#Exhibit of the Month

The Chișinău Diocesan Girls' School opened its doors on May 3, 1864, addressing a pressing need: in Bessarabia there were no institutions dedicated to the education of clergy's daughters. According to the 1864 circular, teaching was conducted in the Romanian language, a provision applied throughout the diocese. The school's first headmistress was Anastasia Rizo, of noble origin, invited by Archbishop Antonie.

The curriculum, approved by the Ministry of Public Education and the Chișinău Diocese, combined theoretical subjects with practical training. Students studied religion, reading and writing in Romanian, Slavonic, and Russian, arithmetic and exercises in calculation, world history and geography. The program was complemented by church singing and practical skills such as sewing, embroidery, knitting, as well as household management - baking bread and prosphora, preparing meals and preserves, caring for livestock, and cultivating gardens.

The composite, taken in 1911 at the studio of Z. N. Sumovski in Chișinău, depicts 29 graduates and 13 teachers. At the center are portraits of Bishop Serafim (Ciciagov), headmistress N. R. Mihelson, teacher V. E. Bejerian, and priests F. Ghiliarov and P. Jurikas. Among the teaching staff was Paraskovia Vasilievna Cuciurenko, a calligraphy teacher for 37 years, who in 1911 became senior educator and assistant headmistress. For her dedication, she was awarded the gold medal "For Long Service."

On the reverse of the vignette is a label from the store and workshop of frames, paintings, mirrors, and window glass owned by A. D. Kon'gova, Chișinău, Gogol Street no. 37, near the State Bank.

This graduation composite was donated at the end of 2025 to the National Museum of History of Moldova by the Dadiștian family from Drochia.

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Exhibitions

"Ovi D. Pop: My Romania"

December 1-15, 2023

Between December 1-15, the National Museum of History of Moldova has the honor of hosting the exhibition of the Romanian photographer Ovi D. Pop, entitled "My Romania".

Born in Oradea on April 9, 1973, Ovi D. Pop is a photographer with over 20 years of experience and who prefers several genres of photographic art: portrait, nude, aerial and monuments. He is the director of the Oradea "Duran's" Publishing House under whose care he published 7 illustrated monographs of Bihor county, works containing over 1,500 photographs of the most representative locations in the county, respectively 6 editions of the Bihor County Tourist Guide, 3 editions of the Oradea album mine, an edition of the Comitatus Bihoriensis album, an edition of the Nude in the City album and many other views and paperbacks reflect his work.

Since 2013, he also focused on artistic photography, managing to meet the criteria for obtaining national and international awards - MAFR (Master of the Romanian Association of Photographic Artists), E.FIAP/g (Excellence de Fédération Internationale de l'Art Photographique) with the rank of gold and MPSA (Master of the Photographic Society of America).

His photos have won over 2,300 awards, of which 640 gold medals/1st place/Trophies in 91 countries. Several personal exhibitions were organized from his photographs in: Oradea, Bucharest (Senate of Romania), Carei, Cluj Napoca, Dărăbani, Valea lui Mihai, Hajduszoboszló, Gyula, Brussels x3, Cernăuţi, Uzhorod, Ljubljana, Singapore and Pingyao, respectively many group exhibitions in: Cluj Napoca, Bucharest, Szeged, Budapest, Bratislava, Kosice, Monteviarchi, Chernivtsi, Uzhorod (UA), Chisinau, Kolkatta, Shenzen, Kunming and in Macau. Ovi D. Pop has judged in International Salons in Romania, Croatia, India, Italy, Australia, China, Georgia, Serbia, Thailand, Hungary, Singapore, Malaysia and Ukraine.

All this, however, the photographer does not quantify in years, but in achievements and in the richness of the moments he managed to capture with the help of light and shadows. The camera is the channel through which he manages to reproduce what he sees with his eyes and soul.

The opening of the photo exhibition "Ovi D. Pop: My Romania" will take place on December 1, 2023, at 2:00 p.m., and can be visited between December 1-15, 2023, at the National Museum of History of Moldova, Chisinau, 31 August 1989 street, 121A.

#Exhibit of the Month

Vignette of Graduates and Teachers of the Chișinău Diocesan Girls’ School, 1911

"Ovi D. Pop: My Romania"

December 1-15, 2023

#Exhibit of the Month