From March 21 to April 10, on the square near the western facade of the Manege, you can see the photo exhibition called «City-Zoom in-People», created by the wards of the charitable organization Nochlezhka. The exhibition presents original photographs — landscapes and portraits taken by homeless people.
«We invited the participants to take cameras and look at the city not as a dangerous, hostile, cold environment, but as a place that can bring inspiration and happiness. We invited our wards to find behind the daily routine and survival something that will seem beautiful to them»
Ksenia Solodova, Nochlezhka project coordinator and exhibition curator.
As part of the project, well-known photographers from St. Petersburg and Moscow held master classes for residents of Nochlezhka on Borovaya Street. Yuri Molodkovets, the official photographer of the State Hermitage Museum, gave them a lesson on taking pictures of the cityscape, and Pavel Volkov, Canon Ambassador in Russia, taught the residents of Nochlezhka how to create a street portrait. Canon provided participants equipment for shooting and printing photographs free of charge, and the creative group Luch helped with the development of the project concept.
«I believe that any person should help, especially in such an important issue as homelessness. One of the fundamental human needs is to have a home. And there are several tens of thousands of homeless people in such a beautiful city as St. Petersburg. This is a huge problem for our beautiful city. And this problem needs to be solved somehow»
Yuri Molodkovets.
The opening of the exhibition «City-Zoom in-People» is dedicated to the annual action — World Homeless Day.
«As part of the exhibition and educational projects of the Manege, our team is actively developing the inclusion program, and also supports the principles of a culture of participation. We are glad that our audience is constantly expanding, and the exhibition hall is becoming a truly accessible environment, where meeting with art is comfortable for all the visitors. At the moment, our program includes projects created for people with disabilities, complex social and migration experiences. The street exposition « City-Zoom in-People» on the square near the western facade of the Manege continues the long-term cooperation between our institution and the charitable organization «Nochlezhka». For us, this is a great opportunity to support a very important project that expands the view of contemporary art, making it accessible»
Vera Reichet, head of educational program.