In Nazarovo, participants of the Smena art festival will create new murals

The Melnichenko Foundation will donate two murals to the city of Nazarovo.

The acceptance of applications for the Smena art festival has ended: the Melnichenko Foundation competition received 301 applications from artists from different parts of Russia. The jury begins voting, selecting finalists and agreeing on sketches. The names of the participants who will get the chance to leave their creative mark on city facades will be known in early May, and in the summer the winners will take up paint – their task is to turn gray walls into real works of art.

Let us remind you that last year the first art object in Nazarovo, “Conqueror of the Depths,” appeared on the facade of gymnasium No. 9, where students study under the special Proclasses.FM program.

This year, murals will appear in seven cities of the country, and among them again is Nazarovo: the city received the special honor of receiving two large-scale art objects at once. Giant drawings will decorate the facade of school No. 11 and the boiler and turbine shop of the Nazarovo State District Power Plant. The choice of the school was not accidental: a major renovation was recently completed here, the walls were updated, and the mural will become a bright addition to the updated appearance of the building, and at the same time a gift for the triple anniversary, which this year is celebrated by the Nazarovo State District Power Plant, the Nazarovo open-pit mine and the city of Nazarovo itself.

If the author of the mural for school No. 11 is still being determined by competition, then for the Nazarovo State District Power Plant everything has already been decided – it will be one of the most famous Russian street artists, Marat Morik.

The day before, a delegation consisting of Stanislav Toporkov, project manager of the Melnichenko Foundation, Vladimir Abikh, curator of the Smena festival, and artist Marat Morik visited the territory of the State District Power Plant. The guests explored the production site, got acquainted with the station's museum collection, including archival photographs and rare exhibits, and also visited the city museum and exhibition center, where director Tatyana Melnikova introduced them to the history of Nazarov and two city-forming enterprises.

In addition, the team traveled through iconic places of the city and noted the extraordinary openness, cordiality and willingness of local residents to help in the implementation of the project.

Art festival “Smena” is an all-Russian platform for supporting contemporary street art, implemented with grant support from the Melnichenko Foundation. The project brings together artists, architects and urbanists in transforming the urban environment: the facades of buildings in the cities of responsibility of SUEK and SGK are transformed into art objects, while maintaining a connection with the industrial heritage and the unique identity of each territory.