An exhibition of paintings and a creative meeting were held at the D.S. Bortnyansky Children's Art School.

On June 6, the D.S. Bortnyansky Children's Art School hosted an exhibition of paintings and a creative meeting between Nikas Safronov, People's Artist of the Russian Federation, and teachers and students of art schools in St. Petersburg. The event was included in the program of the SPIEF St. Petersburg Seasons Cultural Festival.

The meeting was organized as part of the Roscongress Foundation's development of social projects in the Country's Potential ecosystem. The format of the event allowed the young artists to personally communicate with the master, ask questions, as well as show their work and receive professional advice. In total, 60 students and teachers attended the meeting.

"It is important for the Roscongress Foundation not only to create professional platforms for mature specialists, but also to take care of the future generation and to form the personnel reserve of our country. Within the framework of ecosystem projects "The potential of the country“ we help schoolchildren, students and aspiring professionals who have the potential and desire to develop in professional self-realization. Such meetings with recognized professionals have become a good tradition of the SPIEF cultural program, and these are not just lessons and master classes, they are investments in the harmonious development of the younger generation," said Maria Kiselyova, Deputy Director of the Roscongress Foundation, Head of the Directorate for work with participants and head of the Potential of the Country ecosystem.

Several talented students from the St. Petersburg City Children's Art School named after G.N. Antonov, M.I. Glinka Children's Art School, I.P. Sautov Children's Art School and D.S. Bortnyansky Children's Art School took part not only in a creative meeting, but also in a master class. Having received the topic in advance, the guys made drawings, and Nikas Safronov gave them recommendations in the process.

"We were pleased to welcome such a famous master, People's Artist of the Russian Federation Nikas Safronov, to the school. For the first time, he conducted a master class for children from St. Petersburg. The guys were really looking forward to the opportunity to personally communicate with the artist. The event became a dialogue between Moscow and St. Petersburg schools, provided an incentive for further development and inspired young artists to search for new ideas and improve their work," commented Svetlana Semenova, Director of the D.S. Bortnyansky Art Institute.

This is not the first time that Nikas Safronov, People's Artist of the Russian Federation, has participated in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. His exhibition, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War, could be seen by the forum participants last year. At SPIEF 2026, the author participated in a project of the Roscongress Foundation's Marma Laboratory of current technologies: the point of attraction for the Forum guests was an interactive map of the regions of Russia, for which the artist created a painted frame in the aesthetics of traditional ornaments and folk paintings.

The Interactive Map of Russia Regions project was created at the intersection of art and technology. Being an exact copy of the Embroidered map of Russia in a digital environment, the interactive map allows you to travel around the country thanks to the virtual layer. This year, the map also had a musical layer: you could hear the music of the regions using the cabin of the Teleport across Russia. Nikas Safronov has developed a unified stylistic design for the map's display at the Forum site.

"With the help of modern technology, you can do amazing things. Take, for example, the Marma Laboratory project "Interactive map of Russian regions“. This is the digital atlas of our country. You pick up your phone, point the camera at any of the 89 regions on the map, and immediately a small movie starts. You can find out how the region lives, what traditions it has, what it produces, and what sights it has. For this project, I made an artistic frame – I framed the map in a hand-painted frame in the spirit of folk crafts. And in the cabin of the Teleport across Russia, it's like being transported on a journey through our country: listening to modern ethnic music and getting acquainted with the rich culture of the peoples. Many thanks to the Marma team for this project. It is a pleasure to work with them," said Nikas Safronov, People's Artist of the Russian Federation.

The Interactive Map of Russia Regions project combines tradition and innovation, and engages a wide audience in exploring the culture and opportunities of Russia's regions through modern immersive technologies.

In the design of many of the SPIEF-2026 stands, you can see a combination of elements of traditional culture and the latest technologies. Thanks to the joint efforts of representatives of the creative community and the information technology industry, traditions are being integrated into modern life, which contributes to the preservation of the cultural identity of the peoples of Russia.