The cultural program of the IAF – 2025 has been published

The official website has published the cultural program of the International Arctic Forum "The Arctic – the territory of dialogue" (IAF), which will be held on March 26-27 in Murmansk under the motto "Live in the North!". The Forum is organized by the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Government of the Russian Federation.

"The cultural program of the IAF focuses on demonstrating the uniqueness and achievements of the Arctic regions, as well as Russia's leading role in the development of the Arctic. It combines historical retrospect, modern trends and the image of the future of the Far North. Special attention is paid to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the North. A variety of formats will make it possible to present the Arctic as a territory with great cultural, creative and tourist potential. I am sure that the events and venues will be of interest to the Forum participants, guests and residents of the Murmansk Region," said Anton Kobyakov, Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation and Executive Secretary of the IAF–2025 Organizing Committee.

The cultural program events will be held from March 25 to March 30. As part of the Taste of the Arctic gastronomic festival, a joint team of restaurateurs and chefs from the subjects of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation will present a menu of regional cuisine, which widely uses products from the northern seas and local producers.

A 25-meter tunnel will be built at the festival site, inside of which there will be ice engravings dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the development of the Northern Sea Route. In addition to the exhibition, visitors will find the ice bar "Taste the North", where Murmansk producers will present Arctic drinks, as well as a fair of works by Arctic craftsmen. In the Sami village, it will be possible to get acquainted with the way of life of the indigenous peoples of the North. The festival will be held on Vorovsky Street, opposite the Central Square of Murmansk.

"The rich program has combined formats that are designed to show the cultural wealth and uniqueness of the Arctic, to give a comprehensive idea of the traditions of the peoples of the North. A gastronomic festival, themed venues, film screenings, theatrical performances and excursions will be organized. The events will reflect the high level of modern cultural life in the region and will become an important event for Murmansk. In turn, participants and guests of the Forum will not only be able to learn more about the history and modernity of the Arctic, but also establish business contacts in an informal setting," said Ekaterina Ivanova, Head of the Creative Projects Directorate at the Roscongress Foundation.

The Murmansk Regional Museum of Local Lore will host guided tours for the Forum participants, revealing the uniqueness of the Murmansk Region. Various thematic expositions will be open during the IAF. Among them is an exhibition of paintings about the development of the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route from the funds of the Murmansk Regional Art Museum, an exhibition of works from the collection of the Center for Contemporary Art "Radiance" and works from the collections of Vladimir Nekrasov and Andrei Malakhov, donated to the Murmansk Regional Art Museum "Malakhov. Contemporary Art", and others.

It will also be possible to take a guided tour of the icebreaker Lenin. This is the world's first ship with a nuclear power plant, which has provided navigation along the Northern Sea Route for about 30 years. The icebreaker conducted thousands of ships in the Arctic and traveled a total of 654,400 nautical miles. Now it has become the "calling card" of the Murmansk region and one of the most visited tourist sites in the Kola North.

Thematic film screenings will be organized for the Forum participants. In particular, the paintings "North Pole" and "Village of Widows" will be presented. These films tell about the inextricable link between the past and the present, about the exploits of the Russian people, immortalized in stories of unity, perseverance and love for the Fatherland.

The guests of the Forum will be able to visit the productions of Murmansk theaters, the creative evening of the Honored Artist of Russia Alexander Oleshko "Set the mood". In addition, an art cocktail is planned, during which the play "Prologue about the Murmansk Region" will be shown, which will end with a concert with the participation of the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Northern Fleet.

Special attention will be paid to the Arctic Dialogue regional project, where residents and guests of the region will be able to communicate with IAF speakers.

As part of the cultural program, on March 17, a solemn ceremony will be held to transfer the "BRICS whale" to the Murmansk Regional Museum of Local Lore, a humpback whale figure that became one of the symbols of Russia at the XVI BRICS Summit in Kazan in 2024. The exhibition at the Summit was a continuation of the BRICS National Brands exhibition, which was held as part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2024.

The VI International Arctic Forum "The Arctic – the Territory of Dialogue" is a key platform for discussing topical issues of socio-economic development of the Arctic territories, developing multi-level multilateral mechanisms for joint disclosure and effective development of the powerful resource potential of the Arctic region.

Online registration of media and blogosphere representatives for the Forum's events is open on the official website until March 14.

More information about the event is available on the website forumarctica.ru .