Museum of Nonconformist Art
Ligovsky Prospekt 53
Website (EN)
Right in the heart of the city lies a true institution: founded almost 30 years ago, the Museum of Nonconformist Art preserves the legacy of then-Leningrad’s underground arts scene. In the years since, the venue has expanded to include art pieces from international artists, as well, though its central focus remains the same.
What to see:
Until April 19, the museum is hosting a retrospective of the late Necrorealist artist Valery Morozov, whose mixed-media works touched on the physical and metaphysical aspects of life and death.
Sevkabel Port
Kozhevennaya Liniya 40
Website (RU)
Perhaps the city’s most active public space, Sevkabel Port is a former cable factory-turned-attraction point for everyone from foodies to art lovers. Here, lowkey art galleries and creative spaces coexist with major exhibitions that draw massive crowds of visitors for weeks on end.
What to see:
Until October 18, Sevkabel will be home to Trajectories of Intervals, an exhibition of multimedia works on the subjects of motion and choice from an international team of artists. Visitors can build their own “trajectory” by mixing up the order in which they see each artwork – as well as attend a series of audiovisual performances (starting on March 26 with a meditative digital piece by the artist Digital Moss).
NAMEGALLERY
Bolshaya Konyushennaya St. 2
Website (EN)
Founded in 2011, NAMEGALLERY is described as first and foremost a space for human- and humanity-centric art by up-and-coming artists, including via collaborative projects with art institutions, museums, and foundations. Exhibitions at the gallery lean towards “traditional” physical media, such as paintings, sculpture, and installations.
What to see:
Until April 26, NAMEGALLERY will host an exhibition titled Triumphs: Experiences of Local Divinations. Here, young artists from across Russia have reframed Tarot card imagery for the modern era. As the official description explains, visitors can treat the exhibition as their personal Tarot deck and find answers to their questions through intuitive interpretation.
DiDi Gallery
Bolshoy Prospekt VO 62
Website (EN)
Since its founding in 2003, DiDi Gallery has been dedicated to highlighting the work of Moscow- and Leningrad-based underground artists of the ‘50s to ’80s. However, in recent years, the venue has also become a platform for contemporary artists.
What to see:
Until April 19, the gallery will house Two Highways, an exhibition of works by the late Boris Koshelokhov, an influential Soviet-Russian artist whose creative thesis of “painting the soul onto anything and in any way” became a perfect encapsulation of the nonconformist movement. This particular project features thousands of sketches and paintings of universal imagery that the artist deemed integral to the human experience from the Stone Age all the way into modernity.
For more art insights, check out our guide to St. Petersburg’s street art, learn all about Russia’s first-ever Master’s program in science art, or follow the Russian Art tag for other writing on the subject.
