The People and Technologies of the Urals Museum and Exhibition Complex demonstrates to visitors the historical and cultural heritage of the Ural region from ancient times to the modern days. Before the start of the academic year on August 31, a new modern hall was opened in the museum and exhibition complex of the Institute of Media, Social Sciences and Humanities, where digital technologies allow visitors to see ancient cave paintings and become acquainted with the history of their native land.
The museum and exhibition complex is a whole world in itself, it is an important part of the university and urban space. The goal of the museum is not to store exhibitions in dusty cabinets, but to become a cultural and educational centre, an interactive platform for dialogue among a wide range of specialists: historians, archaeologists, journalists, artists, photographers, scientists and other specialists.
“Today, with the support of SUSU Rector Aleksandr Shestakov and the help of the administrative and academic staff of the Eurasian Studies Research and Education Centre, the Department of Russian and International History, the Department of Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations of the Institute of Media, Social Sciences and Humanities, International Research Laboratory of Virtual Reality, the People and Technologies of the Urals Museum and Exhibition Complex has been created, demonstrating the historical and cultural heritage of the Ural region from ancient times to the modern days, as well as a unique exposition of Industrial Urals. The exposition is unique due to the fact that it presents a systematic view on the development of the Southern Urals in the 17th - early 20th centuries and the development of a powerful industrial complex as a whole, which cannot be seen in any other museum of the region,” notes the Director of the Institute of Media, Social Sciences and Humanities Lidiya Lobodenko.
When working on the museum and exhibition complex, special attention was paid to the development of the Digital History of the Urals multimedia block, including augmented reality for the permanent exhibition of Industrial Urals, a digital portal of the museum and exhibition complex, the Chelyabinsk: One City – Two Realities virtual media project, cartoons with 3D animation, etc. With the help of this, the museum is turning from a closed space into an open system, since visitors of the 21st century make high demands on the museum, expect new impressions and interactivity.
In the new hall of the museum, the exhibition of Chaos and Space: Cave Paintings of the Urals has been organized. The exhibition presents the oldest paintings of Russia from the Shulgan-Tash, Republic of Bashkortostan, and Ignatievka caves (Chelyabinsk Region), which are about 18 thousand years old. The exhibit combines original photographs taken in places of caves inaccessible to tourists, as well as 3D copies of paintings drawn on the walls by primitive people. In addition, the exhibition features the skull of a mammoth, woolly rhino and other representatives of megafauna that inspired ancient artists 18 thousand years ago.
With the help of digital technologies, visitors of the exhibition are able to “walk through” the two-storey Shulgan-Tash cave: the exhibition presents a 3D model of the famous object.
Moreover, the Conservation of Unique Cave Objects with Wall Paintings of the Paleolithic Age in the Southern Ural roundtable discussion was held at SUSU on August 31st. The meeting was moderated by Gayaz Samigulov, research fellow of the SUSU Eurasian Studies Research and Education Centre. The reports by the scientists were about the Ignatievka Cave: a monument of Paleolithic art, and the Shulgan-Tash Cave Historical and Cultural Museum Reserve. The event was attended by representatives of the State Committee for Preserving the Cultural Heritage Sites of the Chelyabinsk Region, the Ministry of Ecology and the Ministry of Culture of the Chelyabinsk Region.
The research fellow of the Institute of History and Archaeology of the Ural Division of Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Shirokov and the Head of the Department for Preserving the Cultural Heritage Sites of the State Committee for Preserving the Objects of Cultural Heritage of the Chelyabinsk Region Nadezhda Stepanova spoke about the Ignatievka Cave, the Paleolithic art monument of the South Ural.
The Director of the Shulgan-Tash Cave Historical and Cultural Museum Reserve Favzil Malikov, Deputy Director of the Scientific and Production Centre for Using the Immovable Cultural Heritage Sites of the Republic of Bashkortostan Nikolai Grigoriev and research fellow of the Shulgan-Tash Nature Reserve Olga Chervyatsova shared their experience with their Chelyabinsk colleagues.
In the Chelyabinsk Region, since the discovery of ancient paintings in the Ignatievka cave, the issue of putting the cave into the list of world sights has been raised from time to time. During the roundtable discussion, scientists spoke on the list of recommendations for the study and preservation of this monument of ancient art.
The Chaos and Space exhibition is open August 31st through December 19th.
You can visit the exhibition Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 16:00, free admission.
The People and Technologies of the Urals Museum and Exhibition Complex is located in Room 018-020, SUSU Main University Building, Lenin Prospekt 76.
Exhibition tours are available by prior arrangement, tel.: 267-96-16.