WONDERUSSIA: The Creative Industries Federation to Assemble an Online Showcase of Local Creative Products
The Creative Industries Federation (CIF) will create WONDERUSSIA, an online showcase of local creative products that are part of the new identity of Russian cities. Within a year, there will be at least three hundred products from cities with a developed creative economy, such as Moscow, Ulyanovsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Yakutsk and Khanty-Mansiysk.
The five million ruble grant for the development of WONDERUSSIA was allocated by Russia’s Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives. This is the first CIF project to be supported by the fund. The purpose of WONDERUSSIA is not only to showcase local creative products that are in demand, but also to change the perception of Russian cities.
"Visiting various cities and towns in our country from Kaliningrad to Yakutsk, I was amazed at how little we know about local creative entrepreneurs and their products," says Igor Namakonov, CEO of CIF.
“Only popularization and convenient service can spur demand for Russian creative products. There is already a lot of this happening, but not many people see it. And in the context of economic constraints, the infrastructural significance of the WONDERUSSIA project has increased manifold. I am glad that the experts of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives have also seen this.”
The first five cities participating in the project were short-listed for the "Creative Region" nomination of the Russian Creative Awards main national award in the field of creative industries.
The big research project that will take place in Moscow, Ulyanovsk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Yakutsk and Khanty-Mansiysk in 2022-2023 will identify outstanding creative projects that were created in these cities and form their identity. The projects will be nominated by experts and opinion leaders selected by the CIF. The pool of experts in each city will include at least 60 people. The presentation of the results of the study will take place in June 2023 in the five cities.
The chosen projects will be published on the WONDERUSSIA website. Each project card will have a product description and contact information of the creators. Russians will learn about the original services, products, and cultural initiatives near them from the project's social media. The promotion of the WONDERUSSIA site abroad will help Russian creative entrepreneurs form contacts with foreign partners.
