Program

Lecture Series

The Cosmoscow Lecture Hall is a space for dialogue about the processes taking place within the cultural and artistic environment. It addresses pressing issues of contemporary art, its development, engagement with heritage, and the shaping of the current cultural agenda. The discussions bring together members of the art community: collectors, representatives of museums and cultural institutions, curators, artists, and art historians.

The theme of the Lecture Hall at the 14th edition of the fair will be contemporary art's engagement with traditional crafts and folk arts and crafts. In recent years, artists and curators have increasingly been working with old handcraft techniques and turning to collaborations with master craftspeople, exploring cultural memory, regional history, and connections with the past. As part of the program, participants will discuss the preservation and reinterpretation of tangible and intangible heritage, the interaction between artists and craftspeople, the development of the industry, and the potential of traditional practices in the field of collecting.

Special attention will be paid to craft as a form of reflection and artistic expression, and to how practices rooted in the past are today becoming tools for shaping new artistic statements, identities, and cultural meanings.

The curator of the Lecture Hall program is Marina Shultz, an art historian, curator, and head of the Department of Contemporary Art at the State Hermitage Museum.

Location: Timiryazev Centre, 2nd floor, Lecture Hall.

Lecture Series

From Craftspeople to Artists: Mentorship Practices, the Boundaries of Creative Experimentation, and Market Demands

04 September 2026 15:00 - 16:00

The discussion will explore different ways in which craft can evolve into authorial art, as well as pathways for craftspeople to enter the art market. Participants will discuss mentorship and curatorial strategies, the preservation of established traditions alongside radical creative experimentation, and the demands that today’s market places on artists.

Lecture Series

Decolonizing Craft: Local Contexts on the Global Art Scene

04 September 2026 16:30 - 17:30

In recent years, international biennials and art fairs have increasingly presented examples of translating regional cultural codes and craft traditions into the international language of contemporary art. The discussion will explore how to avoid exoticization in this process and turn working with craft into a method of in-depth research.

Lecture Series

Russian Style: Crossing the Line?

04 September 2026 18:00 - 19:00

The growing interest in the restoration of architectural heritage, the revival of traditional crafts and folk arts, the search for national identity, and the much-discussed cultural code of Russia’s ancient cities calls for unconventional approaches. Practitioners from different fields will discuss how to strike a balance between the authenticity of the original, stylization, and contemporary reinterpretation.

Lecture Series

Galleries, Fairs and Museums: Paths of Patronage

05 September 2026 13:00 - 14:00

The expansion of museum collections through private philanthropy is one of the most promising yet least systematically explored practices in the Russian art market. Cosmoscow has developed unique expertise in this area through the Museum of the Year Award and its work with cultural institutions. In 2026, the Association of Galleries is launching systematic research aimed at developing a culture of collecting and building bridges of cooperation with museum institutions.

Lecture Series

Reviving Traditional Crafts: From Preserving Heritage to Developing Territories

05 September 2026 14:30 - 15:30

The revival of traditional crafts is important for the state, as they protect cultural identity, strengthen the economy through the development of tourism and small businesses, and pass unique traditional skills on to new generations. Today, experts consider the revival of traditional crafts a resource for the innovative development of tourism, culture and education, as well as for accumulating symbolic capital and creating a holistic and aesthetically shaped picture of the world.

Lecture Series

A Conversation Between Denis Khimilyaine and Dmitry Gutov. Can You Make Money from Poverty? The Market as an Illusion: Investing in Art

05 September 2026 16:00 - 17:30

Can Russian contemporary art be considered an investment at all? Why is a Russian artist often worth many times less than a comparable Western artist—is the artist undervalued, or simply worth that much? What needs to happen for an artist’s price to increase? And most importantly, if the price does go up, who will buy the work afterwards?

Lecture Series

I/We: The Ethics of Co-Creation and the Balance of Roles

05 September 2026 18:00 - 19:00

How are relationships built between contemporary artists and local craft communities? Who owns the rights to the resulting works: the “artist” or the artisan who executes them? These and many other questions surrounding co-creation and (self-)positioning will be at the heart of the discussion.

Lecture Series

Techniques and Traditions: When a Place Suggests the Language to Speak About It

06 September 2026 13:00 - 14:00

A conversation with artists about how traditional techniques can help us get to know a place and how artist residencies can contribute to this process.

Lecture Series

Estate, Dacha, Residency: Local Crafts as Symbolic Capital

06 September 2026 16:00 - 17:00

Projects focused on restoring cultural heritage sites and adapting them to contemporary life increasingly turn to the search for or creation of a “local identity” that enhances recognition and builds symbolic capital. The revival of craft workshops, engagement with historical context and the memory of a place, the preservation of tangible and intangible heritage, and the organisation of artist residencies are among the key issues facing the teams behind such projects.

Lecture Series

Art as Part of Real Estate Development: From Patronage to Art Collaborations in Architecture and Public Spaces

06 September 2026 17:30 - 18:30

Today, art is increasingly moving beyond museums and galleries to become part of the urban environment and architecture. Developers, brands and cultural institutions are exploring new spaces, gradually transforming the ways people interact with the city and their surroundings. Together, we will explore what happens at this intersection: when a business becomes a patron, a developer becomes a creator of cultural environments, and a work of art becomes not an object of contemplation, but a way of changing how we perceive a space.