Perm residents are welcome to visit the street exhibition project ‘Kama Fairway’

Photo by CVZ Perm

The Central Exhibition Hall and the Perm State Archive have opened a new street exhibition. The project is based on archival materials that highlight the close ties between the locals and the Kama river.

A distinctive feature of Perm is its long stretch along the Kama river. The waterway serves as the backbone of the city, around which people's lives have developed, and where new industries and neighbourhoods have grown.

The exhibition stands are dedicated to individual stories that explore the daily life of the city residents living alongside this major navigable waterway. Each display is linked to a specific location, area, or coastal structures. They show places that historically are closely connected with shipping - backwaters, piers, wharves, bridges, enterprises that built and repaired ships.

The exhibition also highlights individuals directly involved in shipbuilding and navigation on the Kama, as well as various types of river transport in the late 19th and 20th centuries. A special focus is given to the introduction of high-speed ships in Perm in 1960. With the spread of such transport, passengers were enabled to get quickly by water from Perm to previously hard-to-reach settlements.

A central theme of the exposition is the contribution of Perm residents to the victory in the Great Patriotic War. During the war, the evacuated population, including children from Leningrad, arrived at the River Station. Valuable cargo  such as treasures of the Russian Museum was also transported via the river. Archival materials related to this topic reinforce Perm’s status as the City of Labour Valour.

The exhibition consists of 10 double-sided stands displaying 53 photographs, 8 documents, 4 plans, one drawing, and pages from printed publications. Featured materials include works by Perm photographers Ivan Kisarev, Anatoly Zernin, Yuri Silin, as well as a drawing by artist Anatoly Tumbasov.

The outdoor exhibition ‘Kama Fairway’ (0+) is located on the Kama embankment near the Three Centuries Square and will remain open until the end of the year.