Thursday, March 14

Festival of Ice Sculptures

In downtown St. Petersburg, the annual Festival of Ice Sculptures will bring together majestic installations by the best ice sculpting artists from all across Russia. Inspired by scenes of everyday life, the masters turned 200 tons of ice into an array of frosty works of art, thus saying their farewell to winter.

Friday, March 15

Mstislav Farmakovsky. 150th Anniversary of the Artist’s Birth

  • Until May 13, 10 am - 8 pm (Mon), 10 am - 6 pm (Wed, Fri-Sun), 1-9 pm (Thu)
  • The State Russian Museum
  • 550 rubles (270 rubles for students) – tickets here

Another exhibition at the Russian Museum, another reason to head downtown. Starting on March 15, the museum invites visitors to enjoy a spectacular display of works by Mstislav Farmakovsky, an artist and a chief curator at the museum. Among the exhibition’s gems are the master’s paintings and drawings, as well as archival materials, including a handwritten journal.

Saturday, March 16

Poetic readings in English

If you’re missing your lit classes, sign up for poetic readings at New Holland Island, which are currently devoted to the greatest of the great – William Shakespeare. At the coming meeting, you will have the chance to talk about Romeo and Juliet and meet other literature enthusiasts – all while practicing your English.

Sunday, March 17

Maslenitsa at Yelagin Island

It's Maslenitsa week in Russia, which means lots of celebrations are on their way. This weekend, join the festivities at Yelagin Island. On deck is a slew of fun activities, including singing, dancing, and, of course, eating blinis to your belly’s content.

Monday, March 18

From the Komi Republic to the Banks of the Neva

  • Until April 3, 11 am - 10 pm daily
  • ArtMuza
  • Free

Explore the remote republic of Komi whilst in St. Pete at ArtMuza. On view is a collection of watercolors by the artist Nadezhda Kamyshova, who draws inspiration from the nature of the region with its vastness, crystal-clear mountain rivers, as well as special, tasty, and clean air, in addition to splendid landscapes of the northern capital.

Tuesday, March 19

Next to Parajanov

  • Starting from March 15, 11 am - 7 pm (Mon, Wed, Sat-Sun), 12-9 pm (Tue, Thu, Fri)
  • ROSPHOTO
  • 300 rubles (200 rubles for students) – tickets here

The ROSPHOTO Exhibition Hall will celebrate what would have been Sergei Parajanov’s 100th birthday with a display exploring the director’s life and career path. At the heart of the exhibition are portraits of the director, photos from movie sets, as well as posters and drawings of movies he had produced.

Wednesday, March 20

Glass Town

  • Starting from March 15, 12-8 pm except for Mon and Tue
  • Art of Foto
  • Free

For an unusual artistic take, check out the soon-to-open exhibition at Art of Foto to see how the artist Dmitry Tykvin makes use of light and glass vessels of varied shapes and purposes to achieve camera-like images, aka photograms. The artist uses these images to go back to the basics of things away from the cultural meanings they have acquired.