Maria Galperina, CEO of Bright People told us about the trends of cultural urban projects in Moscow and how the city is gradually turning into a universe of festivals, street theater performances and art evenings.
1. Maria, why do banks and companies spend tens of millions of rubles on projects related to festivals, educational events and mass entertainment?
Presence in the life of the city and citizens is highly important for many companies. Most corporations need quality emotional and live communication with their audiences. There are companies that integrate into the urban culture of the capital, - the festival is an integral part of it and serves as an excellent way to use innovations in communication within human to human approach.
2. What is the fundamental difference between the goals of government and commercial projects?
State projects aim at social orientation. Government structures need to create an interesting program for citizens, as the state cares about the happiness and leisure of the country's inhabitants. Basically, KPI for such structures is to attract millions of viewers and provide rich and unforgettable immersive program with headliners and new local talents. Commercial projects aim at the implementation a certain KPI and focuses on the number of potential leads, sales, expansion of market share, etc.
3. Your company actively participates in majority of city events. What goals does Moscow achieve due to the chosen format of mass events? Why are street theaters and processions used instead of something else?
Well, firstly, street theaters allow us to achieve the most emotional effect, when artists communicate directly with citizens and give them inspiration, a desire to laugh and smile. Inspiration, great story, wonder and fun are kind of vitamin of happiness in its purest form - this is what everyone aspires to. Instead of going to a paid event, you walk down the street and immerse yourself in a theatrical miracle.
4. What are the criteria for a successful event?
For us this would be the number of people who came to the event, hype in social networks with positive reviews, TV and radio reviews, etc. According to social researches number of Muscovites staying in the city for the holidays, as they are waiting for a new spectacle, grows dramatically every year. People began to spend more time outside the home, because they are offered a whole menu of cultural and entertainment activities - music, games, theater, lectures, fashion shows, parades, interactive master classes, etc.
5. Was the “Journey to Christmas” festival a successful this year? Do you think such events are more aimed at tourists or at the residents of the capital?
We received many rave reviews from our regular viewers. Millions of people came to the festival as it became a kind of winter tradition of Moscow in the New Year period. However, since the state pays a lot of attention to the theatrical program in the districts of Moscow, I strongly believe that the emphasis is still on the residents of the country. For example, this December we opened the entertainment area in park Kuzminki, and the locals were delighted - they thanked our team all day! It was inspiring and very motivating!
6. Despite the diversity of interactivity, immersive and digital, event trends are changing rapidly every year. What are the trends of this year and what, in your opinion, does the consumer want now?
I am sure that immersive and digital formats are not fully discovered yet, and viewers will continue to VR, immersive street plays, etc. The trend of involvement and immersion grows rapidly and is enriched by the trend towards self-development. Today, events and festivals are full of creative and professional development, allowing to participate in various educational programs that Moscow and cultural clusters offer. Many viewers are waiting for high-quality educational content, however in the nearest future the cultural component will dominate.
7. Maria, what do you think about various generations of your audience? Some are inspired by classic folk tales that are used in your productions, while others prefer contemporary art, digital, VR. How do you adapt to new trends, taking into consideration diverse preferences of you?
We do not do classical fairy tales - we recreate storytelling that came out of the classics in a modern way. If you look at the history of art, its revival took place at those moments when people turned to their roots. What we do together with Golden Mask - our permanent partner, and modern designers and choreographers - is rethinking, and it is not limited exclusively to VR and digital. Besides, VR is a very local tool that cannot be applied globally with the throughput of millions of viewers, as for digital technology, it does not perform the function of the emotional live contact that we create. Our product is designed for different age categories - for young people we are doing the “Moscow Designer” project - this is a kind of mix of fashion shows, musical trends and lectures about fashion, design, architecture. For children, for example, we create theater acrobatic shows and plays, where every spectator becomes an actor as a part of the play. For adults we are preparing media plays and educational projects. We always track global trends and festivals to bring something new.
8. You organized a gastronomic festival in another city - tell us about this experience? How long did it last and what difficulties did you face?
The «Russian North» festival was held in Nickel from May to September. For 6 months we have been organizing culinary master classes. We brought maestros of cuisine to another city, cooked together with the citizens, shared the secrets of high cuisine. Along with the culinary classes there were creative classes, lectures about healthy lifestyles, food photography courses, a musical concert, art installations and competitions. At the end of the festival, together with the residents, we baked the biggest pie in the city!
The company Bright People is a entertainment production company, which is well-known in Russia for its large-scale theatrical immersive productions in the urban space. The Bright People team is composed of a diverse pool of talents and experts such as creative producers, choreographers, designers and screenwriters who create new trends in the art world, blurring the boundaries between the theater and the traditional event format.
Author - Shchur Maria
