Cultures marks an important milestone in the development of Belarusian-Chinese cultural cooperation. It not only introduces Belarusian audiences to the current trends of Chinese photography, but also opens up new horizons for artistic exchange and collaborative initiatives.

Ultimately, the project becomes a landmark of international engagement, where photography acts as a mediator of dialogue, mutual understanding, and creative cooperation between Minsk and Shanghai.

The exhibition Dialogue of Cultures in Minsk is not merely an artistic event, but a subtle conversation between cultural codes and values of two nations. For me, as curator, this project reaffirms a long-held conviction: photography knows no borders, and art, even in silence, speaks directly to the heart, opening a space for genuine understanding.

When Belarusian viewers pause before Shen Zhonghai’s Shades of Shanghai, drawn into the architectural metamorphoses of the metropolis, or reflect on Xu Haifeng’s series Four Seasons, where daily life crystallizes into emotion and memory, one can see it clearly: a bridge of mutual recognition is formed between Shanghai and Minsk, a bridge that requires no translation.

This exhibition resonates with particular depth in the year marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Second World War. In this context, art becomes not only a site of aesthetic dialogue, but also a medium through which values of peace and historical memory are carried forward. Four generations of Chinese photographers are represented here, spanning practices from classical analogue techniques to digital experimentation, from documentary vision to conceptual allegory. Together they create a multidimensional portrait of China’s contemporary cultural experience and stand as visual witnesses to the enduring friendship between China and Belarus.

Equally striking is the openness of the Belarusian audience. Viewers do not simply look at the photographs; they seek to grasp their inner meaning – from the meditative landscapes in glass to the spiritual codes embedded in traditional theatre. Their questions and reflections reveal the most precious dimension of cultural exchange: the shift from curiosity to genuine dialogue.

Though the exhibition has already opened, its conversation has only just begun. I believe this Eurasian dialogue in photography will continue to generate new ideas, guiding us through art toward shared meanings and the unseen bonds that unite cultures and people.