{"id":7771,"date":"2019-03-24T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-24T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kglabs.org\/tourism-and-creative-economy\/revolution-of-culture-march-april-2019\/"},"modified":"2019-03-24T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-03-24T12:00:00","slug":"revolution-of-culture-march-april-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kglabs.org\/ru\/revolution-of-culture-march-april-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Revolution of Culture, March\u2013April 2019: 87 Events, No Organiser, No Sponsors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
Revolution of Culture, March\u2013April 2019: 87 Events, No Organiser, No Sponsors<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
In the first week of February 2019, a manifesto appeared under the title «Revolution of Culture» \u2014 two pages, drafted in Bishkek, calling for a creative uprising that was not a programme, did not have a funder, and did not intend to have one. The dates it proposed were March 24 to April 7. Those dates were not random: March 24 is the anniversary of the 2005 Tulip Revolution, and April 7 is the anniversary of the 2010 uprising. The manifesto made the connection explicit: Kyrgyzstan had staged political revolutions on those dates; now it was time to stage one in the mind. The proposal was to fill the two weeks between those anniversaries with as many creative events as anyone was willing to organise, across as many cities as possible, under a shared hashtag. No prizes, no grants, no central coordination. Just an open invitation and a logo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the time the press release went out on March 18, the first iteration of the programme had more than 40 events confirmed. When the two weeks were over, the count stood at 87.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n \n Revolution of Culture \/ \u041c\u0430\u0434\u0430\u043d\u0438\u044f\u0442 \u0422\u04e9\u04a3\u043a\u04e9\u0440\u04af\u0448\u04af, March 24 \u2013 April 7, 2019. Source: KG Labs \/ Revolution of Culture archive.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n \n Revolution of Culture initiative logo, 2019. Source: KG Labs \/ Revolution of Culture archive.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
What the Manifesto Actually Said<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The manifesto opens on a self-diagnosis rather than a programme. It describes Kyrgyzstan as a country that has spent too long measuring itself against external frameworks \u2014 «dependent on other viewpoints, states and assessments» \u2014 and calls for a shift in that orientation. The argument is not that Kyrgyzstan needs more investment or more policy, but that it needs a different relationship to what it already is. «The 21st century is the information century, the time of digital awakening for Kyrgyzstan,» the manifesto says, then makes a specific claim about what that means for a small, landlocked post-Soviet country without significant extractable resources: «We cannot export material resources, but we can make a mark with intellectual, high-margin products \u2014 for that we need to believe in ourselves and develop education and creativity.»<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The manifesto cites what it calls the historically creative character of the Kyrgyz nation but argues that this heritage is being looked at backwards rather than forwards. The phrase it uses is worth preserving exactly: «We are historically a creative nation. However, we constantly look back. We need to focus on the future.»<\/em> The closing image \u2014 «our own Milky Way (\u0421\u0430\u043c\u0430\u043d\u0447\u044b\u043d\u044b\u043d \u0416\u043e\u043b\u0443) that will lead us through thorns to the stars» \u2014 draws on a specifically Kyrgyz astronomical reference. It is the kind of framing that does not translate into policy language but that an audience of young Bishkek creatives, students, and craftspeople would recognise as their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Structure: No Centre, No Budget<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The press release published on March 18 was explicit about the initiative’s unusual architecture: there was no central organising body and no sponsors. Anyone who wanted to hold a creative event during the two weeks \u2014 at any scale, in any city, on any subject \u2014 could join the initiative by creating a Facebook event, tagging @madaniyKG, and using the hashtag #\u0440\u0435\u0432\u043e\u043b\u044e\u0446\u0438\u044f\u041a\u0443\u043b\u044c\u0442\u0443\u0440\u044b or its Kyrgyz-language equivalent #\u043c\u0430\u0434\u0430\u043d\u0438\u044f\u0442\u0422\u04e9\u04a3\u043a\u04e9\u0440\u04af\u0448\u04af. The instructions were concrete and minimal: fix a date, build a programme, notify the initiative’s email address. There were no application forms, no grants, and no approval process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The press release gave examples of what might count as an event to illustrate the breadth of the invitation: «Watching an important film about creativity with colleagues, a drawing competition among children, a lecture on art at your home school, a master class on kite-making for bank employees, gates painted red along an entire street, playing violin in the courtyard of an apartment block, or any other idea that hooks, pulls from the everyday, awakens.» The list was not prescriptive; it was meant to demonstrate that the organisers were not filtering by prestige, scale, or format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What 87 Events Looked Like<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The resulting programme spread across nine cities in Kyrgyzstan and two cities in Sweden. In Bishkek, fifty events ran across the two weeks. Osh hosted thirteen \u2014 making it the second-largest node of the initiative, which is notable given that most Bishkek-centred creative programmes of this period did not reach the southern capital at all. Naryn contributed eight events; Jalal-Abad, Talas, Karakol, Issyk-Kul oblasts, Tokmok, and Batken each contributed between one and three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Sweden, two Kyrgyz craftswomen \u2014 Aidai Chochunbaeva and Nurmukhammad Berdibekov \u2014 ran a series of felt-craft and traditional-textile workshops in Stockholm, at the Nooruz celebrations of the Central Asian diaspora community, and then in the city of Varberg, where the cultural history museum was hosting a «Kyrgyzstan: Art and Heritage» exhibition that ran until August 2019. That the Revolution of Culture reached Stockholm and Varberg was not a programme decision but an individual initiative: the craftswomen were already there, saw the dates overlap with the initiative window, and registered their workshops accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n \n
\n
City \/ Location<\/th>\n
Events<\/th>\n
Country<\/th>\n <\/tr>\n <\/thead>\n
\n
\n
Bishkek<\/td>\n
50<\/td>\n
Kyrgyzstan<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Osh<\/td>\n
13<\/td>\n
Kyrgyzstan<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Naryn<\/td>\n
8<\/td>\n
Kyrgyzstan<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Jalal-Abad<\/td>\n
3<\/td>\n
Kyrgyzstan<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Talas<\/td>\n
3<\/td>\n
Kyrgyzstan<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Karakol<\/td>\n
2<\/td>\n
Kyrgyzstan<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Issyk-Kul oblast<\/td>\n
2<\/td>\n
Kyrgyzstan<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Tokmok<\/td>\n
2<\/td>\n
Kyrgyzstan<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Batken<\/td>\n
1<\/td>\n
Kyrgyzstan<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Stockholm<\/td>\n
2<\/td>\n
Sweden<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Varberg<\/td>\n
1<\/td>\n
Sweden<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Total<\/strong><\/td>\n
87<\/strong><\/td>\n
<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n <\/tbody>\n <\/table>\n Events by city, Revolution of Culture, March 24 \u2013 April 7, 2019. Source: \u0420\u0435\u0432\u043e\u043b\u044e\u0446\u0438\u044f \u043a\u0443\u043b\u044c\u0442\u0443\u0440\u044b \u2014 \u0438\u0432\u0435\u043d\u0442\u044b 2019.md statistics table.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n \n
\n
Creative economy segment<\/th>\n
Number of events<\/th>\n <\/tr>\n <\/thead>\n
\n
\n
Crafts and traditional making (\u0420\u0435\u043c\u0435\u0441\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0447\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e)<\/td>\n
25<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Art<\/td>\n
10<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Lectures, seminars, and training<\/td>\n
8<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Film<\/td>\n
7<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Music<\/td>\n
6<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Eco-action (clean-up events)<\/td>\n
6<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Folk culture and traditional performance<\/td>\n
5<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Fashion<\/td>\n
5<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Tourism<\/td>\n
4<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Dance<\/td>\n
2<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
IT\/robotics, design, martial arts, quest<\/td>\n
4 (1 each)<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Total<\/strong><\/td>\n
87<\/strong><\/td>\n <\/tr>\n <\/tbody>\n <\/table>\n Events by creative economy segment, Revolution of Culture, March 24 \u2013 April 7, 2019. Source: \u0420\u0435\u0432\u043e\u043b\u044e\u0446\u0438\u044f \u043a\u0443\u043b\u044c\u0442\u0443\u0440\u044b \u2014 \u0438\u0432\u0435\u043d\u0442\u044b 2019.md statistics table. Total participants: 1,066 (cumulative, where reported).<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n \n Revolution of Culture campaign visual with event schedule, March\u2013April 2019. Source: KG Labs \/ Revolution of Culture archive.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n \n Revolution of Culture campaign visual (square format), March\u2013April 2019. Source: KG Labs \/ Revolution of Culture archive.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
What Happened in the Two Weeks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Crafts dominated the programme \u2014 a quarter of all events involved traditional making, from shyrdak felt and chiy-dolls to yurt construction demonstrations, kalpak-sewing workshops, and terme textile training in the Alai district of Osh oblast. This was not a programme design choice but a reflection of who responded to the open invitation. The Central Asian Crafts Support and Research Center (CACSARC-kg) became the single most active contributor, registering events in Naryn (felt-puzzle games, national instruments, traditional cooking), Bokonbaevo in Issyk-Kul region (tourism talk), Tokmok (youth folk-art event), and multiple Bishkek and Osh venues. The regional scope of CACSARC-kg’s contribution meant that the initiative reached villages and district towns that no previous Bishkek-origin creative initiative had touched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The film segment included two distinct currents: independent cinema (short films «Bashat» and «Peshiy Tuman» at Ololohaus Victory on March 30; the 2011 film «Moneyball» at Ololohaus Erkindik on March 31; Aitmatov film screenings at an Anticafe venue on April 2\u20133) and Kyrgyz animated-film screenings for children, concentrated around the CACSARC-kg programme and the «Silk Road» family festival at the Fine Arts Museum on April 5. The film «Koktoydin Ashy» \u2014 an animation about the unification of the Kyrgyz tribes \u2014 appeared in the programme three times in different venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On April 3, at AUCA’s conference room, Galina Koretskaya \u2014 who heads culture and creative economy projects at the British Council Central Asia \u2014 gave a talk titled «What is creative economy: culture and art in the 21st century from the perspective of social and economic development.» Fifty people attended. The event was organised by Ololohaus and AUCA together. The context was interesting: by April 2019 Koretskaya had already participated in KG Labs’ Creative Business Cup panel discussions and the first Creative Spark programme events, so the AUCA talk was part of a running conversation rather than a standalone introduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
April 6 concentrated the largest single-day events. At Erkindik Boulevard in Bishkek, Ololohaus organised an evening music event. At Alta Moda, a Fashion Night Out \u2014 a marketplace of Kyrgyz designers organised by IZZZO, WANT studio, Alta Moda, and Vogue bar \u2014 drew about two hundred people. In Osh, a poetry evening ran at Coworking Next. The following day, April 7 \u2014 the closing date \u2014 a city-centre quest mapped participants through cultural and artistic landmarks in central Bishkek, with a prize fund of 20,000 KGS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Numbers at the Close<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
By the time the events spreadsheet was compiled, 1,066 people had been counted as participants across the events where attendance was recorded. The social media profile was modest by the scale of the programme \u2014 393 Facebook page followers, a reach of 12,212 people over the 28-day window, and 5,054 engagement interactions \u2014 but the audience was sharply defined: 80% of the Instagram following was aged 18 to 34, 72% women. The hashtag #\u0440\u0435\u0432\u043e\u043b\u044e\u0446\u0438\u044f\u043a\u0443\u043b\u044c\u0442\u0443\u0440\u044b was used in 314 posts; the Kyrgyz-language equivalent #\u043c\u0430\u0434\u0430\u043d\u0438\u044f\u0442\u0442\u043e\u043d\u043a\u043e\u0440\u0443\u0448\u0443 in 224. Sixteen media outlets covered the initiative, including Kabar, AkiPress, Sputnik.kg radio (four separate radio segments), Kaktus Media, Telekanal Kyrgyzstan, TV1KG, KTRK, and Radio MARAL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n \n
\n
Audience indicator<\/th>\n
Share<\/th>\n <\/tr>\n <\/thead>\n
\n
\n
Women<\/td>\n
72%<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Men<\/td>\n
28%<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Age 18\u201324<\/td>\n
34%<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Age 25\u201334<\/td>\n
46%<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Age 18\u201334 (combined)<\/td>\n
80%<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n <\/tbody>\n <\/table>\n Instagram audience demographics, Revolution of Culture, April 2019. Source: \u0420\u0435\u0432\u043e\u043b\u044e\u0446\u0438\u044f \u043a\u0443\u043b\u044c\u0442\u0443\u0440\u044b \u2014 \u0438\u0432\u0435\u043d\u0442\u044b 2019.md statistics table.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
As a demonstration that it was possible to organise 87 creative events in nine cities, with no budget and no central authority, entirely on the shared recognition of a date and a hashtag, the first Revolution of Culture made its case. What the manifesto had argued was theoretical \u2014 that creative potential is widely distributed, that it does not require institutional permission to activate \u2014 the programme appeared to confirm in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Initiative Details<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n \n
\n
Initiative name<\/td>\n
\u0420\u0435\u0432\u043e\u043b\u044e\u0446\u0438\u044f \u041a\u0443\u043b\u044c\u0442\u0443\u0440\u044b \/ \u041c\u0430\u0434\u0430\u043d\u0438\u044f\u0442 \u0422\u04e9\u04a3\u043a\u04e9\u0440\u04af\u0448\u04af \/ Revolution of Culture<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Manifesto<\/td>\n
February 5, 2019, Bishkek<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Press release<\/td>\n
March 18, 2019<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Duration<\/td>\n
March 24 \u2013 April 7, 2019 (15 days)<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Date symbolism<\/td>\n
March 24 = 2005 Tulip Revolution anniversary; April 7 = 2010 revolution anniversary<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Organising model<\/td>\n
Decentralised: no single organiser, no sponsors; events registered independently by any participant<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Total events<\/td>\n
87<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Cities<\/td>\n
11 (Bishkek, Osh, Naryn, Jalal-Abad, Talas, Karakol, Issyk-Kul oblast, Tokmok, Batken; Stockholm and Varberg, Sweden)<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Total participants (reported)<\/td>\n
1,066<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
\n
Media coverage<\/td>\n
16 outlets (Kabar, AkiPress, Sputnik.kg, Kaktus Media, Telekanal Kyrgyzstan, TV1KG, KTRK, Radio MARAL, and others)<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
CACSARC-kg (Central Asian Crafts Support and Research Center); Ololohaus (Bishkek); Supara ethno-complex; Coworking Next (Osh); KG Labs Public Foundation<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n <\/tbody>\n <\/table>\n Source: \u041f\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0441-\u0440\u0435\u043b\u0438\u0437 \u0420\u0435\u0432 \u041a\u0443\u043b\u044c\u0442\u0443\u0440\u044b 190319 (1).md; \u0420\u0435\u0432\u043e\u043b\u044e\u0446\u0438\u044f \u043a\u0443\u043b\u044c\u0442\u0443\u0440\u044b \u2014 \u0438\u0432\u0435\u043d\u0442\u044b 2019.md (statistics table); \u041c\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0444\u0435\u0441\u0442 \u043d\u0430 \u0440\u0443\u0441\u0441.md \u2014 markitdown-output\/\u041c\u0430\u0434\u0430\u043d\u0438\u044f\u0442 \u0440\u0435\u0432\u043e\u043b\u044e\u0446\u0438\u044f Revolution of Culture 2019\/ archive.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Revolution of Culture, March\u2013April 2019: 87 Events, No Organiser, No Sponsors In the first week of February 2019, a manifesto appeared under the title «Revolution of Culture» \u2014 two pages, drafted in Bishkek, calling for a creative uprising that was not a programme, did not have a funder, and did not intend to have one. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[374,321],"tags":[412,624,344,414,369,195,676,639,416,324,415,413],"class_list":["post-7771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community-and-events","category-tourism-and-creative-economy","tag-412","tag-geo-bishkek","tag-bishkek","tag-cacsarc","tag-crafts","tag-creative-economy","tag-op-ecosystem-activation","tag-format-event-record","tag-naryn","tag-ololohaus","tag-osh","tag-revolution-of-culture"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"ru","enabled_languages":["en","ru"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kglabs.org\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kglabs.org\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kglabs.org\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kglabs.org\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kglabs.org\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7771\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kglabs.org\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kglabs.org\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kglabs.org\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}