Yakut artists have been asked to vacate the studios they have occupied since the 1960s.
Artists must leave 15 studios in a building on Lenin Avenue. in YakutskThe reason is the building's state of disrepair. Major repairs are out of the question, and the artists have not been provided with alternative spaces.
The building is a cultural heritage site and was declared unsafe in 2017. However, the management company is monitoring its condition: judging by the condition of the installed warning lights, there is no risk of collapse. The workshops are located in a four-story residential building, and the residents are not being evicted due to the building's unsafe condition.
"We're not being offered anything in return! And this is during the Year of Culture! This is a legendary Soviet building, built specifically as a creative space for Yakut artists."- says Chairman of the Union of Artists of Yakutia Olga Skorikova.
Skorikova doesn't understand why the mayor's office specifically "asked the artists to leave" and decided not to renew the lease.
Depriving an artist of his studio effectively means a break or a complete halt in his work. A ceramic artist told NeMoskva about this.
"You can sculpt a clay figure or draw a picture in an apartment, but serious work requires a workshop—either a separate one or one set up in a private home. You need light, space for equipment and tools, and the shelves and workbenches familiar to every craftsman. For a creative person, losing all of this also means stress, meaning a long break from work is guaranteed." - explained the source.
The building and its workshops were built in 1964 at the initiative of artists. Famous artists Afanasy Munkhalov and Afanasy Osipov worked here, as did the renowned bone carver Fyodor Markov.
The mayor's office promised to look into the problem. However, officials had previously statedthat there are no free spaces for workshops.
Photo: Yandex.Maps
