Since the beginning of summer, the Russian Cultural Foundation has been accepting applications for the “Culture Online” international award. For those who have not yet submitted their projects, time is running out—the submission deadline is September 30, 2024. Applications can be submitted online via the official website.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the award. Over this period, technology has advanced significantly and become deeply integrated into the world to the extent that most projects now incorporate technological elements. Today, digital tools and modern working methods help people implement their ideas more quickly and effectively. The fields of culture and art are no exception, with new technologies finding a worthy place in these sectorsThe award’s primary goal is to discover and reward the most technologically innovative and ambitious projects.

It all began in 2020 when the pandemic drastically altered the lives of millions of people worldwide. Even then, the first attempts to synchronize new technologies with culture were underway. Since the debut of the “Culture Online” award, creators and participants of cultural and artistic projects from around the world have presented their best works to the jury, with each year’s submissions becoming more unique and diverse.

Over the past five years, the award has received over 1,300 applications from 25 countries and numerous cities across Russia. Of these, 130 projects made it to the finals, and 42 were recognized as winners in various categories, including special prizes from the Russian Cultural Foundation.

In 2024, the organizing committee has introduced seven categories, including a new one focused on the integration of artificial intelligence:

  • Best Online Project 2024— the main award category for projects in theater, music, and cinema.
  • Best Collaboration — this category is for projects implemented simultaneously in both online and offline formats or for those developed by two or more companies.
  • Best IT Solution for the Cultural Sector — for projects that effectively implement digital technologies such as VR/AR, mobile applications, online games, and more.
  • Best Social Media Campaign— one of the most popular categories, recognizing cultural projects with the best social media promotion in terms of content, presentation, or other features.
  • Best Education and Outreach Project — a category for online educational projects, including lectures, master classes, training courses, programs, and more.
  • Best Livestreaming Project: this category is for projects that showcase cultural events live from a location through the Internet.
  • Best AI Integration in Culture — a new category introduced in 2024, aimed at identifying the best project utilizing neural networks, generative algorithms, and other AI technologies.

The entries will be evaluated by renowned experts and specialists from the cultural field. Innovation, audience reach, cultural relevance, scalability and user experience continue to be the project evaluation criteria.

In addition to the main categories, the organizing committee annually awards one or more participants with a Special Prize from the Russian Cultural Foundation.

Official website of the award: http://www.culturaonline.ru/.

Contact Email: award@culturaonline.ru.

The Culture Online International Award is organized by the Russian Cultural Foundation: https://rcfoundation.ru/.

About the project:

The Russian Cultural Foundation is a National Public-State Organization in the field of culture and art. Dozens of new regional museums were established, hundreds of all-Union and international exhibitions, festivals, concerts and competitions were held, unique literary treasures were published, and periodicals were launched in many regions of the country with the support of the Foundation. An extensive regional network of branches and representative offices allows the Foundation to carry out cultural and educational activities throughout the Russian Federation.

Every year, the Foundation allocates grants in various fields of art, supporting theatrical, publishing, musical and educational activities. The Russian Cultural Foundation operates cultural and educational programs for schools, the national project “Culture,” and the federal project “Creative People.”