PUBLIC ART PROJECTS OF THE THE PLOSCHAD MIRA MUSEUM CENTER AND KRASNOYARSK MUSEUM BIENNALE (1993-2025)
Abstract and keywords
Abstract:
The Krasnoyarsk Museum Biennial, one of the oldest in Russia, has been held at the Ploschad Mira Museum Center since 1995. During this time, the project has become a notable phenomenon in Siberian contemporary art at the regional, federal, and international levels. For Krasnoyarsk residents, it is an important landmark on the city's cultural map, an opinion leader, and a driver of creative development. A distinctive feature of the biennial format is its expansion into urban space, beyond traditional exhibition halls. In 2009, the Krasnoyarsk Museum Biennial received the Innovation Prize for Contemporary Art, and starting from this year artists projects beyond the museum's walls became particularly prominent. In 2025, the Ploschad Mira Museum Center was named Cosmoscow's "Museum of the Year." The aim of this study was to examine how the biennial's participants engaged with the specificity of their site, using public art projects from the past 30 years. The article identified the stages of evolution of the biennial's public art projects within the framework of site-specific and conceptual approaches to working with site and urban communities. The study was conducted using materials such as catalogues, the biennial's online archive, media publications, reviews, and interviews with participants, as well as online forums and social media groups in Krasnoyarsk. Interviews were conducted with artistic director Sergei Kovalevsky and curator Oksana Budulak. Approximately 50 biennial projects served as the empirical basis for the study. The research draws on art history and cultural studies tools, employing contextual and comparative research methods.

Keywords:
: Krasnoyarsk Museum Biennale, contemporary art, public art, site-specific, participatory art
References

1. Tenth Krasnoyarsk Museum Biennale. Love of space. (n.d.). Available at https://mira1.ru/exhibitions/180 (accessed December 10, 2025).

2. Kartseva, E. A. (2021). Evolution of art in public spaces: Transformation of institutional models. Artikul’t, 4(44), 86–93. Available at https://articult.rsuh.ru/articult-44-4-2021/articult-44-4-2021-kartseva.php (accessed December 10, 2025).

3. Kartseva, E. A., Zvyagintseva, M. L. (2020). Public art: Terminological approaches and identification criteria. Artikul’t, 1(37), 58–73. Available at https://articult.rsuh.ru/articult-37-1-2020/articult-37-1-2020-kartseva-zvyagintseva.php (accessed December 10, 2025).

4. Kovalevskiy, S. (n.d.). “Not only to develop the museum through art, but to develop art through the museum”: On the Krasnoyarsk Museum Biennale. Available at https://artandyou.ru/interview/art-professionals/iskusstvo-razvivat-s-pomoshhyu-muzeya-sergej-kovalevskij-o-krasnoyarskoj-muzejnoj-biennale/ (accessed December 10, 2025).

5. Kwon, M. (1997). One place after another: Notes on site specificity. October, 80. Available at https://monoskop.org/images/d/d3/Kwon_Miwon_One_Place_after_Another_Site-Specific_Art_and_Locational_Identity.pdf (accessed December 10, 2025).

6. Kwon, M. (2002). Public art as publicity. Available at https://transversal.at/transversal/0605/kwon/en (accessed December 10, 2025).

7. Lacy, S. (Ed.). (1995). Mapping the terrain: New genre public art. Seattle: Bay Press. Available at https://monoskop.org/images/7/7c/Lacy_Suzanne_ed_Mapping_the_Terrain_New_Genre_Public_Art_1995.pdf (accessed December 10, 2025).

8. Lefebvre, H. (1996). Writings on cities. (E. Kofman, E. Lebas, Eds.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Part 2: The right to the city.

9. Eleventh Krasnoyarsk Museum Biennale. Practices of contact. (n.d.). Available at https://biennale.ru/praktiki-soprikasaniya/direction/pablik-art (accessed December 10, 2025).

10. Public art projects “Stations of distance”. (n.d.). Available at https://biennale.ru/dal/direction/pablik-art-proekty-stancii-dali (accessed December 10, 2025).

11. Public art vs city: Dialogue or confrontation? (2021). Proceedings of the scientific conference. Moscow: State Institute for Art Studies, June 22–23. Available at https://sias.ru/upload/iblock/293/Public_tsvet-_1_.pdf (accessed December 10, 2025).

12. Sertakova, E. A. (2024). “Sharypovo case”: Painful memory and oblivion in the culture of a Siberian city (based on documentary film analysis). Northern Archives and Expeditions, 8(1), 64–73. AQVWCU.

13. Sitnikova, A. A., Kolesnik, M. A. (2025). Specific features of the conceptual design of the Krasnoyarsk Museum Biennale (1995–2025). Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences, 18(9), 1889–1897. WLJZZV.

Login or Create
* Forgot password?