Full House in Siberia
The Amsterdam Summer University and the Open Siberia Agency have jointly created a place for public debates, innovative community projects as well as a Spring Academy. The Kuhnya (the Kitchen) kicked off last September in Novosibirsk with a lively first debate on Novosibirsk as a Creative City.
Since September these debates on Wednesday evenings have been sold out. Some three hundred people gather underground in the Truba jazzclub for the 'kitchen conversations'. Supported by the local media, they discuss the latest state of affairs in this city of 1.5 million people.
Subjects debated so far in this first season have ranged across many of the issues that are in the forefornt of Novosibirsk life - the 'Golden Age' of the Russian press, new Russian history, the Social Agenda 2008, city planning and the architecture of Novosibirsk (including the lack of good hotels in a city seen as a transport hub), Siberia's cinema production in Siberia, and the role of creativity in the economic development of Novosibirsk and its region. Lively discussions continue afterwards on the internet, as well as in the local press.
Now the time has come to present the first Spring Academy - from April 12-15 - bringing together expertise from Amsterdam and Novosibirsk for an audience of creative professionals from all over Siberia. The purpose is to see if and how Novosibirsk can enhance its reputation as a Creative City.
To answer this, four themes will be explored that go to the heart of the qualities a modern creative city needs to succeed.
— Entrepreneurship in the Arts (in partnership with Golden Mask Festival, Moscow) with Jeroen Busscher (creative entrepreneur, Amsterdam); Alexey Kazarinov (creative professional, Novosibirsk), Anna Levenson (lawyer and economist, Novosibirsk).
— Information Campaigns and the Internet - Reaching out to your Audience with Jacques Monasch (Jacques Monasch Consultancy) and Alex Laryanovsky (Marketing Director Novotelecom, manager of the webportal for Novosibirsk).
— Marketing Culture with Pieter Van Empelen (Hermitage aan de Amstel) and Vladimir Zinchenko (Director of the Advertising Agendy Effect).
— International Cultural Co-operation with Steve Austen (Permanent Fellow, Felix Meritis Foundation) and Dr Gleb Firsov (International Early Music Festival, St Petersburg).
External link: www.kuhnya.nsk.ru