10 Pushkin Street

The address has become a label of the cultural phenomenon related to the Association of Experimentl Visual Arts, the first and, in many respects, unique corporation of independent artists.

In 1988, members of the Association settled down in a deserted house at 10 Pushkin Street. The squat of representatives of the artistic underground (artists, musicians, actors, etc.) resulted in a non-profit organization registered as Free-Culture Association.

This artistic conglomeration included personalities absolutely different artistically and ideologically. Many had taken part in the scandalizing exhibitions at the Ivan Gaza and the Nevsky Houses of Culture (Vladimir Afonichev, Yuri Medvedev, Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Nikolay Sazhin and Gennady Ustyugov), others founded or belonged to artistic groups, such as the “Chronicle” (Letopis’: Boris Koshelokhov and Elena Figurina), the “Nomades” (Kochevye: Gafur Mendagaliyev), “New Savages” (Novye Dikiye: Oleg Maslov) and New Artists (Novye Khudoznhiki: Timur Novikov).

Nowadays, 10 Pushkin Street is an important center determining many aspects of the cultural life of St. Petersburg, open to those interested in today’s situation in the sphere of arts.