VAC Foundation was founded in 2009 in Moscow by the will of Leonid Mikhelson and Teresa Iarocci Mavica, with the aim of rethinking the production and dissemination of art and culture, with interdisciplinary projects that transcend borders by re-proposing that Russian model of “house of culture ”, in which the focus is on the public.

In 2017, a space was opened in Venice, based at the Palazzo delle Zattere, in order to create a link and give space to contemporary Russian culture and practice, towards the international artistic context.

Photo Andrea Avezzù – Courtesy metropolitano

A few days ago the new Ges-2 House of Culture project was inaugurated in Moscow, born thanks to the renovation of a former Novatek power plant, located behind the Kremlin, with a project curated by Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW).

The archistar wanted to maintain the historicity of the building with a respectful restoration, creating an exhibition space inside that would offer full freedom to the visitor: the merit of this disused space was to allow the architectural imagination to wander, creating a new place and innovative, practical and enriching.

© Renzo Piano Building Workshop – Courtesy Inexhibit

The V-A-C Foundation thus concludes a real art district, together with the Tretyakov Galleries and the Shchusev State Architecture Museum, the Kremlin Museum and the Pushkin Garage.

This new space aims to update and enrich the Russian cultural landscape, focusing on innovative exhibition and editorial programs, with events ranging from readings to festivals, exhibitions and performances, thanks to the four areas that govern the building.

The Civic Center, with free access, with the library and a space for installations; the Reception Center which also includes an auditorium; the Exhibition Center with its structure dedicated to the display of any type of work of art and object; the Educational Center, dedicated to both specialists and the general public.

Courtesy tsar-events.com

Currently the program includes the performance dedicated to the soap opera Santa Barbara, in “Santa Barbara – A living sculpture” curated by Ragnar Kjartansson and two temporary exhibitions, “To Moscow! To Moscow! To Moscow”, also curated by Kjartansson and which gives visibility to Russian contemporary artists and” When Gondola engines were taken to bits “, which with works by Russian artists who revisit the culture of carnival.