NGO Аgency for support of cultural initiatives "Tranzit", Tranzit Kaliningrad region, culture Kaliningrad region, Culture

Federal state cultural institution, special structural subdivision of the National Centre for Contemporary Arts (Moscow)
236000, Russia, Kaliningrad, P/O box 1582
Tel./fax: +7 (4012) 595105
Director – Elena Tsvetaeva ()
Art director – Evgeny Umansky ()
PR-manager – Anastasia Karpenko ()

NCCA is the only institution in the Kaliningrad region working directly in the field of contemporary art. Its aim is to implement the state cultural policy on contemporary art through exhibition, collecting, information, education and research activities both in Russia and abroad. Having implemented over 350 projects and programs since 1997, the Kaliningrad branch puts a special emphasis on the unique strategies practiced by artists and curators, their manifestation and promotion within contemporary society as well as enables the audience to familiarize itself with the contemporary artistic process.

NCCA received a right to use the tower and a number of mansard spaces of the Kronprinz barracks – a historical and cultural monument of the XIXth century – in order to locate there a state museum of contemporary culture. At the moment reconstruction and restoration works carried out with the financial assistance of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation are in progress. The opening of the exhibition space at the mansard (1445 m2) is planned for 2010, the construction works at the Kronpinz tower (appr. 4000m2) are to be completed by 2013.

The main programs of KB NCCA include “Heritage in actual context”, “Contemporary art and contemporary society”, “Contemporary architecture, spatial development and environmental design”, “Art and science in the post-biological age”, “Sound and video: feed-back”, the exhibition program “On the mansard”, “Artist-in-residence”, the educational program “Art classics”, Children’s and youth studio of digital art and the publishing program pH.

KB NCCA’s projects are regularly nominated for the annual Russian Contemporary Art Award “Innovation” (Moscow). In 2009 the project “Evolution haute couture. Art and science in the post-biological age” (curators: Dmitry Bulatov, Oleg Blyablyas) – won in the category “Regional contemporary art project”. In 2006-2007 such projects as “9000km”(curator: Evgeny Umansky), “Art guide: Königsberg/Kaliningrad today” (curator: Elena Tsvetaeva), video installation by Yury Vassiliev “Our father” (curators: Elena Tsvetaeva, Evgeny Umansky) and the sociocultural project “Artist and arms” (curator: Evgeny Umansky) were nominated for the award.

In 2005 the video installation by Yury Vassiliev “Grove” (Russian Red project, curator: Evgeny Umansky) won the contest “A changing museum in a changing world” for the best presentation of the image of Russia.

KB NCCA has sustainable long-term partnership relations with the Ford Foundation (Moscow representative office), the Goethe Institute (Moscow, Saint-Petersburg), Institut Français (Moscow, Saint-Petersburg), the German-Russian House (Kaliningrad), CEC International Partnership (New York, USA/Saint-Petersburg), the Swedish Institute (Stockholm, Sweden), the European Cultural Foundation (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Dmitry Zimin’s Foundation “Dynasty” (Moscow), the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Saint-Petersburg, the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Sweden in Kaliningrad.

KB NCCA is interested in developing international cooperation in such domains as:

• Joint exhibitions/projects in the field of:

•   identification and manifestation of cultural and historical heritage of Königsberg/Kaliningrad, research of universal temporal links and their interpretation by means of artistic media;
•   research of a single field of artistic and social reality in the context of the program “Contemporary art and contemporary society”; 
•   interdisciplinary projects integrating contemporary art, design and architecture;
•   projects featuring experimental art trends based on technological achievements of the post-biological society (robotics, bio- and gene engineering, nano-technologies);
•   audio and video art projects.

• Receiving international exhibitions in the framework of the KB NCCA’s program “On the mansard” focused on presenting the best Russian and international contemporary art projects to the Kaliningrad audience.
• Inviting curators and artists for participation in discussions, workshops, meetings, presentations of books, films, CDs and DVDs on contemporary culture in the framework of the program “Art-classics”.
• Inviting artists for participation in the program “Artist-in-residence”.
• Cooperating with colleagues from museums (departments of museum pedagogics) and educational institutions in the field of contemporary art while developing the program of KB NCCA’s children’s and youth studio of digital art, implementing joint educational projects.