NUR
Annual independent International Media Art Festival – 2021-2024. The name of the annual multiformat event organized by the formate studio stands for “New Unique Reality.” One of its objectives is to work carefully with the architecture of Kazan. During the festival, multimedia art creates new meanings for familiar places, while places that are less popular among tourists and locals regain attention. Since 2021, NUR has been bringing together creative industries representatives from all over the world and is currently one of the largest festivals in Russia. Besides installations, the program includes audiovisual performances, digital art exhibitions, and educational events.
TON
Scenic design for a music event held as part of the NUR festival – 2023-2024. “TON” means “night” in Tatar, and all events are designed to make the guests feel the spirit of the night. Each time, the music event takes place in a new and unusual location, and formate creates unique scenic designs for them using a wide range of tools.
Reality Tunnel
Installation in a closed gallery under the main pedestrian street of Kazan – 2022. The term “reality tunnel” was introduced by American psychologist Timothy Leary to describe an individual's perception of the world through the prism of mental filters formed by a person's beliefs and life experience. The eponymous installation by formate was an underground multimedia complex, where sound and light interacted with the viewers' sensations at the subconscious level. Unique visual effects from pixel-controlled LED bars and moving headlights were complemented by synchronized 3D sound, which enhanced the overall perception and deepened the immersion in the installation.
BOZ
Installation under the dome of the Kazan Circus – 2023. The name of the installation created by formate means “ice” in Tatar. The light refracted in the system of mirrors formed a special pattern, resembling cracks. The play of light and reflections took viewers into a world where all elements interact with each other, creating a sense of icy beauty and fragility.
Tamchy
Installation in the Tainitskaya Tower of the Kazan Kremlin – 2023. The Tainitskaya Tower was named after the secret (“tainyi” in Russian) passage to the spring from which the defenders of the Kazan Kremlin drew drinking water when the fortress was besieged. The installation by formate uses this fact to symbolize the resilience of the people who survived the harsh conditions. The feeling of calm and harmony was created by luminous kinetic spherical drops (“tamchy” in Tatar), and the meditative soundtrack conveyed the atmosphere of the tower in different seasons, increasing the effect of immersion.
NUR x Prostor
Digital art exhibition on the largest media facade of a sports facility in Europe – 2024. An unprecedented digital art exhibition resulted from the collaboration between the formate studio and VK’s Prostor creative platform as part of the NUR festival. The 3,700m² multimedia facade of Kazan’s Ak Bars Arena stadium showcased works by artists from around the world who had participated in an international open call. Their works demonstrated a unique combination of digital art and modern technologies.
NUR NOW
The world’s largest curated exhibition of digital art – 2024. The exhibition curated by formate considers art as a process of continuous creative transformation and shows the variety of means and forms of artistic expressions of authors in the digital environment. More than 140 works by digital artists were displayed on 154 projectors in 26 rooms of the 3,000m² pavilion. A dome was also used, which allowed viewers to experience the full immersion in the works.
Savin Premier
The opening ceremony of the third NUR International Media Art Festival in a residential neighborhood – 2023. In 2023, a collaboration between formate and the Sadovoye Koltso group of companies made it possible to hold a large-scale opening ceremony of the third NUR International Media Art Festival. The public ceremony, which included an open-air concert and the premiere of an installation, took place in the Savin City residential neighborhood in Kazan. The focus was on the generative graphics by formate studio, which complemented live performances by the LS Orchestra, neoclassical composer Nikola Melnikov, and singer Erika Lundmoen. The synergy of art and modern technologies was emphasized by a multimedia installation created by radugadesign studio, a participant of the festival, in a premium-class Savin Premier residential complex that was under construction.
DAWN — DUSK — DAWN
Installation by Pokras Lampas within the framework of the NUR Festival – 2023. For the NUR Festival, the founder of calligrafuturism, Pokras Lampas, created a portal where dawn and dusk, digital calligraphic VR sculptures, and video documentation of the writing process were cyclically changing. The collaboration between formate studio and RIM Media Group made it possible to open this portal simultaneously on 130 media facades across Kazan, creating the effect of unity.
