Creative industry was presented in Karaganda and a new mural was opened

On September 26, a press conference was held in Karaganda, which began with the presentation of a new unique mural located on the back facade of the building of the Karaganda Stanislavsky Russian Drama Theater. The location for the art object was not chosen by chance. The place has been problematic and unkempt for a long time. The presentation of the mural was attended by artists and cultural figures of the Karaganda region.

The initiator of the project was the Center for Creative Industries of the city of Karaganda, represented by Irina Kharitonova.

Today my dream came true. I've always wanted to do something important and meaningful for my hometown. Something that will be associated with modern art and beauty, which will bring a new breath to the city. Art prevails in Karaganda, so we find a lot of responses in this project. We have many artists and many artists who express their position, emotions and feelings through street art. This is an open gallery under the sky, thanks to which every Karaganda resident will be able to find inspiration outside the gallery. It was bad at this place: unkempt territory, garbage. Homeless people lived here, and there were no manholes on the wells. When we lit the lanterns, I had the feeling that I was again a child who got into some fairy tale and felt magic. The creative industry is primarily cool projects that help transform the economy of the state, bringing new colors to the life of every citizen of our country. The object that we see today will be the starting point for the development of our city. Creativity should help bring in money. It is very important when all spheres of creative industries take part in creative projects: public figures; banks; public sector; theaters; independent artists. We all joined together to create a collaboration and make a very important social project. I want to tell the young guys to believe in themselves, their dreams and not be afraid to realize them. Until you take a step towards meeting your dream, it will never come true," Irina Kharitonova shared. 

The project was supported by the JUSAN ecosystem of the bank and JSC NC Kazakh Tourism, which created a separate department responsible for the development of the creative sector. 

Once we all believed in tourism – now it's time to believe in the creative economy. Such projects undoubtedly strengthen this belief. It's not my first time in Karaganda. It reminds me of my hometown where I grew up. Karaganda is an American Boston. Academic and intellectual capital of Kazakhstan. The creative industry is exactly what the region lacked so much. I see that the city is burning with this: meetings, exhibitions, public talk are taking place. It is very difficult to find the right niche in Karaganda, because the region is developed everywhere. There are alternative theaters, independent artists, choreographers, urbanists," said Kairat Sadvakasov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of JSC NC Kazakh Tourism, who oversees the development of creative industries.

The head of the theater, Danube Espayev, shared that the theater always stands for the support of creative ideas and is already preparing to continue landscaping the territory.

During the work on the mural, a large number of collaborations took place: the idea of creating an art cafe appeared and the question of the commercialization of the theater and the transfer of ownership was raised, which will be raised at the state level. 

After the presentation of the mural, a panel session "Graffiti and street art: Developing new horizons of Karaganda" was held.

The author of the material: Dmitry Abramov

Photo: Konstantin Pavlenko; Dmitry Abramov