Ten sculptures of angels installed in Tobolsk’s iconic locations
26 november 2021
Tobolsk’s Angels, 10 art objects created by the sculptor Dmitry Pribylnov, are the product of the winning project. The Angels’ sculptures were installed along the city’s main sightseeing route: in Mendeleev Square (the Genius Angel), near the Drama Theater (the Theatrical Angel), in Zhuravsky’s Grove (the Lovers’ Angel), in Red Square (the Merciful Angel), Priyamskoy Drive (the Architectural Angel), Bazarnaya Square (the Smiling Angel), Mira Street (the Musical Angel), Gymnasium Bridge (the Literary Angel), Ermak Garden (the Contemplating Angel), Cape Trinity (near the Governor’s Palace, the Wandering Angel).
The "What Tobolsk’s Angels are Going to Share with You" audio guide has been uploaded to the international izi.TRAVEL portal. The QR-codes for navigating to the portal are displayed next the Angels.
In devoting this project to S.U. Remezov, we were guided by his own motto: "Openly introduce Tobolsk’s history to the people". We did our best to do it in an original way and created the city’s first dramatized audio guide. The ten Angels, the Theatrical, the Musical, the Literary, the Merciful, the Wandering, the Contemplating, the Architectural, the Smiling, the Genius, and the Lover’s one, are waiting for their chance to serve as guides for Tobolsk’s residents and guests. The Angels are magical creatures and are somewhat unpredictable: they might choose to perform the Evening Bell by Alyabiev to one person while reciting an excerpt from Marina Tsvetaeva's Tobolsk-themed poem to another; or tell a story of how Tobolsk’s own Cossack Semyon Dezhnev discovered the Bering Strait; fascinate people through contemplation of Siberia’s vastness; and may even help someone become a tad more talented or just fall in love with the amazing history of Siberia’s first capital.
We hope that, after hearing our stories, you will be happy to agree that the most important guardian angels of this city are its great native inhabitants and residents who turned Tobolsk into the city of renown it has become by the sweat of their brow. By walking down the paths that were originally blazed for us by the likes of Remezov, Alyabiev, Yershov, Mendeleev, we all become a bit more talented, mercurial, and gifted. Maybe that's why we believe that it was for a reason that Siberia’s Semen Remezov called Tobolsk an angel-like city! Natalia Zhuravleva, the project’s mastermind, shared her emotions.
An angel is a messenger, a guide connecting God with people, a symbol of the kind deeds and events that took place throughout the history of our city and that live on to this day as legends and myths. My angels are fairy-tale creatures made in the image of dolls from our kind children’s fairy tales that remind people that they are surrounded by miracles, Dmitry Pribylnov, the artist who sculpted the angels, commented.
There are increasingly more projects these days that combine tourism and drama. The "What Tobolsk’s Angels are Going to Share with You" project is not just yet another sightseeing tour or a retelling of certain facts about the city and its people. Instead, we tried to create stories that might immerse the listener into an era by reenacting that era’s sound environment, Olga Solodova, the audio guide’s director, said.
This unusual project will help Tobolsk’s residents and guests alike to better understand the city. These art objects blend in well with the city’s architectural environment and add charisma to the city’s main sightseeing route helping to enhance Tobolsk’s tourist appeal. Perhaps in the future new traditions, stories, and legends will be created around these characters, Anastasia Ionina, Director of Tobolsk City Administration’s Department for Culture and Tourism, noted.
The "What Tobolsk’s Angels are Going to Share with You" project is at the nexus of the most important focus areas of the Formula for Good Deeds, SIBUR’s social investment program, i.e. supporting culture and art and advancing urban development. The project’s mission is extremely important. It has not just bound together several different forms of art and the creative communities that associate themselves with them, but it has also taken steps towards making Tobolsk a point of attraction that is renowned not only in its own region, but also across the whole nation. What is very important for us is that this approach helps give rise to new local cultural and tourism products, Dzhamilya Akhmatova, leading specialist with ZapSibNeftekhim Ltd.’s Department of Government Relations and Socio-Economic Projects, commented.