XXII Annual International Conference «Genius Loci of Russian Cities» from the Cycle «Leontief Readings»
On March 1-2, 2024, the XXII Annual International Conference «Genius Loci of Russian Cities» as a part of the «Leontiev Readings» cycle, was held. Participants included Prof. Valery Gordin, analyst of the laboratory Anastasia Polomarchuk and Valeria Zalozhnykh, a fourth-year student of the Bachelor programme in «Public Policy and Analytics».
Anastasia Polomarchuk and Valeria Zalozhnykh presented their report titled «Cultural Clusters in a Large City: Intertwining of Fates or Handmade Meanings». The study examined the history of cultural centersand their contribution to the preservation and development of cultural heritage. Particular attention was given to the contemporary functions of cultural centers and their adaptation to new conditions, as well as an analysis of their significance as venues for cultural and social interaction.
The report also discussed evolution of cultural centersas people’s houses in the late 19th century into important cultural centers during the Soviet period. The analysis included understanding of current functionining of these centers concert and theatrical, educational and entertainment activities in the format of preserving sectional and club forms and commercial activities, along with their role as communicative spaces. The main research methodology were semantic analysis of visitors’ feedback texts and content analysis of posts about events at cultural centers on the social network “VKontakte”. Key aspects of the study involved evaluating the current state of cultural centers, their traditional and new functions and their role in the development of cultural and creative industries.
The research highlighted the recognition of the need to transform cultural centers into creative clusters for creation of new cultural meanings and adaptation to modern conditions.
A publication of the conference proceedings is expected to be released soon.
