NEWSLETTER, OCTOBER2020
In 2020, ASEF received a grant from the U.S.-Russia Peer-to-Peer Dialogue Program of Eurasia Foundation https://www.eurasia.org/Programs/p2p to establish a cultural exchange and communication with Siberian cultural institutions in Akademgorodok and develop an exhibition of Minnesotan artists to be presented in Novosibirsk in the summer of 2021.
Here we are introducing our partners.
The Integral Museum-apartment of Everyday Life in Akademgorodok is a private museum of living history. It exists since May 2014 in the very center of the scientists’ township and tells about the early years of this unique place. Its exposition is based on original documents and artifacts showcasing the lives of famous scientists, and also on the archives of the legendary youth club “Under the Integral Sign” founded in the 60-s under the motto: “People, integrate!”
The interior of the museum is decorated in the style of the 60-s, and its contents are not stored in glass cases. On the contrary, they are presented as elements of everyday life and are used by the authors of the project Anastasia Blizniuk and Alexander Stepanov, who guide the museum tours, invite guests to historical soirees, organize concerts and shows, arrange for photo-ops and shoot movies. Besides, they just inhabit this unique atmosphere.
The museum is also named Integral since it really integrates stories, things, times, people, and fates. The main focus of the museum
exposition is the birth and development of Akademgorodok founded by an outstanding scientist Mikhail A. Lavrentiev, but it also incorporates the objects of everyday lives in 20-th century.
Alexander’s collection includes many specimens of military uniforms of the World War I; books, furniture and household items of the early 20-s century. History of the World War II is another important theme. Alexander takes part in research expeditions, military and historical reconstructions. He can share many interesting details of the camp and field life on the both sides of the frontline of two world wars, demonstrating original military equipment. Anastasia appends these narratives with her stories of civil life during the war, paying a special attention to all aspects of life in wartime Novosibirsk.
Unfortunately, many artifacts reach the museum straight out of the garbage bins – and the theme of family archives and articles of value thrown out as trash is represented as a separate page of the exposition. For instance, who can put a value on two hundred letters
from the frontline: correspondence of the entire family from 1941-1945.
The museum contains one more impressive exhibit: Anastasia collects vintage apparel which she exhibits at various events in Novosibirsk and in addition, organizes lectures on the history of fashion of 20-th century. The collection includes over a hundred hats and bonnets, dress gowns of famous women of Akademgorodok, purses and shoes, gloves and jewelry, samples of wedding fashion: this is what one can not only see but also try on during museum tours and retro-styled red carpet events.
Do you want to see a collection of old cameras, watches and coins, embroidery and handicrafts, sewing machines and typewriters, musical instruments and equipment, perfumes and cosmetics, old and Soviet-era china and porcelain? Enigmatic antiques, toys and old collectibles, educational, medical and artistic tools, sports equipment, articles of everyday lives: all that and even more is represented in our museum-apartment. Visit our museum!
Anastasia Blizniuk
Novosibirsk, Akademgorodok
www.integralmuseum.ru
Integral 2.0: Current Activities
The non-profit non-government organization “Integral 2.0” was established on the basis on the Integral Museum-apartment of Everyday Life of Akademgorodok.
Besides museum tours, archive work, expositions and educational events, the organization’s current activities include musical and literature events, meetings with notable people, vintage fashion shows and retro-photosessions.
conference, street retro-show and gala-concert of songwriters, see
htpps://nsu.ru/26202.
In continuation of this initiative, the second conference dedicated to the study of Akademgorodok’s social history was held in May 2019 at the “Boiling Point” site at Technopark
has become an epicenter of multifaceted activities directed at the development and preservation of historical conscience, creating conditions for securing an access to cultural values and leading conversations in global and local historical topics. Using our materials, students of the Novosibirsk State University and high school students develop their course papers, diploma and competition projects, film makers create documentaries : “Guardians of Siberia”
“City of Scientists” at the Russia tele-channel
and multiple short TV clips, newspaper publish articles
theaters produce performances (“e.g., “Elementary Particles” in Staryi Dom Theater. In Summer 2018 the Integral Museum was awarded the first prize in the competition of tourist video-presentations “Miracle of Russia” representing the entire Siberian Federal District
In 2019 the museum made the short list of 10 top regional museum teams in Potanin Foundation initiative “Museum. The Power of a Place”.
The Museum activities have outgrown the capacity of a private apartment and adjacent basement, provided free of charge by the inhabitants of Pravdy Street, 4. The museum team has won a grant of the Presidential Grant Foundation
Anastasia Blizniuk
Novosibirsk, Akademgorodok
www.integralmuseum.ru
and is developing a new project in partnership with a private business to utilize part of the space in their family restaurant. The synergy of the projects will allow to carry out full-scale educational work, arrange large group tours, work with archive materials, promote and popularize the Novosibirsk Scientific Center as the place of cultural and societal development on the national and international scale.