The New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater, the European University at St. Petersburg, and the Center of Contemporary Culture in Barcelona will describe the European experience of the transformation of urban spaces.
From April 28th through May 29th 2016, the exhibition “Polis: 7 Lessons from the European Prize for Urban Public Space” will be open at the New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater as part of the “Ideal City” program.
The “Polis” project presents seven models proposed by European designers for solving problems of urban memory, mobility, cultural diversity, the balance of cultural, socially significant and commercial zones, and the self-organization and self-governance of citizens.
Now, when people living in large cities account for more than half of the Earth’s population, the city, as a form of organization and one of the greatest artifacts created by humankind, is faced with such serious problems that doubt has been cast on the very possibility of its future existence. Urban areas are constantly expanding, populations are growing, and there is a need to satisfy new demands. Problems with poverty, crime, and the environment are sharply manifested, and often they must be addressed through a radical transformation, which, in fact, seriously impacts urban society, depriving it of forms of traditional, collective ways of life.
The European competition for achievements in the field of organizing urban public space, the “European Prize for Urban Public Space,” aims at recognizing and presenting cases of the successful introduction of democratic conceptions of the city to a broad public. In caring about the preservation of the city as such, the prize honors examples of the successful transformation of urban spaces, which, in improving their infrastructure, also stimulate public life: they create an accessible environment, enhance comfort, develop civic activism, and simply encourage communication.
The exhibition, created by the Center of Contemporary Culture in Barcelona, will be accompanied by open public lectures organized with support from the European University at St. Petersburg.
Program of Public Events:
28 April 6.00 pm OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE EXHIBITION (welcome reception). Presentation of the European Prize for the Best Urban Public Space.
7.30 pm OFF-HOUR LESSONS, OR ON THE USE OF THE EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE FOR RUSSIA. Opening remarks from the European University at St. Petersburg professor and member of the Expert Council for the European Prize, Olga Sezneva.
FROM THE COMMON TO THE PUBLIC: THE CITY AS A PLATFORM FOR ACTION. Lecture by Alex Jimenez, architect, curator, and permanent staffer of the Center of Contemporary Culture in Barcelona.
ROUND TABLE with speakers and urban scholars from the European University at St. Petersburg on the Russian experience of transforming public spaces.
12 May 7.30 pm CITY WATERS: FOR WHICH THEY’RE LOVED, HOW THEY’RE USED, AND THE ASSOCIATED RISKS. Lecture by Sophie Watson, professor of geography and urban planning at the Open University, UK. The lecture is organized with support from the Center for Science and Technology Studies at the European University at St. Petersburg.
26 May 7.30 pm PETERSBURG IN SCENTS AND SOUNDS. Lecture by Vladimir Lapin, Doctor of Historical Sciences, head of the Department of the Modern History of Russia of the St. Petersburg Institute of History, Russian Academy of Sciences, professor at the European University at St. Petersburg.
Entrance to the exhibition is free.
Lecture tickets cost 300 rubles. Tickets are available at the box office of the New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater.
The exhibition runs from April 28th through May 29th 2016, from 1.00 pm until 10.00 pm.
It will be closed on May 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.
Address: Fontanka embankment, 49A
Media contacts:
European University at St. Petersburg:
Alla Samoletova, +79062587877, asamoletova@eu.spb.ru
Masha Bratischeva, +79217692729, mbratischeva@eu.spb.ru
New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater:
Oksana Tokranova, +79219547613, oksana.tokranova@alexandrinsky.ru
Yana Postovalova, +79132826492, new@alexandrinsky.ru