Small rivers valleys in the center of attention

Photo by Vitaly Koksharov

The Conference “Anthropogenic Geography. Ecology Practices in Cities” was held as a part of “The Rivers Birthday” festival programme at the PERMM Museum.

The programme of “The Rivers’ Birthday” festival, the second event organized by the Perm City Administration this year, features the conference, which brought together ecologists, artists and designers to discuss the issues around interaction of artistic and ecological practices.  The discussions were focused on eco-aesthetics introducing “fragile ecology” into art projects.  The workshops considered various integrating arts, ecology and social activities in the cities.  

– “The Rivers’ Birthday” Festival aims to address all the issues related to the areas around the rivers. Recently the PERMM museum has become involved into a variety of ecology activities, and the Yegoshikha River Valley has become the center of the public attention. Today the museum is a place to expand the knowledge about the small rivers in Perm, as we have been involved in a number of project concerning the issue.  Art helps one to see things otherwise unnoticed, and we do hope that such festivals and partnerships will develop in the future”, says Nailya Alakhverdieva, the PERMM Museum Director. 

Elena Neganova, head of the Department for Culture and Youth Policy, Perm City Administration, announced that priory guidelines had been developed to be implemented through the “Green Ring” project.  She expressed gratitude to the community activists for their ideas and help.  The festival is a clear example how municipal authorities work out projects stemming from the needs of the residents.

– It is important for local authorities to formulate the goals, which are meaningful for the residents.  Ecology is a multi-disciplinary area, and the river valleys are the common property. The festival aims to bring together the various knowledge and skills to address ecology issues in a comprehensive way,” emphasized Dmitry Andreev, the Head of the Department for Ecology and Nature Resources of Perm City Administration. 

Anna Kondratieva, the creator of «ZeroWaste Theory and Practice», coordinator of waste separation points “Separate with heart” noted that installations devoted to a variety of ecology topics could become an efficient instrument in raising awareness and promoting ecology-friendly lifestyle, and the world knows a number of examples of the cities  building their positive image on ecology . 

Her ideas were supported by Elena Pleshkova, President of “Obvinskaya Rosa” Culture and Natural Heritage Fund, saying it is important that the artists and designers explain their vision of the city space, and to improve the green areas one needs the combined knowledge and efforts of  architects, planners, historians, etc. 

The conference participants agreed to invite a wide scope of representatives of NGOs and ecology organisations, as well as public figures in culture, to take part in developing the plan of actions for the Green Ring project, aimed at conservation and development of the areas around the small rivers in Perm City.  

The festival concluded on September 13, 2020 by the Parade of Luminous Fish that took place on the Kama River Embankment. The fancy fish were created by children and their parents in the PERMM Museum specially for the festival