Annually, the Youth Forum “Tavrida” attracts thousands of young and ambitious personalities in the area of arts, as well as provides them with infinite possibilities, new knowledge and chances to run their desired projects. All these ideal conditions for potential creators are quite good for searching and finding the truth. We are totally sure in it.

The Chief Executive Officer  of the art cluster the Autonomous Noncommercial Organization “Center for Cultural Initiatives Development” Sergey Pershin told journalists of “The Crimean Magazine” about the way the Crimean forum had changed the peninsula for the last six years and how “Tavrida” breaks in bloom on the Crimean land. Moreover, he also shed some light on questions connected with the art residency building process, online projects, anti-school concepts and answered why upcoming times are times of people involved in creative directions and what kind of people are usually invited as hoped-for guests to the forum and many other interesting facts.

СM: Sergey, the Youth Forum “Tavrida” was six years in 2020. Let’s sum up how it has been changed for that time period. 

First of all, we associate “Tavrida” with people. For the last six years, our forum was attended by more than twenty thousand of creators, who represented different trends of culture, arts and creative fields. They can be called people of future. I am sure they will start developing new senses for millions of citizens in three or five years. For example, they are able to write a book, make a film or stage a performance. They won’t perceive the Crimean peninsula as something alien and unfamiliar. “Tavrida” gives new senses to Crimea, which becomes a place of arising of the Russian culture’s new ideas and where new modern projects emerge within creative industries.

The Crimean peninsula becomes an attraction point for creators and their sweet home.

CM: It would be very interesting to know why you’ve decided to select Crimea as a place of the creative forum. Of course, we Crimeans understand it. Our local sea, mountains and history inspire creators to bring their dreams to life according to their artistic freedom…How do you think what were the prerequisites of that event happened six years ago?

Somehow or other, any creative industry can be identified with Crimea. The region remembers the history of such mutual relations and interconnection. Outstanding people from Aivazovsky to Grin lived and created here. They produced a lot of films, understood the texture of this place and its manysideness. Needless to say, all these elements support creative activities, inspire and surprise by their variety. Our country is so diverse and all of that is aligned with each other in a wonderful way. What else can creators dream about?

The interest of new generations to a self-realization goes on increasing.

CM: Can we say Crimea and “Tavrida” change each other?

— It’s a hundred-percent and well-balanced collaboration. Crimea is a place of great history and cultural heritage. Probably, it’s incorrectly to say that “Tavrida” has changed Crimea. The forum silently adds new personal skills to the region. The Crimean peninsula becomes an attraction point for creators and their sweet home. They perceive it as a place, where something new begins in their lives.

“Tavrida” gives new senses to Crimea, which becomes a place of arising of the Russian culture’s new ideas and where new modern projects emerge within creative industries.

CM: Forum “Tavrida” creates new job places in Crimea. How many people do you hire in a season and how many Crimeans are among them? 

— We resort to services of a large number of outsourcing firms. Up to 60 % or sometimes even up to 100 % (meant employees of companies that offer security services) of hired personnel are habitants of the Republic of Crimea. Currently, about 200 of Crimeans work at the forum. When our residence will start functioning in a year-round working mode, we plan to give jobs right to the local human resources.

CM: It’s well-known that it’s planned to begin building the art-residency “Tavrida” in Sudak in 2020. Would you be so kind to tell our readers more about this project?

The next phase of a facility constructing will be a building development of the art-residence’s first part, which will be able to accommodate up to 300 of people. It will be an all-season center with residential complexes, working rooms and zones of dining and communicating. The first part will be ready for operation in 2023-2024. Leading cultural country institutions will conduct educational programs. These programs will be different at time intervals, content concepts and existing results. They will span all fields of culture and arts and become an important addition to the events happen at this creative platform now.

The interest of new generations to a self-realization goes on increasing.

CM: Do you have a plan to transform “Tavrida” into the international project and invite foreign participants to Crimea?

Frankly speaking, our forum attracted a lot of guests from various countries last year. By the way, our fellows from the Federal Agency for the CIS Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo) will join us for next anti-school arrangements, as they organize and coordinate a foreign guests’ participation. We also cooperate with international experts, including specialists from the USA. They visited us last year and may be this season they will do it again. If it’s so necessary to add the word “international” to our project’s title, then we will perform that action. To my mind, an inner content is the major thing. Taking this fact into consideration, I can say our project is quite international.

CM: Before starting our interview, we have heard the story about on place creative activities of youngsters. They construct new art objects using barrels and planks. Comparing all these facts and events with your future plans, it’s a real grand-scale infrastructural project, which acquires features of something civilized. Do you feel any fears the local creation will become cozier and less rebel. Do you think it’s just inner anxieties or that’s new positive tendencies? 

Anyway, “Tavrida” will get bigger due to more significant infrastructure objects in future than those ones it possesses the present time. We would like the natural eco-surroundings to appear here. It will be the environment aimed not just at passing your time in an educational manner. We would like that creative platform to become a place, where a life is bright and action is all around the year, where new manufacturing capacities are set up and different global activities are undertaken. Last year, our festival gathered 100 thousand of viewers. We have set the bar to invite thirty thousand of people, but we have exceeded those rates three times. Some people may think it’s very easy, but it’s a hard work of the whole our team. In this context, I am a part of the team.

The “Tavrida” forum is not a standard format of institutions, as we offer much more. In the other words, we try to reduce the distance between tutors and participants to create the presence of a big equitable and creative society.