It is the first time that Satka, with support of Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council and Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Moscow, hosts a large-scale street art festival; three duets: Russian Aesthetics group, Swiss Nevercrew and Italian SOLO & DIAMOND – will create five works of street art in the Zapadny Micro District. The works will differ considerably in terms of style and theme, though the task of each of the teams is to find the adequate aesthetic solution and work out the local context. 

Russia artists Petro and Slak that make up Aesthetics group create works aimed at direct visual interaction with the space. In towns, they work at the visual identity level with the history of the country, town, with the industry specifics. Through their wall paintings, Satka’s industrial districts as if penetrate the calm Zapadny District. Echoes of the outstanding Satka’s monument depicting the hammer and sickle with the star can be read in the geometry of the compositions built in a spirit of classics of the Russian avant-garde.

Swiss duet Nevercrew (Christian Rebekkee and Pablo Tony) also chose the important Russian symbols: a brown bear and red colour. It turns out to be important for the artists that Russia has still preserved the world largest population of brown bears, that is why in their work the brown bear, though not endangered, is the symbol of nature, while the red stripe overlapping the bear image means the power of human effect. Though the Swiss team (whose name can be literary translate as “never a team”) declares that their key principle when creating their works and within the works themselves is that of discussion and continuing struggle of opinions, one help but noticing how smooth and laconic the red colour covers the figure of the bear.

Italian artists Solo and Diamond found inspiration not as much in images of the Russian culture in general, as in achievements of the Russian culture that affected the history of mankind. One of the paintings (Solo) depicts a spaceman, who is ready for the flight with the message added by the author: “Don’t change the planet, do change your world”. The Diamond’s work is probably of the most romantic character. Simona Kapodimonte, an Italian coordinator of the project, finds that the female character depicted in the painting refers to the Swan Princess from the famous Swan Lake.

You can find sketches of the works the artists want to paint in Satka in the website.