Mediation

Mediation is a contemporary strategy of communication with the audience that aims to actively involve citizens in a dialogue and co-creation. The main goal of mediation is to provide each viewer with interesting and inspiring experience, regardless of their proficiency in art.

The Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art was one of the first events to introduce mediation in Russia. Since 2014, over 14,000 people have taken part in mediated tours. For many of them, it was the first experience of active interaction with contemporary art. The Biennial is a platform for a dialogue and public discussion about current issues and topics, where the opinion of each visitor is heard and is as significant as expert opinions.

2019 MEDIATOR TRAINING PROGRAM
The mediator is a new profession in the museum field. These specially trained guides conduct tours and implement projects aimed at involving various communities and social groups into the context of contemporary culture.

The Ural Biennial mediators are people with different professional qualifications and life experience. During the selection process, we are interested in the candidate’s motivation in the first place, regardless of their professional skills or a degree in art studies.

The mediator training program of the 5th Ural Biennial started on April 20, 2019 and lasted 5 months. The participants learned the basics of group psychology and group moderation skills, got acquainted with communication practices appropriate for different categories of spectators and communities. During their training period, future mediators were involved in the process of preparing the Biennial, which allowed them to better understand contemporary art and form their own view of the exhibition.

You can meet the mediators of the Ural Industrial Biennial during their tours and through their blog or diaries.

MEDIATED TOURS
The mediated tour is not a memorized text repeated by a guide day after day, but an opportunity for communication and mutual understanding. The mediator initiates a conversation with visitors, helps them find grounds for contact with an artwork and talk about art. Each mediated tour is unique, as it involves unique emotions and opinions of the audience.

Learn more about the mediated tours

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT PROJECTS AND INCLUSION
These projects are aimed at involving specific communities or social groups, which, by their own definition, are usually excluded from the context of contemporary culture. The Biennial invites all visitors to share their opinions and take part in discussions and co-creation, which helps to better reveal the meanings of art projects and contemporary art to be understood even by those who consider it to be “not for them.”

 

SOUNDSCAPE LABORATORY
A joint project with the Swedish center for art education and inclusion Share Music&Performance Arts, MEGA Ekaterinburg, the InterText contemporary music ensemble and the electronics club of the Ural NCCA. For three days of the laboratory, people with special needs will learn how to find and record sounds, and also learn the basic skills of processing them in special programs and applications. In the process of joint rehearsals with the ensemble, the industrial sounds of the factories and the eclectic collage of the sounds of the shopping mall will be artistically transformed and will turn into contemporary musical compositions. The work will conclude with a concert, where the works created within the laboratory will be presented.
Supported by MEGA Ekaterinburg

 

PERFOMANCE OF “ZAzhivoe” INCLUSIVE THEATER PROJECT
In the framework of the project, people with autism spectrum disorder and other mental developmental disorders co-create with professional actors. For three years now, they have been working together to create experimental performances that sparkle with genuine sincerity and high audience empathy.