The organizers announced the revival of the audiovisual festival known as Light and Music in Kazan, promising a fresh chapter for the event dedicated to light, sound, and experimental media art.
The festival is scheduled for July 15 and will benefit from the support of the Bulat Galeev Prometheus Foundation for Supporting Audiovisual and Technological Art, the Smena Contemporary Culture Center, and the Kazanorgsintez initiative (KOS, part of SIBUR), ensuring resources for installations, performances, and curator-led programs.
On the factory grounds, a diverse lineup will bring together producer and audiovisual artist Flaty, musician Fjordwalker, and multi-instrumentalist Long Arm for live performances. Nadya Kimeliar, a rising Kazan artist associated with Holofonote and the Kazan media art scene, will present a site-specific installation created especially for the festival, blending light sculpture with immersive sound design.
One centerpiece aims to explore experimental light media through pieces inspired by the Prometheus Research Institute and the archives of Kazanorgsintez. The lineup will feature works such as Kaleidophone from the Prometheus collection alongside era-specific creations like Disco and The Indicator, tracing a lineage of light-driven media from the late 20th century to contemporary practice.
The program will also feature a discussion on how the fusion of light and sound reshaped modern art. Nick Zavriev, a musician, journalist, and host of Planettronics, will present a podcast segment that traces the evolution of audiovisual synthesis and its impact on visual culture, presented within the festival’s service that connects KOS with the Smena Center for Contemporary Culture.
The Soviet-era festival tradition in Kazan originated in the 1960s and ran through the 1990s, organized by the Research Institute of Experimental Aesthetics Prometheus. The original event began in 1967 and culminated in a landmark 1987 edition that drew tens of thousands of spectators across multiple venues and showcased hundreds of performers, leaving a lasting imprint on regional experimental culture. (Source: archival records of the Prometheus Institute and city cultural archives)
In related remarks about Russia’s festival landscape in 2023, Ivan Polissky offered insights in an interview with media outlets about land art and landscape installations, highlighting how large-scale projects adapt to contemporary contexts while honoring historical roots. (Source: interview materials from Archstoyanie organizers and contemporary cultural commentators)
Earlier reports noted shifts in festival lineups, including changes to artist rosters and platform accessibility on major social networks, reflecting ongoing recalibrations in the music and arts scene. (Source: event coverage and industry updates)