Outlines of Culture

1. Moscow and culture

Moscow is a large capital with many unique objects of culture and art. There are about 1800 cultural organizations in Moscow, more than 50% of which are state-owned. However, there is an insufficient number of modern cultural centers and facilities, which sometimes do not fully meet the needs and expectations of Moscow residents; there is a “uniformity” of state cultural institutions; an insignificant role of state cultural institutions in the city cultural agenda; a lack of professionals in the field of contemporary art; an insufficient awareness of contemporary art and social perception of culture as a fundamental global cultural agenda among city residents, etc.

The Moscow City Cultural Strategy is aimed at creating a diverse and accessible cultural space for all people. The main directions include the development of cultural infrastructure and support of creative industries. The main documents related to the project are the National Project “Culture”, the federal project “Cultural Environment” and the state program “Development of Culture and Tourism”.

This project is a tool for rebooting public cultural spaces, bringing new meanings to interiors and visually transforming them through murals.

2. Project goals and implementation

2.1. Main goal and specific objectives

This project is a tool for rebooting public cultural spaces of the Russian capital. It brings new meanings to interiors and visually transforms initially homotypical spaces with the help of color, shapes and composition of murals. Attracting relevant contemporary artists helps to acquire a unique personalized image for locations, naturally “rejuvenate” the target audience of public institutions and build new forms of dialogue between cultural and educational organizations and contemporary artists. Its specific goals are:

• Involving contemporary artists from all over the country in revising the image of urban cultural spaces.
• Consolidating the status of cultural centres and libraries as relevant and progressive points of attraction for visitors and young and advanced target audiences.
• Increasing the social perception of contemporary art by introducing it into the interiors of public cultural environments and educational contexts.
• Popularizing contemporary art among the residents of the capital.

2.2. Development of the project

The Russian art project “Outlines of Culture” (Russian: «Контуры Культуры») was launched by the Moscow Production Center (Mosproducer) of the Department of Culture to improve and develop the cultural infrastructure of Moscow by integrating murals into public spaces in order to create a new image of public institutions with the help of contemporary art. It is in line with the development policy of Moscow and shapes the image of the city as a world cultural capital by strengthening the role of culture and art among the population, modernizing public institutions and supporting cultural initiatives of young contemporary artists in Russia. The Curator of the Russian art project “Outlines of Culture” is Yulia Yurchenko – art curator, producer, Art Director of the Moscow Production Center, member of the Union of Artists, included in the Moscow Government list of “100 leaders of urban development”, founder of Double Y art-integration bureau.

Public cultural spaces of Moscow are repositories of data on art and cultural heritage of different eras. Using various materials, techniques, colors, forms, compositions and knowledge, painters in their murals create images that are accessible to people of all ages and levels of expertise. They can both educate Moscow residents about the world of art and transform the interiors of public cultural spaces.

The following stages of project organization and implementation can be distinguished:

1. conceptualization;
2. signature style and website development; 
3. selection and coordination of sites;
4. drafting of project documentation;
5. search for partners and formation of an expert committee;
6. preparation and launch of information and advertising campaign;
7. starting a competitive selection (Open Call) for artists from all over Russia;
8. technical selection of entries (in accordance with the project rules);
9. final in-person selection of entries by an expert commission;
10. announcement of the winners and initial communication with artists on the project;
11. conclusion of the contract with artists/sites, purchase of necessary materials;
12. technical preparation of the walls of cultural spaces for painting;
13. realization of artists’ works in cultural spaces.

“Outlines of Culture” is implemented implemented by the Moscow Production Center, supervised by the Department of Culture of Moscow. This project includes a wide range of resource partners, information partners, as well as members of the jury.

The project involves a competitive selection (open call) for artists from all over Russia to create works in cultural spaces.

As a result:

• More than 1000 applications and 1500 sketches from contemporary artists from 80 cities of Russia that took part in the competitive selection of the art project “Outlines of Culture”.
• During 3 seasons of the project, 61 winners were selected by experts of the Russian art industry in a twostage selection process.
• The project implementation took place from April to September in 2022, 2023 and in 2024. The project winners created more than 50 murals and 9 art objects in cultural public institutions of Moscow, namely: cultural centers, libraries, theaters, music schools, etc., transforming more than 5000 m2. Each artist painted between 65 and 150 m2.
• In 2023, the works of the winners were presented in the halls of the creative space “New Manege” in the center of Moscow at the All-Russian Festival of Contemporary Art “STRITARTERY FEST”. Over 3.5 thousand people visited the event over three days.
• In 2024, from August 28 to September 5, within the framework of “STRITARTERIA FEST ‘ at the forum-festival ’Territory of the Future. Moscow 2030”, an art object was created in the small amphitheater of Zaryadye Park, dedicated to the all-Russian art project ‘Contours of Culture’ and painted by the winner of all three seasons, street art artist Stepan Krasnov (310). The total passability of the small amphitheater during the festival “STREET-ART FEST” (8 days) amounted to more than 50 000 people.
• The number of visitors to cultural institutions in Moscow, where the painting of artists-winners of the project took place for the period 2022-2024, is more than 4,000,000+ people.
• The project was widely publicized in the media – large-scale advertising campaign on different platforms; support from more than 700 media outlets that published information about the main events of the project in their open sources; numerous TV reports and radio broadcasts.

3. Impacts

3.1. Direct impacts

The project modernized Moscow’s cultural venues through color, form, and modern interior practices (cultural centers, libraries, theaters, musical schools, etc.), which solved the problem of the uniformity of public cultural institutions and the insufficient number of modern centers for cultural events for young people. The project contributes to educating the Moscow population about the history of art of different times by integrating the works of young contemporary artists into cultural centers and libraries. This has helped to address the lack of awareness of contemporary art among the capital’s residents. Moreover, the country’s young contemporary artists got a chance to gain support and promotion, as well as to contribute to the creation of the unique platforms for creative expression and integration of art.

3.2. Evaluation

The evaluation is based on the successful implementation of the project over the period 2022-2024 namely:

• Expansion of art directions of the artists participating in the project (street art, public art, digital art, etc.).
• Increase of painted areas (from 15 to 150 square meters).
• Increased information coverage of the project in the country (from 700 media outlets supporting the project).
• Increase in the number of visitors to cultural centers and libraries participating in the project’s modernization (more than 4,000,000 visitors).
• Expansion of the geography of project participants (more than 80 cities participating in the project).
• Scaling up the project thanks to the support of the Moscow City Department of Culture and launching it on a regular basis.

The country's young contemporary artists got a chance to gain support and promotion, and to contribute to the creation of the unique platforms for creative expression and integration of art.

3.3. Key factors

The key success factors of the project are related to its contribution towards:

• Broadening the cultural horizons of Moscow residents and tourists.
• Supporting the educational agenda.
• Creating a cultural dialogue about the world of art, especially contemporary art, that would be accessible to people of all ages and levels of training.
• Improving and developing the cultural infrastructure of Moscow.
• Shaping the image of the city as a world cultural capital.

3.4. Continuity

In spring 2025, the fourth season of the art project supported by the Department of Culture of Moscow will begin. It will involve libraries, cultural centers and new cultural institutions of the capital.

Also, it is planned to:

1. Create tourist routes for residents and guests of the Russian capital;
2. Create author’s miniatures based on interior paintings, which will form a collection for traveling exhibitions;
3. Integrate the images into the window openings of the New Manege building - a cultural heritage monument in the center of Moscow - in order to unite the cultural code, historical heritage and modernity;
4. Integrate the works of the winners into the Russian festivals of contemporary art.

4. Further information

Moscow was a candidate for the sixth UCLG Mexico City – Culture 21 International Award (November 2023 – March 2024). The jury for the award drew up its final report in June 2024, and requested that the Committee on Culture promote this project as one of the good practices to be implemented through Agenda 21 for culture.

This article was written by Anastasia Makarycheva, Senior specialist and Yulia Yurchenko, Curator of the Russian art project “Outlines of Culture, Art Director of the Moscow Production Center (Mosproducer), Moscow, Russian Federation.

Contact: makarychevaaa (at) mos.ru, y.yurchenko (at) mosproducer.ru, art (at) mosproducer.ru
Website: www.kk-project.ru/