Museum of Modern Art to Open in the Udarnik Cinema Building

A legendary site of the Russian avant-garde, the Udarnik Cinema, which was built by architect Boris Iofan in 1931, will be restored and will house a museum of Russian modern art.

The ArtChronika Cultural Foundation and its president Shalva Breus came up with the idea to create the museum.
In 2000 a part of the premises of what was once the main movie and concert hall in the country was rented out as a casino, while the theatre itself fell into disuse over recent years. Indeed, Udarnik celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2011 with empty rooms and galleries, while its interior remains covered with gaudy casino décor.

Udarnik is now embarking on a new stage of its history. The ArtChronika Cultural Foundation’s first priority is to restore this unique cultural heritage site. Part of the space will already be in use as an exhibition space for the new museum’s permanent collection while restoration continues.

The museum’s collection will be regularly updated with works of modern Russian art taken from ArtChronika Cultural Foundation’s existing collection. The Foundation’s holdings include a broad collection of works by classic names in underground art: Eric Bulatov, Vitaly Komar, Alexander Melamid, Alexander Kosolapov, Boris Orlov, Viktor Pivovarov, Leonid Sokov, Alexander Sokolov, Ivan Chuyka, and others.

Udarnik will also become a venue for large international exhibitions, cultural forums, art festivals, and biennials.
A multi-functional exhibition space which can be transformed into a lecture hall, concert auditorium, and cinema theatre is an important part of the museum’s future. The Udarnik project is not only an exhibition space and museum, but a venue for educational programmes as well: the new art centre will host workshops, lectures, roundtables, and scientific symposiums.