The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art PERMM
Location
The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art PERMM was unveiled in 2009.The Museum resides in the building of former river-boat terminal Perm 1. It is situated in Ordzhonikidze , (which is modern-day Monastyrskaya) Street 2. Currently, this is the third museum of modern art in Russia, after the museums in Saint’s Petersburg and Moscow. Boat terminal Perm 1 is one of the oldest parts of the city, not far away from the Motovilikha Plants and the Egoshiha river, where the city was born. The museum can be reached by walking along an embankment with a picturesque view. You may also walk along Ordzhonikidze Street, which has been renamed to Monastyrskaya Street recently. Across the street, there is an inactive railway station, Perm 1. These days it carries out functions of the station.
A few words about the building
The building was a project built in 1940 by architect Alexey Grinberg’s, who also designed such buildings as The House of Soviets in Gorky (which is now Nizhny Novgorod) and Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre.
The only river-boat terminal in town has resided in this building for the last 70 years. There have been more than a million people within these walls, traveling across Russia by water. When travelers arrive in the city, one of the first things that can be seen in Perm is the Museum of Modern Art, donning an enormous sign saying, “СЧАСТЬЕ НЕ ЗА ГОРАМИ”, or “Happiness is not far off”.
In the capacious place of two floors there are components of various exhibits.The spacious environment makes one feel quite comfortable while they observe the installations and canvases. Photo sets are often shown, ranging in themes from “kitchenware” to “travels to holy places”.
The founders of the museum
As it has been mentioned above, the museum was opened in 2009. The people of Perm thank Sergey Gordeev and Marat Gelman for the opening of this remarkable place. Sergey Gordeev is a founder and president of the heritage preservation foundation, Russian Avangard. Marat Gelman is a famous gallery owner from Moscow, who is currently a supervisor of the museum and part-time director.
The Influence of the Museum on Perm
The first exposition, which was performed at the recently opened Museum of Modern Art, was of “Impoverished Russia”. It caused a contradictory response of the visitors. Nevertheless, the new age of Modern Art had begun in Perm. It’s difficult not to notice that the art, which had been shown in the museum, had flowed smoothly into the streets of the city. Since the opening of The Museum of Modern Art PERMM , different art-festivals such as “Perm Alive” (“Живая Пермь”) and “White Night in Perm” had been held. Within the framework of these festivals, bright and rich colors appear in the normally gray city. The territory of Perm has become a stage for artists’ creations not only from different cities of Russia, but also from different countries. Thanks to such projects as “Long Stories for Perm”, featureless fences of the town had gotten their individuality and originality. A pedestrian street has been opened in the city, where one can find shops with handcrafted items from craftsmen. Moreover, street-art has been used for embellishing the city, not for damaging.
Exhibitions
More than 20 exhibitions were displayed in the museum The most popular are:
