/ Nizhny Novgorod, July 23, 2021
/ Nizhny Novgorod, July 23, 2021
. Nizhny Novgorod: Sverdlov Square
“ We got to Nizhny Novgorod without incident. We were met by Mikhail – a polite man in a BMW with gold teeth and a gold chain. He took us to the four-star Mercure Hotel. After taking a shower and settling in the room, we went down to the lobby and met with Natalia Korenchenko. She showed us the place of our performance just 100 meters from the hotel – at the square named after Sverdlov. In the evening of the same day, Alexander Yuminov invited us to his home. And before the evening meeting, we walked around the city. The whole Nizhny Novgorod has been dug up, and the city is preparing for the 800th anniversary. I don't know if they'll be able to wrap it all up. We slightly overestimated the distance and, having crossed the Oka on foot, took a taxi, arriving half an hour late for our visit. We had a very good evening with Olga and Alexander. He has a rare music lover's collection of vinyl nowadays.
The next day we went to the Arsenal (state center for conmporary art – approx.) and saw the exhibitions. I liked the exhibition about work. Moreover, this is the topic of our next project. The day turned out to be rainy, fortunately it stopped by the evening, but it was cold and damp. By 7 o'clock we came to the square, set up the equipment and began our performance with the loudest song in order to gather the people. Music was playing nearby in a bar, on the other side a street musician was singing Tsoi's songs. In general, the atmosphere was not very cozy, not quiet. But those few people who lingered around us were interested. One woman passing by was impressed by the theme of our performance and told her story of shame into the microphone.
It was the first performance of its kind for us. On the street. Interesting experience. Despite the uncomfortable situation, we felt quite relaxed. Three out of ten listeners went with us and Natalia to the Moloko cafe, where we continued our conversations about shame, about the project, about life. In general, in our opinion, the evening was a success.
The next day, Natalia celebrated her birthday, to which she invited us. We celebrated fifty kilometers from Nizhny, near a small lake. A very beautiful place. We were taken there by bus and brought back to the city after midnight. We spent the day relaxed: swimming, eating, wine, good company. And the next day we went by train to Moscow. "
. Sverdlov Square and Bolshaya Pokrovskaya street
For the performance shame on you! complex technical equipment is not required and performances can take place in completely different conditions, such as, for example, just on the street. In Nizhny Novgorod there is a popular pedestrian street – Pokrovka, where there is always a large flow of passers-by and street musicians regularly perform. As a rule, the music there attracts attention because it is easy to recognize. We wanted to create the opposite situation and present the performance to an unprepared viewer in order to make street performance a part of their life.
On the one hand, bystanders, who are usually an audience of buskers, were able to hear and perhaps even share stories of shame. On the other hand, the performance format is not exclusively entertaining – it has a potential of living personal and collective experience. A reason to stop and think about how the causes of shame are formed by society.
We can say that such a performance took the form of street art, which Nizhny Novgorod is known for. Natalia and Rustam Korenchenko participated in the preparation of the event, consistently supporting the art of the street wave and regional initiatives in Russia.
The performative meeting took place at the Sverdlov Square on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya street on Friday, July 23 around 19:00.
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