The exhibition Punk culture. The King and the Jester opens on March 2 at the Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art, marking a significant moment for fans of the genre in Canada and the United States as well as Russia. The event is organized with input from the Winzavod press service and runs through May 31, inviting visitors to explore a wide arc of punk history from its British roots to its evolving presence in later decades.
The show maps the journey of punk from its birth in England to its influence on music, fashion, and visual arts, while tracing how the movement transformed once again in the USSR, followed by post-Soviet and modern Russia. It presents a dialogue between Western developments and the Russian scene, highlighting the cross-cultural exchanges that helped shape punk aesthetics and attitudes across borders. The curators explain that the exhibit is designed to illuminate both the global spread of punk and its local adaptations, showing how rebellious energy translated into art forms, sounds, and countercultural scenes in different eras.
The display unfolds in two intertwined sections: one focusing on the evolution of the style itself and the other on the history of the legendary band Korol i Shut. Visitors will be able to trace the Western origins and the later life of the style, along with the Russian transformation that accompanied the band’s emergence. The press service notes that punk rock has long carried mystical imagery in the public imagination, and the show connects that iconography with the band’s enduring legacy, reflecting how the visual language of punk has persisted in contemporary culture.
Among the exhibits are artifacts that capture the Soviet punk moment: samizdat rock magazines from the Okorok list, the Moscow Rock Laboratory SHIFT almanacs from the early 1990s, original cassettes and magnetic tapes by the first wave of Soviet punks, Peter Mamonov’s writings, Yanka Diaghileva’s manuscripts, lyric sheets, and black-and-white photographs by Igor Mukhin. These pieces offer a tangible view into a subculture that thrived under constraints, revealing how underground scenes preserved voice and memory even when official channels were limited.
The show presents a portrait of a movement that defied norms and found resilience in raw creativity, linking a global music revolution with a uniquely Russian narrative. By juxtaposing the English and Russian experiences, the exhibition invites audiences to consider how punk’s ethos of independence, DIY spirit, and fearless experimentation traveled across borders and re-emerged in new forms. The curators have crafted a narrative that respects the original pulse of punk while showing its continued resonance in contemporary creative practice, including music, fashion, and visual art that keep the spirit alive for new generations. Visitors will leave with a deeper understanding of how punk culture has persisted as a catalytic force in cultural production, shaping attitudes and expressions across decades.
In this context, the exhibition also serves as a bridge between different periods and geographies, illustrating how political and social climates influenced punk’s trajectory and how artists adapted to them. By presenting archival materials alongside contemporary interpretations, the show highlights the ongoing dialogue between past and present, encouraging audiences to reflect on the ways rebellion, community, and artistic risk continue to inform today’s cultural landscape. The London-to-Moscow story told through the works on display underscores the universal appeal of punk as a form of self-expression and resistance, while also acknowledging its distinct regional voices and moments of innovation.
Overall, Punk culture. The King and the Jester promises a comprehensive, immersive look at a movement that reshaped music, fashion, and art across continents. It offers a rare chance to explore both the historical development of punk and its lasting imprint on modern creative life, through curated artifacts, rare publications, and intimate portraits of the people who animated the scene. The exhibition is a testament to punk’s enduring relevance and its role as a catalyst for cultural dialogue across borders, inviting visitors to discover how a radical idea from Britain evolved into a global phenomenon with deep roots in Russian cultural history.