With the support of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia, the Children's Special Creative Center will hold the 13th FRESCO International Festival of Modern Art and Spiritual Films in Spitak, Yerevan, and Vanadzor from August 21 to 28, the ministry informs.

The festival unites theater, cinema, music, photography, and creative-educational programs on one platform, creating a space for cultural dialogue and innovative ideas.

The festival underscores the full integration of people with special needs and various social groups into cultural life, ensuring equal opportunities and an accessible environment for all participants.

This is the 13th year that FRESCO has been creating a unique meeting place where art speaks of universal values, memory, identity, and equality. This year's eight-day multi-genre program once again unites artists and audiences, creating a platform for open dialogue, new discoveries, and cultural cooperation.

The grand opening ceremony of the FRESCO festival will take place Friday at Spitak Park. The main event of the opening will be the theatrical dance performance "The Mistresses" by Vanadzor’s “Horovel” State Song and Dance Ensemble (author and director: Arayik Gevorgyan, ensemble director and artistic director: Armen Nersisyan). Opening the festival with the performance "The Mistresses" is a symbolic choice to value the invaluable contribution of Armenian women to the formation and preservation of Armenian national identity, statehood, and culture.

One of the most important events of the FRESCO festival is the project "Exclusive Concert in Total Darkness," which will be held in the hall of the Union of Architects of Armenia. For the first time in the country, the audience will have the opportunity to completely abandon visual perception and experience music with all other senses, redefining the boundaries of music perception.

Within the framework of the FRESCO festival program, an experience exchange meeting will be held with Anna Skochdopolova (Czech Republic), a representative of the One World International Human Rights Film Festival. She will present the topic “Artificial Intelligence as a Tool for Ensuring Inclusion: Ethics, Cinema and Cultural Festivals”.

On August 23 in Spitak and on August 24 in Yerevan, a master class by Israeli photographer and presenter Dmitry Brickman will be held, as well as a meeting with the audience in the format of the well-known “Children's Non-Children's Issues” program. The event will bring together those interested in photography to exchange experience and develop professional skills. In addition, a master class by renowned Georgian photographer Yuri Mechitov will be held on August 24 in Yerevan. Also, a rich concert program is planned in Spitak, featuring the popular Ethno Colors group.

During the festival, 30 films from 12 countries will be screened, which address important social issues, humanitarian values, and inclusiveness.

The 13th FRESCO International Festival will conclude on August 28 in Vanadzor with the performance of “The Female Dancer” by the Gyumri Youth Theater.