In 2025 about 30 publishing houses will present their products in Tomsk at the book fair of the festival of art and reading TOM. The events will be held under the slogan “How to perceive art”. Please note that this year the festival will be held on May 15-18, said Natalia Pochtareva, head of the Siberian branch of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.
Earlier it was reported that for the first time the book festival, organized jointly by the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and Tomsk State University, was held in Tomsk in May 2022. In 2023, it received its modern name – the Tom Festival of Art and Reading – and has already been held twice in September.
– The fourth book festival in Tomsk will again be held in spring on May 15-18, 2025. Except for new dates, the format of the festival will be quite traditional: a large book fair will work all four days; a professional day with events for museum workers, philologists, librarians, restorers, artists is planned for Friday, May 16; and on Saturday and Sunday we are waiting for everyone interested in art, said Natalia Pochtareva.
According to her, it was decided to return to the idea of holding the festival in spring for several reasons, the main one being organizational. In spring, there are more opportunities to gather the maximum number of interesting speakers, and the preparation does not overlap with summer vacations.
– For us, the TOM Festival is traditionally one of the most important and main events that we organize with our partner and friend, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. This year the festival will be a bright event for the city and the university, said Yulia Emer, TSU Vice-Rector for Information Policy and Digital Communications.
A paradise for book lovers
According to the head of the Siberian branch of the Pushkin Museum, like last year, about 30 Russian publishers will take part in the fair of the festival. However, the organizers are not chasing the number.
– We try to familiarize Tomsk residents with different publishing houses, so the list of participants changes from year to year. It is clear that the festival will host the publishing houses of TSU and the Pushkin Museum. There will be large publishing houses that can show readers their new books. We also try to invote small and interesting publishers whose products are not so widely represented in bookstore chains, – said Natalia Pochtareva.
Although the detailed program of events will be published later, the theme of the festival is already known – How to perceive art. There will be thematic sessions devoted not only to visual arts, but also, for example, to architecture, fashion, dance and so on.