The fifth international “Culture Online” award winners were announced on November 15. The honorees include an online Russian language dictionary, a project connecting medieval culture with digital artists, an art-learning mobile app, the first museum website for children, and more. As per tradition, the award ceremony for one of Russia’s most prestigious digital art awards was held online and broadcast on the official award website.

Founded by the All-Russian Public-State Organization “Russian Cultural Fund” in 2020, the international Culture Online award emphasizes the importance and influence of innovative technologies in the development of culture. For its fifth anniversary, 35 projects were shortlisted across seven categories.

“On one hand, modern technologies are merely tools. On the other, the rapid and somewhat unpredictable development of these tools is a never-ending source of inspiration for those who have something to share with their audience and wish to connect people with genuine art and creative exploration. Throughout ‘Culture Online’s’ five-year history, we have observed the increasing technical and creative quality of projects submitted for the award. Choosing the winners has become more challenging and exciting,” stated Elena Golovnina, General Director of the All-Russian Public and State Organization “Russian Cultural Foundation.”

The panel of experts selected three projects as winners in the main category of the Culture Online Award. The title of Best Online Project in 2024 was awarded to:

First Place: Awarded to the online project “Under the Dome,” created by the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-Reserve and VK in celebration of the 1000th anniversary of Suzdal. This project is a creative fusion of medieval culture and modern art. Ten digital artists contributed works inspired by the cultural essence of the ancient Russian city.

Second Place: “Inspired by Pushkin: On the 225th Anniversary of the Poet’s Birth” by the State Russian Museum. This unique digital exhibition, dedicated to Pushkin’s work, included contributions from 57 museums across Russia and the CIS. It offers visitors an immersive experience of Pushkin’s world as seen through the lens of art.

Third Place: The online dialect dictionary, “I Speak Russian,” created by the “Culture.RU” portal and social network “Odnoklassniki.”  This project brought together dialects from across Russia and provided information on the meanings and origins of well-known phrases. The dictionary not only introduces users to unique regional words but also allows them to suggest their own, read the stories behind popular idioms, and watch lectures on the past and future of the Russian language.

The Sverdlovsk State Philharmonic’s “Russian Digital Music” and the computer graphics studio 0101’s online project, “Magnet of Your Home,” were also shortlisted in this category.

In the “Best Collaboration” category, finalists included the charity auction “Culture of the Rear — Culture for the Front,” organized by the Lugansk State Academy of Culture and Arts named after Mikhail Matusovsky and the regional executive committee of the All-Russian Public Movement “People’s Front”; the video lecture series “Vasily Polenov: Teacher and Students” by the State Memorial and Artistic Museum-Reserve of V. D. Polenov, Rostelecom, and the Association of Far East Museums; the documentary film in Russian sign language “Moscow Art Theatre: Beyond the Stage” by the private non-profit organization for the development of inclusive cinema “Languages without Borders,” VTB Bank, and Moscow Art Theatre named after Chekhov; the online festival “Sochi — Bridge” for young readers in Russia, organized by the “UON Sochi” creative union and “Khosta” Center for Additional Education; and the winning interactive exhibit organized by the All-Russian Community of Children and Youth “Movement of the Firsts,” Pitch Museum Bureau, the Sber Metaverse Technology Center, and Sbermarketing Event Lab.  This interactive show, celebrating dreams and the achievements of Russia, tells the story of prominent Russian figures, writers, explorers, scientists, musicians, and athletes, inspiring youth with their accomplishments.  The exhibit’s unique atmosphere is enhanced by several dozen thousand media screens, with a combined display area of over 500 square meters.

The “Best IT Solution for the Cultural Sector” category included the ArtCracker mobile app from an Israeli startup; the mobile excursion and pilgrimage guide “Sergius Lavra: Guide” developed by RIA Novosti; the Russian National Museum of Music’s chatbot guide; the “Your Place in the Countryside” platform for rural tourism by Rosselkhozbank; and the exhibit “Digital Nomad” by the State Historical Museum and the social network LOOKY. The expert panel chose ArtCracker as the most innovative project. This AI-powered app recognizes artworks, architectural sites, and urban landmarks, providing users with detailed descriptions of works, their creators, and locations based on uploaded photos. It offers users detailed descriptions of works, their authors and places based on uploaded photos, easily becoming a personal guide, memorizing your preferences and compiling customized tours.

The winner of the “Best Social Media Campaign” category was the “Walking through Peterhof” information campaign by the Peterhof Museum-Reserve and VK. In the finals, it surpassed “No, they didn’t!” by bloggers Polina Pendina, Ekaterina Tarasova, and Tatyana Ivanova; “The Podcast I’d Watch in the Evening” by the State Museum of the History of Russian Literature named after V. I. Dahl; #operapuškin by the Moscow Novaya Opera Theatre named after E. V. Kolobov; and the “Peterhof: Empress’s Treasures” exhibit by the State Historical Museum.

The “State Historical Museum for Children” project by the State Historical Museum became the “Best Education and Outreach Project.” This is the first Russian museum website tailored specifically for children.  The main historical museum in Russia created this site to promote historical knowledge and national culture, bringing together educational content about the museum’s most interesting exhibits, virtual tours of exhibitions and displays, and videos of workshops for parents to plan activities with their children. A special section offers young users audio recordings of folktales, legends of the Russian people, and fascinating stories about notable figures in Russian history. Children can test their historical knowledge through puzzles, quizzes, and tests. The nominees for the title of the best educational project were a marathon of online excursions in the parks of the Moscow region by the Moscow Regional Directorate for Parks Development, Stepan the Dyer’s workshop created by graphic designer Alyona Shutova, a lecturer at the Ural Federal University, URAL SCIENCE, a project about the culture and history of the Southern Urals by the Ural Creative Industries of the Urals, an autonomous non-profit organization for the collaboration of modern cultural practices, and the Roads of Russian Enlightenment, an art and educational project developed by the Lomonosov Roads Foundation for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of the Russian North.  Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

The “Best Online Broadcast” of the year was awarded to the annual national “Library Night-2024” campaign, prepared by the Russian State Library’s Sociocultural Events Department. The finalists also included a series of broadcasts of concerts “Alexander Nevsky and the Military History of Russia” by the “Media Center” structural subdivision of the State Academic Chapel of St. Petersburg, online broadcasts of the concert series “All Bach’s Cantatas” by the “COLLEGIUM MUSICUM” Charitable Foundation for the Promotion of Morality and Spirituality, the IV Festival of Classical Music “Cantata” organized by the ANO “Festival Directorate”, and the IX International Ethnic Festival “Music of the World” by the St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Arts.

A new category introduced this year, “Best AI Integration in Culture,” recognizes the active development of neural networks, generative algorithms, and other AI technologies. The finalists in this category were the exhibit “Revived Collection” by the Voronezh Regional Art Museum named after I. N. Kramskoy, the international AI film competition MyFilm48 by Pavel Peregudov, the online project “Your Family Fabergé” by the Fabergé Museum and VK’s Community Engagement Department, the “Legend of Karakuz” trailer series by the Academy of Digital Creativity and “A1002 Animation School,” and the SKRYABIN media art festival organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Chelyabinsk Region and ANO Festival and Cultural Event Directorate of Chelyabinsk.  The winner was the “Your Family Fabergé” online project, a neural network on VK developed for the 10th anniversary of the Fabergé Museum, which allows users to feel like patrons of the legendary jewelry house by creating a unique Easter egg design based on their preferences within half an hour.

This year, the Russian Cultural Foundation awarded a special prize to the “Legend of Karakuz” trailer series by the Academy of Digital Creativity and A1002 Animation School.

The award nominees were evaluated by an expert panel based on audience reach, user experience, innovation, cultural value, and project scalability. For the third consecutive year, the panel was chaired by renowned violist and conductor, People’s Artist of the USSR and Russia, Yuri Bashmet. The jury of the fifth “Culture Online” award included Elena Golovnina, General Director of the “Russian Cultural Foundation,” Mikhail Bryzgalov, General Director of the Russian National Museum of Music and Anna Yalova, Honored Art Worker of Russia, Director of the Central Exhibition Hall “Manege,” as well as Fabio Mastrangelo, Artistic Director of the F. I. Chaliapin Music Theatre, Yuri Molodkovets, artist-photographer of the State Hermitage Museum, and Pavel Peregudov, media producer and founder of Russia’s first AI film competition MyFilm48.

Official website of the Award: culturaonline.ru

Email address for contacting the organizers: award@culturaonline.ru

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

The General Media Partner of The Culture Online International Award is ITAR-TASS News Agency: https://tass.com/

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 nationwide and international exhibitions, festivals, concerts and competitions were held, unique literary treasures were published, and periodicals were launched with the support of the Foundation. The Fund conducts cultural and educational activities across the entire territory of 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 schoolchildren under the federal project “Creative People” of the national project “Culture.”