Friday, March 11, 20168 THE MONGOL MESSENGER

Arts Council of Mongolia, Delta Foundation Center, IV floor, Tourists Street-38, Chingeltei District Tel/Fax: 976-11-319015 E-mail: education@artscouncil.mn Web: www.artscouncil.mn

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The Mongol Messenger is operated by the government news agency MONTSAME and is printed by the MONTSAME. Web Page: en.montsame.mn E-mail: mongolmessenger@yahoo.com (ISSN 1684-1883)

The ACM and Canadian Embassy chose 11 talented deaf artists and organized a joint exhibition

The Morin Knuur’s unique tone adds a special sentiment to any performance

Last week, The Arts Council of Mongolia and the Morin Khuur Ensemble

of the State Philharmonic were proud to present the ‘Playing Love’ movie soundtrack concert at the Corporate

Hotel & Convention Center, an event made possible by the generous support of Golomt Bank and ARD Financial Group

This was the fourth installment in the State Morin Khuur Ensemble’s highly

popular Playing Love concert series. The orchestra delighted the audience with a selection of soundtracks from the best

of Mongolian and International cinema chosen to highlight the country’s human

history, lifestyle and unique culture.Mongolians have played the Morin

Khuur for hundreds of years. It is an integral part of the unique cultural heritage of the Mongolian people.

Whether used for traditional melodies or adapted for playing international music,

the Morin Knuur’s unique tone adds a special sentiment to any performance.

Combining an impeccably beautiful musical performance with stunning

visuals taken from the selected films, ‘Playing Love IV’ fully lived up to its

name.

Water is essential for life but fresh water only accounts for 2.5% of the total water on earth. Some 68.1% of this water is in the form of ice, 30.1% is in ground water and 1.2% is surface water including rivers and lakes. Humans are not the only ones that need water: all living beings and agriculture rely on it to survive.

Water scarcity and poor water quality negatively impact our health and the environment. A report from the Asian Development Bank sent a warning signal to Mongolia that despite its wealth of natural resources and pristine image, the country may

soon face a severe water scarcity and quality crisis – one that could leave Ulaanbaatar with water shortages as early as 2015. To combat this, the Smart Water Project aims to build awareness of our water crisis, encourage SMART water consumption and protect the environment by raising public awareness through partnerships between the artistic community, non-profits and government bodies.

The Smart Water project will bring together water experts and artists to develop innovative and smart ways to raise awareness of current water consumption in

Ulaanbaatar, and how we can save our water resources and protect our environment. To achieve this goal, the project will involve a cross­sector partnership that will consist of a series of talks and discussions on simple everyday environment protection and smart water consumption. A public screening of U.S and Mongolian feature and documentary films will be held and a public ice art demonstration that illustrates the contrast between household daily, vs. SMART water consumption.

As an outcome of the project, the residents of UB will have a better understanding of

our water crisis and how it may affect our lifestyle, health and the environment. Thus, the project will encourage people to change their attitude towards water availability and supply, something we currently take for granted. It will also inform the public about the ways human activity damages water resources and how citizens can contribute to the issue by being smart about water consumption in everyday life.

The project will benefit the general public, particularly youth, who are likely to live with more water shortages in the future. Organizing discussions, the public screening of films and the public art display on the largest square in the country will draw young people living in the city and help them understand the challenge. During the demonstration more than 10­20,000 people will pass through Chinggis Square and the creative method will ensure they engage with the issue. Artists and environmental experts will also be involved in the project.

The project will be launched on March 11, with the unveiling of two ice sculptures on Chinggis Square and the screening of FILM NAME HERE at Tengis Cinema. The program continues with the screening of FILM NAME HERE on March 18 at Gegenten. In conjunction with World Water Day, March 22 will see the screening of FILM NAME HERE at Orgil Cinema. Our final screening of FILM NAME HERE will be held at Hunnu Mall Cinema on the March 26. All film screenings will be preceded by a discussion between a water expert and a public figure. The Smart Water Project invites everyone to engage with the issue of water consumption and the protection of Mongolia’s water resources this March.

Smart Water project to raise public awareness of water scarcity

The Mongolian Arts Council (ACM) is a non­governmental organization whose mission is to support the sustainable development of Mongolian culture and the preservation of cultural heritage. ACM aims to promote artists and their contribution to personal and social development of art through the public presentation of their work.

Last January, ACM announced an artistic competition for deaf artists and chose to support 11 talented

deaf artists in partnership with the Canadian Embassy and received their artworks.

ACM successfully organized a joint exhibition ‘The Colors in silence’ with 15 of their selected artworks and exhibited them from February 25 to March 1 at the ‘Best art gallery’.

The exhibition consisted of paintings and graphics created by deaf artists.

Morin Khuur Ensemble holds ‘Playing love-IV’ concert

‘The Colors in silence’ exhibit by deaf artists