Dreams of Siberia Automatic translate

The immersive exhibition is taking place simultaneously at two venues – the Krasnoyarsk Art Museum named after V. I. Surikov and the Museum Center “Peace Square” and will last until January 12, 2025.

The archaeological component of the exhibition tells about the cultural traditions of a huge territory – from Perm to Primorsky Krai, covering the main historical periods – from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages. And contemporary art is represented by works by artists from Western and Eastern Siberia, who address the theme of neoarchaism in their work.

"For the whole world, Siberia is a very large and mysterious land, and for many centuries it has attracted the attention of scientists, travelers, and inspired creators. This exhibition is a story that combines history and art, through which we will slightly lift the curtain of secrecy over our land, and I want this exhibition to become a source of inspiration for us and for our unification," said Arkady Zinov, Minister of Culture of Krasnoyarsk Krai, at the grand opening.

The large-scale exhibition is organized by the Tavolga Foundation for the Development of Science and Culture. The exhibitions feature more than 90 striking archaeological artifacts from museums across the country – from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok and about 200 works of contemporary art by Siberian authors. Among the exhibits are items that the viewer will see for the first time, for example, a curled up panther from the Arzhan-1 burial mound in Tuva and miniature horn pendants from a child’s burial – exact copies of the monumental Okunev steles from the banks of the Middle Yenisei.

"I am very excited because telling about Siberia in the very heart of Siberia is a very ambitious task. When the exhibition was in Moscow, we were often asked: why don’t you show it in Siberia and the Far East? That’s why we came first to Vladivostok, and now to Krasnoyarsk, but with an updated composition of the exhibition both in terms of archeology and in terms of contemporary art - there are many more works here. And most importantly, we now have many more partners, with each new project and with each new city, new museums and research institutes from various cities from Syktyvkar, Tyumen and Vladivostok join us. Siberia is a storehouse of ancient art, it is a territory of incredible meanings that we have not yet fully revealed. This will have to be done by us or other generations. We do not consider the exhibition to be just our project; it is a big story created by different people with whom we work all over Russia,” shared Marina Bondareva, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Tavolga Foundation.

Two sites are two reflections, two experiences of museums interpreting their collections in the proposed context.

In the Museum Center "Peace Square" in the archaeological section the emphasis is on zoomorphic images representing examples of ancient art. Contemporary art here has become a preamble to archeology, which, together with the architectural solution of the exhibition, its lighting and sound design, allows the viewer to immerse themselves in the fantastic space of antiquity. As if in a dream-fantasy, the visitor will take a fascinating journey through time and space: passing through forests, mountains and steppes, they will discover amazing artistic images and sacred symbols of the peoples who lived in the territory of Siberia at different times and eras.

In the Krasnoyarsk Art Museum named after V. I. Surikov, the viewer will find himself in a space of dream-reflection, to which he is called by examples of archaic and neo-archaic art of the 20th-21st centuries, separated by millennia. The author’s musical composition and unique olfactory accompaniment of the halls, created for the first time for the project, will give volume and depth to this dream.

The exhibition will feature an extensive educational program - popular science lectures by leading experts in history, archeology and ethnography, a series of master classes for children and adults, as well as an inclusive program: an art laboratory for teenagers with ASD, excursions with audio descriptions and tactile models, excursions in Russian sign language. The partner of the educational program in Krasnoyarsk was the gold mining company "Polus".

"We were happy to collaborate with the Tavolga Foundation and bring a federal-level project to Krasnoyarsk. It was important for us that this project fits completely into the cultural and educational track of our social investments in the regions of presence, and Krasnoyarsk Krai is now the main production region for Polyus. Here, colleagues brought about ninety historical artifacts and about two hundred pieces of modern art, and this is a truly amazing and fascinating sight. And I really hope that in addition to this exhibition, to which you will certainly return with your family members, someone will definitely take part in the educational program, which we supported first and foremost, because this is our general trend for educational, cultural projects that help to create a truly magical intellectual leisure for the whole family," said Victoria Vasilyeva, Communications Director of Polyus.

The exhibition "Dreams of Siberia" is carried out with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation within the framework of the National Project "Culture", as well as with the support of the Government and the Ministry of Culture of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

The following artists contributed works from their collections to the project:

• State Historical Museum
• Russian Ethnographic Museum
• State Museum of Nature and Man
• National Museum of the Komi Republic
• National Museum named after Aldan-Maadyr of the Republic of Tyva
• Museum Center "Peace Square"
• Krasnoyarsk Art Museum named after V. I. Surikov
• Surgut Art Museum
• Irkutsk Art Museum named after V. P. Sukachev
• Tyumen Museum and Educational Association
• Khakassian National Museum of Local History named after L. R. Kyzlasov
• Perm Museum of Local History
• Kansk Museum of Local History
• Krasnoyarsk Regional Museum of Local History
• Cherdyn Museum of Local History named after A.S. Pushkin
• Transbaikal Regional Museum of Local History named after A.K. Kuznetsov
• Minusinsk Local Lore Museum named after N. M. Martyanov
• Irkutsk Regional Museum of Local History named after N. N. Muravyov-Amursky
• Tomsk Regional Museum of Local History named after M. B. Shatilov
• Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
• Museum of History and Culture of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
• Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences
• Research Center "Baikal Region"
• Archaeological Museum named after B. S. Sapunov of the Museum Complex of the Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Education "Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical University"
• Syktyvkar State University named after Pitirim Sorokin
• Dashi Namdakov Art Foundation
• Art Gallery "13-A" MBUK Museum "Victory Memorial"
• Art Gallery of the Romanovs
• Picture gallery of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Institute for Education Development
• Author of the project idea : Marina Bondareva
• Curators : Vasily Novikov, Nikolay Smirnov, Kirill Svetlyakov, Sergey Kovalevsky
• Chief artist of the exhibition : Petr Biryukov
• Educational program partner : gold mining company Polyus

Organizers:

The Tavolga Foundation for the Development of Science and Culture was established in 2018 to support scientific, cultural and educational projects. The foundation supports projects in the field of studying and popularizing cultural heritage. The foundation’s mission is to preserve and popularize the cultural heritage of Russia and the world, provide opportunities for realizing the country’s scientific potential, and form a socio-cultural environment. https://fondtavolga.ru/

The Krasnoyarsk Art Museum named after V. I. Surikov is a place that unites connoisseurs of various forms of art. The museum’s collection contains more than 16,000 items - works by Kandinsky, Malevich, Shishkin, Repin, Levitan, Aivazovsky, Kramskoy, Surikov and other great artists, as well as decorative and applied art by Siberian and Moscow masters. The museum regularly hosts master classes and art therapy sessions for children and adults, advanced training courses for specialists in the field of culture, a museum lecture hall, special programs for people with disabilities, as well as educational programs and scientific and practical conferences. https://www.surikov-museum.ru/

The Museum Center "Ploshchad Mira" is the largest exhibition and presentation platform for contemporary art in Siberia. The museum was created in 1987 as the 13th branch of the Central Lenin Museum, but in the early 1990s it reoriented itself to contemporary art practices - during this time it managed to collect an impressive collection. Here, such formats as the Biennale (1995) and Museum Night (2002) were launched for the first time in Russia. https://mira1.ru/