“This year, our National Theatre celebrates 115 years since the day it was founded. On the one hand, it is a rather young theatre, in the context of European and Russian tradition. For us, it is not a simple theatre venue, but a place to realize and communicate our national identity to the future. A place to build something new and meaningful for our culture and history. There are many legends and stories about this territory. We would like the Finalists’ concepts to take the theatre’s history, as well as our graphic art, into consideration. The whole professional community wishes that the venue not be an amorphous environment, but an environment that communicates the Tatars’ identity and traditional culture, while also revealing its riches and potential in modern, up-to-date ways,” said Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan Irada Ayupova.

The participants of the webinar included Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan Irada Ayupova, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Principal Director of the Kamal Theatre and Chairman of the Union of Theatre Professionals of the Republic of Tatarstan Farid Bikchantaev, Co-Chairwoman of the Expert Council Natalia Fishman-Bikmambetova, General Director of Nekrasov Central Library Maria Privalova, Head of Scientific and Methodical Work and the R&D Department of Nekrasov Central Library Maria Ignatieva, Counselor for Architecture and Urban Development to the Mayor of Kazan, member of the Architects’ Unions of Russia and the USA, and Head of the architecture branch of the Institute for Urban Development Tatiana Prokofieva, Head of the Monument Conservation Division of the Department for Architecture and Urban Development Lea Solovieva, Head of Media and Non-Governmental Organization Relations of the Department of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan Airat Faizrakhmanov, Co-Founder of CENTER Group Sergei Georgievskii, and head of the analytical team of the CENTER Lab International Urban Laboratory Maria Sedletskaya.

At the Orientation Webinar, the Finalists were told about the Competition timeline and the objectives of the events they are going to take part in. The goal of the events will be to immerse the participants into the theatrical and national culture of Tatarstan, to inspire them and to make their interaction with the culture an emotional experience. They will have a unique chance to learn how the Kamal Theatre is structured and organized and to analyze the architectural challenges, opportunities, and limitations of the competition territory. The participants of the meeting also discussed the functional task and its key aspects.

“One has to pay attention to the fact that this is not an ordinary building, but a theatrical one. Regardless of the exterior, the main focus should be the interior of the venue. The theatre space is divided into two parts, the open space for spectators and the closed space for theatre workers. Much attention should be paid to the latter. The internal infrastructure of the theatre is the most important. The closed space must be developed in a smart and detailed manner, while the open space must be thoroughly thought-out and accessible for everyone,” said Principal Director of the Kamal Theatre and Chairman of the Union of Theatre Professionals of the Republic of Tatarstan Farid Bikchantaev.

The Competition will also include consultations with experts on the territory and the actors’ and spectators’ spaces, as well as a review of the functional task to answer all of the Finalists’ questions.