The desire to capture your vision of the world on a stone surface was inherent in creative people from the time of cavemen. Since then, people have changed a lot, but in any country in the world at all times there were those who tried to transform walls or make a masterpiece out of a fence. Even 30-40 years ago, street artists were arrested for vandalism, and their work was called daub.
Nowadays, such people are called street art masters and entire cities are at their disposal. Among them there are recognized artists who are invited to work in world capitals, and thousands of people see their paintings every day.
The Museum of Street Art (St. Petersburg) allows not only to get acquainted with a new type of art, but also unites creative people.
Amazing museum
Who would have thought that the cultural capital of Russia, St. Petersburg, would not only give its streets to the hands of artists, but also create a museum of their creativity? This is an unprecedented recognition of a new art form.
A few years ago, graffiti was banned all over the world, and craftsmen using this technique were fined for damaging public property. Today, city dwellers were able to evaluate how the appearance of their houses changes if paintings appear on them.
The world is so arranged that there are always those who strive to turn gray concrete and stone into a bright and colorful creation. Thanks to such talented activists, the dirty facades of houses turn into art galleries in the open air.
The Street Art Museum was founded in 2012 at the Laminate Plant . Once the largest production in the USSR for the production of finishing materials for subway escalators, elevators and trains in the dashing 90s, it became unprofitable and closed.
The idea to create a street art museum (address: 84 Revolution Highway) on such a large space filled with workshops and gray peeling walls came to investors of the once unprofitable enterprise during a creative party of graffiti masters. In 2012, the legal registration of the event was made, but it took almost 2 more years to bring the idea to life. During this period, the concept of the future museum was formulated, artists were found and the direction of its development was determined.
So in 2014, the museum of street art was opened by the Casus Pacis exhibition, which was attended by more than 60 artists from different countries. This event became resonant in the world of art, as it enabled beginner graffiti masters to show their talents, because anyone can submit an online application for participation in the museum's expositions, providing its organizers with information about themselves and examples of their work.
Currently, the street art museum consists of two parts:
- Permanent exposure is located on the territory of the working plant of laminated plastics. It includes not only the works of famous masters, but also the paintings of beginning talented artists, who become more and more every year.
- A public venue is provided for temporary exhibitions and various creative events.
The Museum of Street Art (St. Petersburg) is popular even among young people who are far from fine art. The territory of the plant has become both a creative workshop and a place for youth parties.
Museum Tours
Naturally, the best time to get acquainted with the museum's expositions is the period from spring to autumn. Winter is not very conducive to festivities on the factory floor, however, every weekend there are two excursions.
At 13.00 the guide leads guests to that part of the factory where a permanent collection is exhibited. A story is being written about both the authors of the works and the concept that they wanted to convey to their viewers.
At 14.00, an excursion is held on the latest works of the masters, which are constantly updated with new compositions. You should not think that the street art museum is dedicated only to wall painting. Here you can get acquainted with the work of young sculptors, graphic artists and installation masters.
Entrance to the museum is paid - 350 rubles. regular ticket, 250 - preferential. Wheelchairs are not allowed to enter the territory of the plant located on 84 Revolution Highway, as this is an operating enterprise where safety precautions should be observed.
Museum related events
In the warm season, the life of an unusual museum is filled with numerous events. Concerts, exhibitions, film screenings, master classes from leading street art professionals, festivals and lectures are held here. In winter, the events do not stop, they are only transferred to places suitable for this.
For example, the performance of the museum’s technical director, who spoke about all the difficulties and deadlines that accompany each exhibition, was unusually interesting. In the short time that the museum has existed, more than a hundred authors have shown their talent in the territory of the laminated plastics factory (Revolution Highway 84).
For the realization of their creative ideas, completely different materials were needed: from construction waste to build a raft and a 90-meter banner to charred boards for installation. All questions on the search and delivery of the necessary “props” for artists are decided by the museum’s technical director Alexander Mushchenko.
No less interesting are master classes designed for audiences of different ages. Here, children will be taught how to make a beautiful kite with their own hands, and aspiring artists to paint space using an airbrush. At the same time, the master works with four students, teaching them how to create an extraordinary picture of outer space on a canvas measuring 40x30 cm. The cost of these workshops is 1,500 rubles, but you need to sign up for them in advance, as they are held only 3 times a week for 2 lessons per day, and there are many who wish to create their own cosmic world.
In general, the street art museum is more than just showing wall paintings to everyone. This is a creative workshop where young people reveal their potential, learn all the facets of their abilities and let the world into their lives.
Museum educational programs
Sharing talent is the calling of any creative person. That is why eminent masters from different countries come to the address of the Highway of the Revolution, the street art museum to acquaint everyone with the techniques that they own in painting, drawing or sculpture.
This place is the only creative workshop in the world where they teach the latest art form. But besides this, the museum venue becomes an “arena” for heated discussions about the mission of street art, its further development and what it should give to the outside world. It is in such disputes that ideas arise for the following works or exhibitions.
Each project, implemented on the territory of the factory, where the street art museum is located, became an event for the whole city.
Museum projects: "The Fifth Element"
As a rule, artists collaborating with a museum embody their ideas not only on its territory, but also on a city-wide scale. For example, the Fifth Element project is dedicated to the fight against evil through education. Its main “face” was Lyceum No. 1, around which on the firewalls (blind walls of buildings made of fire-fighting materials) of four neighboring houses there are 4 important elements - creativity, energy, science and nature.
Each element was brought to life by a separate artist. So nature went to the master of Perm, Alexander Zhunev. The theme of creativity was embodied by the artist and graphic artist from Poland Kreemos. The theme of energy was revealed by Muscovite Akue, and science was illustrated by Floksy, an illustrator from St. Petersburg.
Each artist has his own vision of the element that he has got and the technique of writing it, but they are all united among themselves.
Art landing
The idea of transforming the city through thematic projects from the Street Art Museum was so popular with the townspeople and its authorities that 4 more buildings were given to the masters for creative experiments.
This time the theme was sports and music. So on the buildings appeared a cyclist (“Speed”), football players (the picture “Reason”), a tinker and piano keys. Significantly, artists who have entered the creative excitement rarely can stop there. This time they went beyond the program, the nearby hotel, the courtyard of the clinic and the lyceum were transformed.
The uniqueness of workshop X1
Another creative project of the museum is the provision of a legal platform for everyone who wants to show their abilities for street art. For this, an abandoned workshop X1 was chosen, in eleven halls of which there are 1,500 m2 of old battered walls.
To date, it presents more than 30 works by novice artists and the development of the workshop space is just beginning. All images differ in different styles and performance techniques, and the plot reveals topics that are closest to authors.
Thus, the old building gains a new life, the voices of people are again heard in it, but now it’s not the workers who produce plastic, but the creators and their fans.
Exhibition "Reason for Peace"
The first exhibition in 2014, organized on the territory of the street art museum, was originally dedicated to the theme “100 years since the start of World War I,” but events in the modern world turned out to be much more important for masters, so the scope of the topic was greatly expanded.
It was attended by 62 people who turned the public site of the museum into a creative workshop for sculptors, graphic artists and artists. The main concept of the exhibition was the disclosure of the potential of a small person to a big city and its streets.
The event included discussions on these topics and a music festival. As always, the unusual attracts a lot of curious people, so the opening of the museum did not go unnoticed by both the townspeople and representatives of the creative intelligentsia.
"Remember tomorrow"
The success of the event, which opened the "entrance" to an unusual museum, inspired its curators and masters on the following topics. So in 2015, all previous works in the public part of the museum were deleted, and a new exhibition “Remember Tomorrow” took on life there.
25 masters from different cities of Russia took part in it, revealing to the general public their vision of the future in the world. What attracts such events is that they are in constant development, because while the audience admires the ready-made street masterpieces and installations, the masters continue to draw new works.
The value of the street art museum
It is difficult to overestimate what the curators of the museum do to develop the creative potential of Russian youth. Created initially for street art masters, it has become a “home” for representatives of all creative professions. To make themselves known to the world, to gain recognition, that is what young people want, and they get this opportunity in the walls of an old factory.