Biennale as a Mode of Working with Cultural Memory: the Case of the Ural Industrial Biennale of Contemporary Art

The present research is aimed at investigating phenomenon of biennale as a mode of working with cultural memory. On a basis of studying the case of the Ural Industrial Biennale of Contemporary Art it intends to reveal the consequences of interaction of perennial large-scale exhibitions of contemporary art (biennials) with a historical heritage. The problem of this research is a lack of authorized texts dealing with biennale as a specific for postindustrial societies mode of working with cultural memory. So the general purpose of this project is to demonstrate the mode biennale works with cultural memory, to reveal its distinctive features and to determine the result of such contact with historical heritage of the Urals region. Methods of this research are anticipated to be case studies, discourse analysis, content analysis and semi-structured interview. The present research consists of theoretical and practical parts. Theoretical part discloses the main transformations in practices of memorization from industrial society to postindustrial. Practical part is devoted to the Ural Industrial Biennial case study. The anticipated results could advance our understanding of the phenomenon of biennale of contemporary art as an invention of postindustrial society and serve as a basis for the deeper investigation of the way cultural memory functions from different perspectives.