SERIES OF LECTURES “HISTORY OF RUSSIAN DESIGN 1917-2017”

The Moscow Design Museum, together with the Moscow Manege, is launching a series of lectures on the Russian design history. The course consists of 4 lectures, covering three main periods in the history of Russian design from 1917 to the present days: constructivism, Soviet design and contemporary Russian design. 

Constructivist artists were eager to change completely the material world after the revolution, their main slogan “Art to Production!” reflected the need for artists to work in all industry fields. Constructivists designed a new life – from children's toys and work clothes to public buildings and even new cities. Despite the groundbreaking ideas based on rationality, functionality, ease of fabrication, these projects were not implemented, however, it was in the early 1920s that the design profession was established. 

From the 1960s designers based themselves on their predecessors, but, as compared to the beginning of the century, the union between designers and fabrication was established. In 1962, in the USSR the state design system was created and the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Technical Aesthetics (VNIITE) was founded. The Institute was engaged in the development and implementation of artistic design methods, the definition of design requirements for products, conducted research and published professional periodicals.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the design system ceased to exist, and in modern Russia designers line up their practice in a competitive environment, opening their studios, production centers, developing projects not only for national but also for Western companies. 

Lecturer: ALEXANDRA SANKOVA - founder and director of the Moscow Design Museum, designer, design historian, author of interview series with Russian designers, author of articles about Soviet design.

August 7 at 20:00 “Art in fabrication. 1910-1930"

August 14 at 20:00 “Soviet design. VNIITE. 1950-1980 " 

August 21 at 20:00 “Design system in the USSR. 1960-1980 "

August 28 at 20:00 “Contemporary design. 1990-2020"

Tickets can be purchased at the ticket office of Gostiny Dvor and on the website.