Multimedia show on Dvortsovaya Street will be held in St. Petersburg

As part of the Hermitage Days, the art of the past, present and future will once again merge into a single symphony, and the historical architecture of the Palace Square will turn into a living canvas of light, sound and emotions. On December 6 and 7, two grand mapping shows will take place at once: a light performance dedicated to the 185th anniversary of the birth of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the composer whose music changed the world; and the final of the All-Russian Contemporary Media Art Competition "Land of Light", which will be held in St. Petersburg for the 4th time.

The multimedia show Tchaikovsky, created with the support of the St. Petersburg Committee for Culture, is the story of a great composer through disappointments, hopes, talent development and hard work. The 20-minute performance, conventionally divided into 13 episodes, accompanied by the composer's most recognizable musical works, will cover the entire path of the creator – from a happy childhood to world recognition and almost mystical death. The light performance will tell about the path of a person seeking harmony between fate and inspiration, duty and freedom, pain and beauty. The show will become a visual embodiment of great music, living on the border between happiness and despair, between Russian melancholy and world greatness. The lyrical characters of the performance will be the composer himself, as well as his relatives, relatives, and contemporaries. Their thoughts and memories will be voiced by the stars of the St. Petersburg theater: People's Artist of Russia Nikolai Burov, Honored Artist of Russia Oleg Kulikovich and theater and film actress Anna Geller. The multimedia extravaganza will take place on the facade of the Headquarters, involving every centimeter of the facade, 20 columns and all 228 windows.

3D mapping technology is the art of the future, including digital innovations, architecture, music, and literature. Every second of the show not only illustrates, but tells an exciting story with light and sound, in which the viewer becomes a full participant. Architectural transformations, optical illusions, and light rhythm are created by dozens of high-power projectors and constantly improving mapping developments. Every year, multimedia shows within the framework of the Hermitage Days are becoming more ambitious and technologically advanced. Moreover, lighting artists and mapping design studios are actively developing in our country. The result of their professional and creative success is participation in the finals of the All-Russian competition of modern video art "Land of Light".

The competition is being held with the support of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives for the fourth time, and it is gaining momentum every year. 11 finalists (out of 170 participants!) from different regions of Russia reached the final. The audience will see multimedia three-minute sketches of the teams of Vologda, Tomsk, Omsk, Vladimir, Moscow regions, St. Petersburg, the Altai Republic and the Republic of Tatarstan. The constant theme of declarations of love, gratitude and admiration for one's Small Homeland has gained a new meaning this year – the teams will tell fairy tales, legends and myths that have become symbols of a particular corner of Russia. Each work is an attempt to tell the story of his native land in the language of light: fragile, instantaneous and at the same time eternal.

The works of the finalists of the competition will be shown on the facade of the Headquarters of the Guards Corps for two days, on December 6 from 20.00 to 23.00 and on December 7 from 19.00 to 23 hours. In addition, an online broadcast will be held on the official website of the project and on the TV channel "Big Broadcast" from Tricolor. Every viewer will be able not only to see, but also to influence the outcome of the competition: together with a competent jury headed by Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky, Director General of the State Hermitage Museum and President of the Union of Museums of Russia, the winners will be selected and solemnly awarded on December 7. The jury will determine 3 prizes: the winner of the first place will receive 1 million rubles, the second — 700,000, the third — 400,000; the audience will award a special audience award and an award of 500,000 rubles. Online voting will open on December 6 at 20:00 and will end on December 7 at 22:00 Moscow time on the official website of the project.

These days, the Palace Square will become a space of inspiration, where music and light, traditions and technologies, the past and the future meet. A holiday that cannot be retold — you can only see it. Admission is free.

The telecommunications partner of the project has been the mobile operator T2 for the fourth year. The company, remaining true to its concept of a lifestyle enabler (life partner), continues to support subscribers in all areas of their interests, including culture and art. As a technology-driven brand, T2 combines an innovative approach with a focus on creativity. This synergy makes the brand conceptually close to media art, where technology becomes not just a tool, but a part of the creative process.

The Country of LIGHT Contemporary Media Art Competition has been held with the support of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives since 2022. His idea is to combine digital art and the cultural heritage of the regions, to show that a Small Homeland can become a source of inspiration for artists of a new generation. The participants of the competition can be novice or already established artists-videographers, animators, motion designers, 3D mappers; teams or independent artists.