Photo Report: Lecture by Rodney Mims Cook Jr., Member of the International Council of the Golden Trezzini Awards

We are pleased to present a photo report from the lecture “The Revival of the Monumental Tradition,” held on June 3 at the Cultural Center of the Franciscan Monastery of Saint Anthony the Wonderworker in St. Petersburg.

As previously reported, the event’s special guest was Rodney Mims Cook Jr., a member of the International Council of the Golden Trezzini Awards, Chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, President of the National Monuments Foundation, and Chief Executive Officer of Atlanta’s Millennium Gate Museum. Together with St. Petersburg architect Anton Glikin, he delivered a lecture devoted to the contemporary revival of classical architecture and monumental art. The speakers discussed landmark projects completed in Atlanta — the Millennium Gate and the Monument to the Athletes of the World — demonstrating the importance of architecture as a tool for preserving historical memory and cultural continuity.

The event was of particular importance for the further development of the Golden Trezzini Awards. It was on this occasion that Pavel Chernyakov, Chairman of the Awards Organizing Committee, and Rodney Mims Cook Jr. met in person for the first time, having previously interacted exclusively at a distance. The discussions, which were also attended by Deputy Chair of the Organizing Committee Maria Borisova and Anton Glikin, marked an important step toward strengthening the Awards’ international ties and expanding cooperation between the professional communities of Russia and the United States. The participants discussed prospects for joint educational initiatives and the further development of the Golden Trezzini international expert community.

The event took place at the Franciscan Monastery of Saint Anthony the Wonderworker, one of the largest Catholic monastic complexes in Russia. Founded in 2000, the monastery serves as a spiritual and cultural center of the Franciscan Order in St. Petersburg. In addition to the monastery church, it hosts a library, educational and charitable programs, and regularly organizes concerts, exhibitions, and cultural events.

Among the participants and guests of the evening were Bishop Nikolai Dubinin, Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God at Moscow, Titular Bishop of Aquae in Byzacena, and Secretary General of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Russia; Alexey Mikhailov, Chairman of the St. Petersburg Committee for State Preservation of Historical and Cultural Monuments (KGIOP); Natalia Sidorkevich, Natalia Sidorkevich, Chair of the Board of the Worldwide St. Petersburg Club; Princess Jahnavi Kumari Mewar, representative of the Royal House of Mewar (Udaipur, India); Mikhail Medvedev, leading Russian heraldist, historian and artist, member of the Heraldic Council under the President of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Guild of Heraldic Artists; Sergey Yaroshetsky, Editor-in-Chief of the Addresses of St. Petersburg project; Dmitry Shatilov, member of the Golden Trezzini Awards Jury, architect, artist and Candidate of Art History; as well as representatives of St. Petersburg’s architectural, museum and cultural communities.

The Organizing Committee of the Golden Trezzini Awards expresses its gratitude to Nikita Konubrikov for preparing this photo report and for helping preserve an important moment in the history of the Awards’ international cooperation.

Photo report: https://n.konubrikov.ru/disk/2026-06-03-4x13gh