How to create a cultural project in an online format? What would you recommend to novices? What should one know, what is not to be afraid of?
To all aspiring and beginning organizers of projects in the online format, I would like to say, Do not be afraid, break through, and just do it. Of course you should pay attention to the content and meanings of your project and invite professionals, experts, specialists who already have experience in preparing and implementing your kind of projects. In our opinion, the most popular and adaptive online resource today is VKontakte social media. Many processes, especially promotion, are already established and well-structured on VK. The main thing is to have and see the goal, and everything will work out!
How is your project doing? Are you still into it?
The Saint Petersburg Theatre Seasons Online project continues! This year it was held September 20 to 24. As before, the program included screenings of St. Petersburg plays in online format. As part of the festival, we have maintained and expanded the outreach activities. This year we focused on the artistic material staged by the participants. A video was made and shown to the audience on each performance of the participating theatres. The spectators learned about the history of the plays, in what years and where they were staged, whether films were made on their basis, what made the production famous and what are the differences versus modern interpretations.
Just like last year, we held a two-day online conference with participation of the Russian State Institute of Stage Arts. Topic of the conference: “St. Petersburg theatre school and theatre culture of Russia’s regions. Mission of the branches of Russian State Institute of Stage Arts in the regions.” The audience learned about the prospects for the development of the educational process, the new branches of the Russian State Institute of Stage Arts in the regions and the basic needs and demand for specialists in the regions of Russia. The festival couldn’t do without traditional meetings with the creators and participants in the performances of the festival and workshops by experts of the Russian State Institute of Stage Arts which could be watched online and also visited in the media centre at the Alexandrinsky Theatre New Stage. The audience can still watch the events of the festival at our website petersburg-theatre.com and in the group on VK vk.com/spbtheatreseasons. What’s new is that this year the performances of the festival could be seen in China. With the support of Rossotrudnichestvo, the performances were broadcast on Weibo and Douyin social media in the accounts of the Russian Cultural Centre in Beijing. All performances were translated into Chinese.
Do you have any new projects now?
Our annual project “Children’s Petersburg” International Festival will be held from September 20 to November 5, this year in hybrid format. Viewers will be able to attend events online and offline. The main program will be held during children’s vacations: screenings of children’s performances of St. Petersburg theatres, contests, workshops for children, roundtable discussions and public lectures for children, parents and specialists of children’s cultural institutions, online tours of St. Petersburg for children, and much more. Festival events are dedicated or related to children’s and young adult literature, reading, and mother tongue. A book is the principal source of knowledge and enlightenment. The festival’s task in 2022 is to show the importance and significance of acquaintance with a book from an early age, to help navigate the diversity of books and distinguish between high and poor quality literature. To help instill the love of reading from an early age. To show that acquaintance with literature in childhood and learning about the world around does not end with just reading books, but has a continuation in theatre, painting, and even architecture of the city.
As a tradition from the last year, we keep promoting inclusion. The festival events will be interpreted into sign language, and a whole workshop will be devoted to using texts and fiction in work with inclusive children. The festival takes place at the website children-petersburg.com and in VKontakte vk.com/childrenpetersburg.
In your opinion, which areas of culture in digital format are the most relevant today?
Educational and outreach projects, as well as IT-related. AR and VR projects are gaining popularity.
How do you feel about NFT crypto art?
NFT crypto art is not yet a mass art, known to a lesser extent in Russia. I would say that so far it is a “privileged” art. In the future, of course, it has every chance to develop and take its niche.