Culture national project in Tatarstan: new temples of art, grants to amateurs and virtual concert halls

System investments for cultural sector

Opening the public hearings in the crowded hall of the ministry of culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, Deputy Chairman of the State Council Tatyana Larionova noted that their goal is to provide information on the implementation of the project in Tatarstan to those people who are directly engaged in this field. And, of course, to get feedback.

The head of the department, Irada Ayupova, reported on the very extensive information on the implementation of the project to those present in the report “On the implementation of regional projects of the national project Culture”. According to her, the concept of “culture” in Russia has been introduced to the rank of national priorities and recognized as the most important factor in the quality of life. This is stated in the Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin “On national goals and strategic objectives of the Russian Federation in the period up to 2024”.

In accordance with this project, the number of visits to cultural institutions should increase by 15 per cent by 2024, the project itself is focused on system investments in this period and, of course, on the global expansion of the accessibility of cultural institutions.

Three components

In Tatarstan, as Irada Ayupova explained, there have formed three regional projects. These are Cultural Environment, Creative People and Digital Culture. “The regional project Cultural Environment is aimed at improving the quality of life of citizens by modernizing the infrastructure of culture and renovation of institutions — from rural cultural organizations to objects that broadcast professional art. The project Creative People is aimed at supporting creative initiatives that contribute to the self-realization of the population, especially talented children and youth. The aim of the project is also to create accessibility for the residents of the republic of the best examples of music, theatre, choreography and fine arts. The regional project Digital Culture will ensure the widespread introduction of digital technologies in the cultural space of the region,” Irada Ayupova explained in the report.

The federal budget provides additional funding for regional projects, but Tatarstan itself also finances them, certain amounts are provided in the state programme of the Republic of Tatarstan “Development of Culture in the Republic for 2014-2020”. The only project — Creative People — is not financed from the federal budget, its financing has been taken over by the republic.

What are the expectations for these three projects? For example, the project Cultural Environment should bring to the republic two new centres of cultural development, renovation of two regional and municipal cultural institutions, construction and overhaul of three cultural and leisure institutions, two new auto clubs, twelve model municipal libraries, providing the necessary musical instruments, equipping with the latest equipment of twelve cinemas and the overhaul of two theatres.

As for the results of the project Creative People, they are as follows: the organization of fifteen cultural and educational programmes for 200,000 school students, the recruitment of young musicians for the national youth orchestra, grant support for 60 amateur creative teams, the implementation of 18 large-scale festival projects and grant support for the same number of NGOs, the organization of 30 festivals of children's creativity and much more.

The project Digital Environment is to enrich the republic with five virtual concert halls, which is especially important for spectators in remote districts of Tatarstan, 1,500 rare books will be digitalized, 15 online broadcasts of key events in the field of culture will be organised, and 36 multimedia guides to the exhibition projects with the use of technologies of augmented reality will appear.

If we talk about the current year, 21 cultural facilities worth 216,9 million rubles are being built in Tatarstan within the framework of the projects. Forty cultural sites worth 392,9 million rubles are being renovated. Six cinema halls are equipped with the equipment, two model libraries have been created, books are digitized and many other things.

“We are ready for cooperation”

One of the positive examples of implementation of the projects is the intensification in Tatarstan of the volunteer movement in the sphere of culture, about which the representative of this direction, Ekaterina Morozova, said. According to her, volunteers actively work with specialized cultural institutions and educational institutions, implement creative and socio-cultural projects, build their programmes to support important cultural events in the country and key regional events, build tourist routes and organize cultural spaces in cities.

The Ekaterina Morozova's speech was very interesting to the director of the Museum-Reserve in Sviyazhsk, Artem Silkin, who immediately asked the question: “Are you ready to work with museums? If so, we are waiting for you in Sviyazhsk.” According to Morozova's reaction, it was possible to understand that the cooperation with the museums of the island-town with volunteers would take place.

In conclusion, Tatiana Larionova addressed the audience with the proposal to hold similar public hearings everywhere to convey to the population what the national project Culture, patronized by United Russia party, is. They need to find out what resources are available in each district to make the project work for each family.