The XIII International Platonov Arts Festival took place in Voronezh from June 1 to 30. More than 20 teams from 8 countries such as — China, Argentina, Mexico, Ghana, Indonesia, Russia, Armenia and Belarus took part in it. More than 55 thousand people attended the program events of the festival.
In 2024 year the International Platonov Arts Festival united 47 shows of 21 theater performances, among which 30 shows of 14 street performances. There were 7 concerts including 3 open-air events. An exhibition, 44 sessions of an audio play-promenade based on the letters of Andrei Platonov and 17 events of literary and educational programs took place. During the festival 13 platforms of Voronezh and Voronezh region were involved.
The XIII Platonov Arts Festival programme was opened by one of the most enchanting events — the Festival of street theatres “Sincere man” which was held together with the Russian Union of Street Theatres and Artists in the Park “Alye Parusa”. Spectators were presented performances by 11 collectives from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, Almetyevsk, Rostov-on-Don and Voronezh. Besides, as part of the Street Theater Festival, educational program events took place. It included 3 master classes for children and an open dialogue with program participants. Over two days, the event was attended by more than 27 thousand people.
The theatre programme of the XIII Platonov Arts Festival was presented by 7 collectives from China, Argentina, Russia and Belarus. Spectators saw such performances as “From IN” by the Xiexin Dance Theater (XDT), “Tango After Dark” by German Cornejo`s Dance Company, “Zoyka’s Apartment” by the Moscow Pushkin Drama Theater, “Mother’s Heart” of the Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater.
In 2024, we celebrated a particularly important date for us — the 125 anniversary of the birth of Andrey Platonov. Special festival events dedicated to the great writer reflected the spirit of his work and provided everyone with the opportunity to find a personal connection with Platonov`s legacy.
The works of Andrei Platonov were the subject of the performances: “Life” by the Brest Puppet Theatre based on the short story “The Tale of a Dead Old Man”, “The Voice of the Father” by the Moscow Theatre “At the Nikitsky Gates” based on the writer’s play of the same name, and “The Cow” by the Kurgan Puppet Theatre “Gulliver” based on the stories “The Cow” and “Ulya”.
Throughout the festival, Voronezh residents and guests of the city had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of Andrei Platonov through the audio performance-promenade “They loved one day”. The project is based on Andrei Platonov’s letters to his wife.
The highlights of the musical program of the XIII Platonov Arts Festival were the performances of Khibla Gerzmava and Migran Agadzhanyan, Mexican musicians Leonardo Sanchez and the ensemble “Mi México querido” and also a concert of The Distinguished Orchestra of Russia, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Nikolai Alexeev.
The world premiere of the audiovisual concert with spatial sound “Loudspeaker Orchestra. Alexander Knaifel” took place at the XIII Platonov Festival. “Loudspeaker Orchestra. Alexander Knaifel” is a part of multiplatform project of Oleg Nesterov “Three degrees of freedom. Music>Cinema>USSR”. As part of the project, the concert was dedicated for the first time to the work of the Soviet and Russian composer Alexander Knaifel.
In 2024, the Platonov Arts Festival presented a new project: the open-air “PIER”. This is a concert that united modern musical groups from Ivanovo, Rostov-on-Don, Makhachkala and Kaspiysk. The lineup included the groups “VESCH”, “Leto v gorode” and “Neee, ti shto”. The open-air was attended by several hundred people, and the concert itself took place in a picturesque location — on the renovated pier of Petrovskaya Naberezhnaya.
The musical program of the XIII Platonov Arts Festival was completed by the open-air “World Music in the White Well” — one of the largest and most anticipated events of the forum. TmbaTa Orchestra (Armenia), Ali (Indonesia) and Florence Adooni (Ghana) presented their music. It is worth noting, that Ali and Florence Adooni performed in Russia for the first time. More than 4 000 people visited the open-air in a unique picturesque place of the Voronezh region.
A literary program of the festival included meet-the-writer events. Сontemporary writers from Russia and Belarus including Asya Volodina, Anna Luzhbina and Helena Pobyarzhina took part in meetings. There were also presentations of the sixth volume of the Scientific Collected Works of Andrey Platonov and the ninth volume of “The Land of Philosophers” by Andrey Platonov: Problems of Creativity”. The publications were presented by members of the Platonov Group of the Institute of World Literature named after A. M. Gorky, including its head — Natalia Kornienko.
The Book Fair was traditionally hold at the Platonov Arts Festival. In 2024, the event brought together more than 150 publishing houses, breaking the record as the largest number of participants in the Book Fair history. It was visited by more than 10 thousand people.
The exhibition program of the XIII Platonov Arts Festival was presented by the exhibition “Socialist substance” which united more than fifty paintings by Sergei Gavrilyachenko from the cycles “Parents' Day”, “How the Soul Doesn`t Want to Part with the Body!”, “Little Russians”.
The educational program included creative meetings, lectures and master classes with festival participants, including artist Sergey Gavrilyachenko, author of the project “Three degrees of freedom. Music > Cinema > USSR” Oleg Nesterov, musicologist Georgy Kovalevsky, artists of the German Cornejo`s Company, dancers of the Xiexin Dance Theater and representatives of street theaters. An open rehearsal of The Distinguished Orchestra of Russia, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra also took place.
The XIII International Platonov Arts Festival presented a collection of the brightest phenomena and names of modern Russian and world culture. Since its foundation, the forum has followed its main goal: to open the great world of art to Voronezh and to open Voronezh to the world.