Russian Creativity Week by Roscongress, Russia
Roscongress, Russia, August 2020
The organizers of the major national creative industries event, Russian Creativity Week, have kicked off their work in Moscow. Events of this kind involving creative industry festivals are far and few between around the world, with only around ten of them currently being held. Russian Creativity Week may become the most ambitious of them all.
The meeting started with a speech by Russian Book Union President Sergei Stepashin: “Holding such a major event as Russian Creativity Week is crucial to solving both internal and external objectives related to state policy. The idea developed by the Russian Culture Centre federal state budget-funded institution has received support at the highest level, for which I would like to express special gratitude to First Deputy Head of the Russian Presidential Administration Sergei Kiriyenko, Head of the Russian Presidential Administration for Public Projects Sergei Novikov, and Adviser to the Russian President Anton Kobyakov. The event will take on a level of national significance thanks to their involvement. The theme of creative industries is now incredibly popular all around the world, as it unites numerous people regardless of their political views, and it is especially appealing to young people. Events of this scale have never even been held abroad, so the first Russian Creativity Week will help create a new image of Russia in the international arena – the image of a modern country and a country of the future.”
Marina Abramova, Director of Russian Creativity Week and the Russian Culture Centre, spoke about the concept of the event and its goals: “Creative industries have become a powerful driver of the global economy in recent years. Today, there is a growing number of people and companies around the world that work with ideas, knowledge, and creativity, and we are seeing at a global level how resource giants are giving way to technology giants, film companies, media holdings, and so on. Developing creative industries is no longer an elective course for the state, but a mandatory one. Our goal during Russian Creativity Week is to create a space that will bring together everyone who is interested in development in the creative field and professional growth on an annual basis.”
Fourteen lecture halls with 100 seats will be organized for each creative industry focus during Russian Creativity Week. These halls will host over 300 educational, business, and entertainment events, such as master classes, film premieres, lectures, pitches, business sessions, and exhibitions, and will be open to everyone.
The official partner and co-organizer of Russian Creativity Week is the social platform of the Roscongress Foundation – the Innosocium Foundation.
Elena Marinina, Deputy Director of the Roscongress Foundation and Director of the social platform of the Roscongress Foundation – the Innosocium Foundation: “The development of creative industries in our country has reached a whole new level. Vladimir Putin included the creation of opportunities for self-realization and the development of talent in the list of Russia’s national development goals for the period until 2030. The Roscongress Foundation and the social platform of the Roscongress Foundation – the Innosocium Foundation – are actively working to develop creative industries at the Roscongress Foundation’s biggest forum platforms as part of the business programme and the programme of the thematic Building Trust area as well as to establish a constructive dialogue between representatives of government, business, and the creative sector. We will continue to work to this end, and the Russian Creativity Week festival will help promote Russian creative industries both in our country and in the international arena.”
The overriding principle behind the compilation of the Russian Creativity Week programme was to create a common concept that unites all areas of the creative industries. Some of the events are overseen by international experts, including MusicAeterna conductor and artistic director Teodor Currentzis, head of the Player One game media project Anton Gorodetsky, prominent fashion and clothing designer Tatyana Parfyonova, and National Media Group CEO Olga Paskina. Another part of the programme was developed by the festival’s organizers and includes events from development institutions and specialized organizations of creative industries. It is particularly important that the event will not only feature residents from Moscow and St. Petersburg, but also from other regions of the Russian Federation. This will give them an opportunity to present their projects in the creative industries as well as provide national coverage of the event.
The business programme features more than 30 residents that are among the largest institutions in the creative sector. This block includes a business forum during which government officials and Russian entrepreneurs will be able to discuss and work on issues and tasks associated with creative industries.
In addition, each theme of the 14 industries will be presented in a unique entertaining format on the main stage. Residents from the regions will put on gala concerts and show off the best achievements from their creative clusters. Such performances will feature Perm Opera soloist Nadezhda Pavlova, violinist Yelena Revich, and pianist Polina Osetinskaya as well as a laser show from the Dream Laser studio. Conductor Teodor Currentzis and pianist Kirill Richter, whose works have become popular all over the world, will give performances accompanied by vivid multimedia and modern technical equipment.
More than 10,000 square metres of Gorky Park will be allocated for organizations to set up their own unique displays. The architectural plan of the Russian Creativity Week meets the requirements of the Russian consumer safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor. The development concept was drafted by a group of young architects consisting of four people, including Alexander Plotkin and Azamat Nyrov, under the leadership of Vladimir Plotkin, a professor at the International Academy of Architecture, a member of the board at the Moscow branch of the Union of Architects, and one of the country’s top architects.
“Developing architectural solutions for Russian Creativity Week is an important and interesting task for our team. After studying the general development plan, it became clear that the main point of attraction would be Pushkinskaya Embankment, where all 14 thematic lecture halls will be located. It is adaptable to any major events during Russian Creativity Week and will thus serve as the main meeting place for its guests. We also thoroughly thought through the routing plan and tried to take into account the most convenient option for visitors and their safety in the current pandemic. Participants will be able to easily reach the lecture hall in which they are interested from the main entrance or from inside Gorky Park,” Vladimir Plotkin said.
The event is being held based on instructions given by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 2 November 2019 to provide state support for modern popular music and contemporary visual art and aims to reveal the creative and economic potential of the Russian creative community. Russian Creativity Week is being organized by Russian Culture Centre, the social platform of the Roscongress Foundation – the Innosocium Foundation, and the Russian Book Union. The project is being implemented with the support of the Presidential Grants Fund.
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