New digital residents of the Culture Online web portal – virtual Museum of Nikolai Gogol, video concert from the main Russian Naval Cathedral, theatrical online show about the everyday life of an actress in self-isolation and educational online initiatives by libraries from all over Russia.

In October, library of the Culture Online web portal, educational digital project by the Russian Culture Fund and St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum, was replenished with 11 online cultural initiatives coming from the Republic of Mordovia, Novosibirsk, Voronezh, as well as from Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Projects that have joined include the winner of the Offstage Awards in theater marketing and audience relations, series of online exhibitions by the ROSPHOTO Center and web portal of the oldest museum in Russia – Pushkin Museum.

Details about each of the projects:

Gogol’s City
 Library named after N. V. Gogol (Saint Petersburg)

The Gogol’s City Virtual Tour Hall is an online museum consisting of seven halls dedicated to interpretations of Gogol in Russian avant-garde art of 1920s, based upon the technology of a multi-user browser game.

“The Gogol’s City” cannot be scrolled through on the website. It is only available at the link and at the appointed hour. Visitors and the guide connect remotely and appear in the hall as the avatars.

Everyone chooses clothes, hairstyle and, of course, the nose for their avatar (this is the Gogol Museum after all!). Avatars are controlled by the keyboard, which allows a visitor to “walk” freely around the area. Excursions are held in real time. Guests hear the guide and each other, they can ask questions and exchange impressions.

Tale of Alexander Nevsky
Kronstadt Palace of Culture (Kronstadt)

The Kronstadt Palace of Culture presents a video version of musical and poetic composition “Tale of Alexander Nevsky”, recorded on September 5, 2021 in the Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the city of Kronstadt.

The festive event was dedicated to the 800th anniversary of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander. Under the vaults of the main Naval Cathedral of Russia and in the presence of naval mariners, an epic tale about life and great deeds of Alexander Nevsky based on the texts of ancient chronicles, was conveyed.

Bibliobackstage
National Library named after A. S. Pushkin of the Republic of Mordovia (Saransk)

The project humorously reveals to the viewer and the reader what is left behind the scene in the life of a library. The videos once again emphasize the importance and significance of reading.

As of today, 5 episodes have been released. They demonstrate library staff destroying several myths, telling about the longest word in Hungarian; showing outdoor actions and themed events, sharing new foreign words.

Muzkom Radio
Novosibirsk Musical Theater (Novosibirsk)

Official online radio of the Novosibirsk Musical Theater. The radio channel broadcast classical music, operettas, musicals, musical comedies, jazz and retro music, world music hits 24/7.

One can also listen to thematic series and programs, performances of the Novosibirsk Musical Theater, announcements and interviews with creative personalities of the theater. Radio station started its broadcasting on April 22, 2009. In 2018, MUZKOM Radio became the winner of the Offstage Awards in marketing and audience relations in the category “Best theater’s in-house media outlet”.

BiblioPolis
 Central Library System (Voronezh)

Cultural and educational project consisting of 10 authorial programs combined by one concept. 11 authors represent 47 city libraries of the Central Library System of Voronezh in social networks as part of their online avant-garde projects.

The goal of the project is to create an attractive image of city libraries.

National Museum of A. S. Pushkin online
National Museum of A. S. Pushkin (St. Petersburg)

One of the largest memorial and literature museum complexes in Europe, National Museum of A.S. Pushkin, has a special section on its website, which includes video excursions, podcasts, online exhibitions and etc.

The section is regularly updated in accordance with the offline program of the museum complex.

Theater and virtual reality
Baltic House Theater Festival (Saint Petersburg)

Virtual conference, held within the framework of the XXX International Baltic House Theater Festival in October 2020, comprehensively revealed the subject of theater and virtual reality in the post-coronavirus era.

As part of an active dialogue, theater personalities of Russia and abroad discussed the future of international cooperation, potential of virtual theater as an independent genre and theater trends of digitalized generation Z. Another great event was a branding workshop for actors.

Nightmare of actress Maryskina
Baltic House Theater Festival (Saint Petersburg)

A web series of 12 episodes from the Baltic House Theater Festival, based on a true story.

Each episode is a new “nightmare of any actor”: forgot the text, overslept the show, did not manage to get into the costume, was not approved for the role, voice lost, urgent input, lost the grain of the role.

Артцентр.рус (rfartcenter.ru)
 Federal Resource Information and Analytical Center for Art Education of the Russian Academy of Sciences named after the Gnesins (Moscow)

Unified information portal about Russian education system in the field of arts, created by the Federal Resource Information and Analytical Center for Art Education of the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music.

The web portal consolidates information for managers, teachers and students of children’s art schools, colleges and universities of culture and arts.

Dialogues about art. Podcast for the deaf
Educational Center “Languages without Borders” (St. Petersburg)

A series of films in Russian sign language about unique temporary exhibitions in museums of Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Authors of the cycle managed to step away from the standard gestural commentary on the background of paintings and create full-fledged excursion films based on the dialogue with the exposition visitors.

ROSPHOTO virtual exhibitions
ROSPHOTO Museum and Exhibition Center (Saint Petersburg)

A series of online exhibitions of the ROSPHOTO Center based upon on a platform created during the isolation period. It allows one to present photographic collections in high resolution and with many important complements.

Virtual exhibitions are supplemented by audio, text and visual comments, geographical tags, while keeping all the connections and additional context not only in the publication, but also in the museum’s collection.