4 February 2022
Pushkin House announces a new collaborative project between Centrala in Birmingham and Typography in Krasnodar
Pushkin House is delighted to announce the launch of a new collaborative project between Centrala (Birmingham) and Typography (Krasnodar). The project is part of Pushkin House’s Translocalities programme which facilitates exchange between cultural organisations outside of capitals in Russia and the UK. Following the initial research trip that enabled the curators and heads of these dynamic cultural organisations to meet in-person for the first time, Translocalities culminates in a series of digital and physical public initiatives across time zones.
Visions of Krasnodar Artists (5-26 February 2022) is a group exhibition at Birmingham’s Centrala dedicated to the works of five female artists based in the Krasnodar region, Russia: Yana Alalykina, Sasha Demina, Elena Kolesnikova, Julia Shafarostova and Katerina Verba. The artists are united by their desire to trace and remake the past by creating a space of their own, often opposing the socio-political environment that surrounds them. The resulting exhibition addresses the implications of living in a fast-developing region, while presenting Krasnodar’s vibrant and formidable creative community which aims to build an alternative and much-needed platform for artists based in Russia. The exhibition is initiated by Centrala’s director Alicja Kaczmarek, who encountered the works of these artists during her recent research trip to Russia facilitated by the Translocalities programme.
Translocalities Musical Exchange is a further initiative organised collaboratively by Centrala and Typography to involve live performances, live streams, screenings of the All Systems Go project and a series of podcasts on Radio Fantasia, Typography’s trans-genre community radio platform launched in July 2021 aiming to bring the local Krasnodar music scene to the wider audiences. This new initiative builds on Typography’s ongoing commitment to representing local Krasnodar musicians and artists working with sound and experimental electronic music from around the world.
Live performances will take place simultaneously at Typography in Krasnodar and Centrala in Birmingham on the 19th of February (6pm UK time/9pm Russian time). Concerts by British artists Andrew Woodhead with his electroacoustic duo ELDA and Meesha (Dorcha, Pretty Grim), Wild Rani and Sunnk will be broadcasted to Typography, where performances by the following local musicians will take place: FMSAO, Ded Hasan Battle Cry, Heavymetal.4pl and Maksim Logvin.
All Systems Go is a multi-disciplinary project involving musicians, performers and artists working with sound who together created a series of experimental performances, installations and films responding to the pandemic. The project began in 2021 and involves a total of eight pieces commissioned by Centrala. Three of them will be screened at Typography in Krasnodar in February and accompanied by artist Q&As:
Feminist sound- and video-artist The Seer aka’s macabre performance “HUMAN?” draws inspiration from poetry and dreamscapes to address the relationship between humans and nature. “HUMAN?” is a new performance created especially for All Systems Go.
In Free Fall is a performance by musician, drummer and composer Kai Chareunsy known for his melodic approach and a background in jazz and improvisation as well as electroacoustic music.
Resonance of the Gyre is a performance by the audio-visual artist Shadwa Ali from Egypt whose works explore the human psyche and society through the lens of Cairo and her native Alexandria’s chaotic day-to-day routines.
The musical element of the collaboration will culminate in a series of three podcasts on Radio Fantasia which will put a spotlight on contemporary UK-based musicians Andrew Woodhead with his electroacoustic duo ELDA and Meesha (Dorcha, Pretty Grim), Wild Rani and Sunnk. Recordings of their live performances and brief conversations with the artists will be available for streaming from Radio Fantasia’s SoundCloud platform.
Further collaborations will take place in March and involve an urban space lab in Krasnodar with the UK-based walking artist Alisa Oleva, who treats the city as her studio. Alisa will explore both Krasnodar and Birmingham, juxtaposing their geographical and social structures. More details to be announced.
The project is part of the international UK – Russia Creative Bridge programme 2021-2022 supported by the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy in Moscow.
For enquiries, please contact:
Pushkin House: Eugenia Ellanskaya, eugenia.ellanskaya@pushkinhouse.org.uk
Centrala: Alicja Kaczmarek, alicja@centrala-space.org.uk
Typography: Marianna Kruchinski, mariannakruchinski@gmail.com
TRanslocalities
a programme of exchange between cultural institutions outside of capitals in Russia and the UK
As the oldest independent centre in the UK focusing on Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet culture, Pushkin House has initiated a programme of cultural exchange between the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom. Translocalities brings together several dynamic organisations in both countries and consists of a series of workshops, research trips, public lectures and collaborative projects.
Our aim is to create a stimulating forum for an open dialogue between the creative communities in Russia and the UK culminated by a collaborative public offering which is currently taking shape.
The project is part of the international UK – Russia Creative Bridge programme 2021-2022 supported by the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy in Moscow.
Participating institutions:
CC19, Novosibirsk
Centrala, Birmingham
Chicory, Zheleznogorsk
Paradise Works, Manchester
Typography, Krasnodar
With an additional contribution from the Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridgeshire
More details to be announced. If you wish to stay up to date with Pushkin House’s initiatives like this one, sign up for our newsletter.
Image on the homepage: Skinned performing at the Event of Presence / New Present exhibition, 48-Stunden-Novosibirsk Festival, CC19, Novosibirsk, September 2019, photo by Nadya Dragan. Courtesy CC19.
