Thematic Horizons of Regional Contemporary Art Exhibitions: Existential Values, Micro- and Macro-History, Humanistic Ideals

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15826/csp.2025.9.2.337

Abstract

This study examines contemporary art institutions as spaces of cultural production that exert a normative influence on their audiences. Although contemporary art galleries in Russia are receiving growing attention from social scientists, these studies often concentrate mainly on audience profiles. The study aims to identify the themes that galleries consider important for their audiences, as well as the semantic and value-based emphases in their interpretation of these themes. A content analysis of exhibition announcements from four galleries in Yekaterinburg between 2020 and 2023 was conducted based on grounded theory. The three-stage coding of these announcements allowed us to identify the themes that galleries consider important for their audiences and to reveal the conceptual and value-based emphases in interpreting these themes. We found that exhibitions most frequently address three themes: existential values, micro- and macro-history, and humanistic ideals. The study also describes institutional conditions that influence the exhibition policies of galleries.

Author Biographies

Elena S. Kochukhova, Institute of Philosophy and Law, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg, Russia

Elena S. Kochukhova, Cand. Sci. (Philosophy) is a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Philosophy and Law of the Ural Branch of the RAS. Her research interests revolve around cultural production, cultural policy, urban communities and practices, early Soviet culture. She favors qualitative methods of social research.

Evgenia A. Vakhrusheva, Institute of Philosophy and Law, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg, Russia

Evgenia A. Vakhrusheva, Cand. Sci. (Political Sciences) is an Academic Secretary and a Research Fellow at the Institute for Philosophy and Law, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Her main research interests are centered around contemporary political philosophy, history of political and social concepts, methods of political science research.

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Published
2025-07-12
How to Cite
Kochukhova, E., & Vakhrusheva, E. (2025). Thematic Horizons of Regional Contemporary Art Exhibitions: Existential Values, Micro- and Macro-History, Humanistic Ideals. Changing Societies & Personalities, 9(2), 463-478. doi:10.15826/csp.2025.9.2.337
Citation Formats
Issue
Vol. 9, No. 2 (2025)
Section
Articles