The Tavrida Art Cluster in Kapsel Bay near Sudak continues to strengthen its status as a key point on the map of Crimea’s cultural revival. In 2025, the platform will celebrate its tenth anniversary, having transformed from a festival into a national hub for creative youth, where art serves as a bridge between tradition and innovation.
The seventh Tavrida Festival is taking place from 1 to 3 August.ART”, which awaits 55,000 participants and confirms the peninsula’s role as an all-Russian cultural hub.
The headliners will be both legends (Vladimir Kuzmin, the band “Zveri”, “Pelageya”) and new names: XOLIDAYBOY, TRITIA, “Room of Culture”, VLADA MIRAVI, reflecting the palette of musical culture from Kalmykia to Bashkiria.
Special attention is paid to patriotic projects: the multimedia production “Shoulder to Shoulder: Art and Victory” for the 80th anniversary of Victory will unite war years’ songs performed by musicians and the orchestra of the Lugansk State Academy of Culture and Arts named after M. Matusovsky.
Tavrida schools held in 2025
The year-round work of the cluster is concentrated in the Meganom Academy, where 9 summer schools for 3,500 young professionals will be held until September 2025. Each school is dedicated to outstanding cultural and scientific figures.
The school dedicated to the 110th anniversary of the birth of the composer Georgy Sviridov was held from June 4 to June 10. Composers and choreographers created music for the cluster’s ballet, while designers developed merchandise collections.
The second summer school, dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the birth of the theater actor and director Oleg Tabakov, was held from June 12 to June 18. The directors and producers of the theater for the youngest children, circus and theater directors, as well as event organizers, contributed to the development of the school.
The third school was held from June 22 to 28 and was dedicated to the Crimean artist Ivan Aivazovsky. Young cultural talents worked on creating paintings and installations, re-creating masterpieces of art under the guidance of experts. Designers developed a collection of clothing and accessories for outdoor activities and tourism, while regional experts worked on creating a series of tourist routes in Abkhazia.
In July, three schools were held dedicated to the Soviet youth writer and military correspondent Arkady Gaidar (July 3-9), the father of Soviet nuclear energy Igor Kurchatov and the 80th anniversary of the nuclear industry (July 13-19), as well as the “Rehearsal base of the Festival of Young Art” (July 24-31), organized on the eve of the Festival of Young Art “Taurida.ART”.
A summer school dedicated to the 185th anniversary of the birth of Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky will also be held on August 15-21. The platform for classical artists will bring together ballet dancers, opera directors, and choreographers. In addition, scientists, environmentalists, and eco-activists will be searching for solutions to the environmental problems of the Black Sea.
Two more schools are planned in September, dedicated to the 105th anniversary of the birth of the cartoonist Leonid Shvartsman (September 6-12) and the Cross-Year of Russian and Chinese Culture (September 17-23).
Investments and Infrastructure
Located in the picturesque Kapsel Bay near Sudak, the cluster has become the epicenter of the country’s creative life since 2015, attracting tens of thousands of young cultural figures, investors, and guests from around the world. Over the decade of its existence, Tavrida has brought together over 270,000 participants from 89 regions of Russia and 37 countries, and its projects have received support at the highest governmental level.
As the general partner, VTB Bank is developing world-class art infrastructure, from an interactive art pier with environmental workshops to light installations like the “Course to Dream” project, inspired by the Crimean landscapes.
In 2024, the event’s media coverage, including international countries, exceeded 1.5 billion people, confirming its status as Russia’s largest youth platform.
The economy of Tavrida is a synthesis of government support. VTB Bank, which took over from RNKB, not only finances art objects, but also creates interactive spaces, such as an art pier with workshops on ecology and financial literacy.
The regions are actively using the platform for promotion: at Art Expo, they present cultural heritage, gastronomy, and merchandise, turning the pavilions into points of economic growth. In 2025, this practice will be enhanced by the theme of “Merch Park.” In addition, the Tavrida music label.ART, the cluster’s publishing house and magazine, have become a springboard for young musicians and writers, while performances and exhibitions showcase art as a bridge between regions.
Tavrida.ART is more than just a dot on the map of Crimea. It is a symbol of the peninsula’s revival as a national cultural center, where investments in creativity yield social and economic dividends. The cluster’s projects, from educational anti-schools to international festivals, demonstrate that art has the power to educate, unite, and transform reality.
According to Sergey Biletsky, the Managing Director of VTB in Crimea, Tavrida is a compass that helps young people achieve their dreams. For Crimea, this compass has already become one of the main landmarks in the sea of modern culture.
Vladimir Semenov, specially for News Front
