Russian Creativity Week heralds a new era for the creative industries in Russia

A new platform aimed at realizing the economic potential of Russia’s creative industries launches today in Gorky Park.  Aligning with the UN’s International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development, Russian Creativity Week will host over 500 events, including a business forum, lectures, masterclasses, installations and performances.

Visitors will encounter 14, creative discipline-themed pavilions in Gorky Park, each curated by a leading industry figure, including: V-A-C co-founder/director Teresa Iarocci Mavica; conductor Teodor Currentzis; Belgrade Design Week founder, Jovan Jelovats; art curator Nikolay Palazhenko; and TV presenter Vladimir Pozner.

Chairman of Russian Creativity Week and Director of the Presidential organizing committee for Public Projects, Sergei Novikov, noted: “We have big ambitions to open up the lines of communication with the international creative community and are delighted to be forming partnerships with other countries where such events are held.”

Among the first partners is Italian INTERNI Designer’s Week Milano, led by Gilda Bojardi, who says: “We are excited to be partnering with Russian Creativity Week. Today there is a shared objective: to transform a major global crisis into an opportunity to do more, better than before.  Creativity is the glue that can connect us, sustainably, around the world.”

One of the main events will be the business forum, where representatives of government, business and the creative community will discuss the development of the creative economy, from creating galleries and developing games to the phenomenon of new media.

Speakers during the week will include: director Timur Bekmambetov; Nobel Prize laureate in physics, Konstantin Novoselov; Elena Bunina (Yandex); Arsen Tomsky (InDriver); directors of MY.GAMES, Soyuzmultfilm; directors of the Pushkin Museum, State Tretyakov Gallery and Garage Museum of Contemporary Art; Zhang Xiaochen (FinTech4Good); Per Pedersen (Gray Group), Lucas Krepaz (Salzburg Festival); and composer Martin O’Donnell.

Russian Creativity Week is being organized by the Roscultcenter; 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.