More than two hundred creative works glorifying the beauty, valor and courage of the Turkmen Alabaies were collected by an exhibition-competition taking place these days at the State Academy of Arts of Turkmenistan.
Painting, graphics, sculpture, decorative and applied arts, and animation provide detailed information about one of the most ancient breeds of dogs, which are the national pride and treasure of the people. From time immemorial, Alabai lived next to our ancestors: they guarded homes, watched livestock, and accompanied caravans.
The English traveler James Fraser wrote about the splendor and power of the Alabai in 1822, “To protect the herd, the Turkmens have breeds of very large and intelligent dogs.” Nature itself endowed the Alabai with remarkable strength, endurance and fearlessness.
Nowadays, special attention is paid to the preservation and development of the breed in Turkmenistan. The Türkmen alabaý itleri Association was created for these purposes, which activities are aimed at enhancing the best traditions of the national school of dog breeding, applying methods of folk selection and modern achievements of world science.
The creative exhibition presents the works of students and teachers of the State Academy of Arts of Turkmenistan, as well as representatives of painting schools from the country’s velayats. Especially for the competition, talented craftsmen looked for an artistically expressive model, visited Alabai kennels and private dog breeders in order to convey as accurately as possible the regal image of the noble breed of dogs. A professional jury will evaluate the competition entries.
For the objectivity of the selection of finalists, all works presented at the exhibition are numbered; they do not contain the names of the participants.
The winners will be announced on the eve of the holiday – Turkmen Alabai Day, which will be held on the last Sunday of October. As the organizers note, the best creative works will be included in the general catalog of the exhibition “Türkmen alabaýy-2023”.
