Calvert 22 Foundation


Calvert 22 Foundation is a non-profit UK registered charity created in 2009 by Russian-born, London-based economist Nonna Materkova. Calvert 22 Foundation focuses on the contemporary culture and creativity of the 29 countries of the New East through education, events, exhibitions, research, and online content in The Calvert Journal.

Mission

Calvert 22 Foundation's mission is to build opportunities for emerging creative talent in the New East by supporting and showcasing the contemporary culture and creative economy of the region and deepening knowledge through in-depth research and analysis.

Activities

In 2012, the foundation established a partnership with Smolny College to enable student and lecturer exchange programmes, visits and conferences, involving educational institutions such as the Royal College of Art, the University of Edinburgh and the Courtauld Institute.
The foundation has partnered and collaborated with other cultural and educational institutions – Tate Modern, The Photographers' Gallery, the Science Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Council, the State Hermitage Museum, UCL, King's College London, the European University at St Petersburg, the Barbican Centre, Rich Mix Cultural Foundation, the London Festival of Architecture and the London Design Festival.
2013 saw the creation of Calvert Forum, a creative industries think tank generating forums, talks and reports researching the role of creative enterprise on economic and social development in the New East region. In 2016, the Calvert 22 Foundation launched its long-term collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers to develop and publish the Creative Capital Index.
In May 2016, the foundation established the New East Photo Prize, for "representations of the social, cultural and physical landscape of the New East and other perspectives on that region," and presented the prize's inaugural exhibition from November to December 2016.
In 2017, Calvert 22 Foundation dedicated a year-long season of events, art and digital content to marking the centenary of the Russian Revolution entitled The Future Remains: Revisiting Revolution in partnership with St Petersburg's Hermitage Museum.
The New East Travel Guide is the foundation's mobile app, "that connects city travellers to the creative and cultural side of the New East". Locations currently included are Moscow, St Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Voronezh and Tbilisi.

Calvert 22 Space

The foundation's first initiative was Calvert 22 Gallery in London. It is a not-for-profit space hosting events, talks, screenings and exhibitions on history, photography, film, music, architecture, literature and contemporary art of the region. It is also the foundation's headquarters. Set across two floors of a converted warehouse, the gallery's name was derived from its address on Calvert Avenue in Shoreditch, East London.
Calvert 22 Space has staged exhibitions with artists including Sanja Iveković, Alexander Brodsky, Neue Slowenische Kunst, and Olga Chernysheva.
Calvert 22 Space is home to the Calvert 22 Bookshop and the Calvert 22 Café, which host pop-ups, supper clubs and book launches.
In 2016, Calvert 22 Space reopened after a year-long refurbishment with a broadened exhibitions and events programme. Its Red Africa season of exhibitions and events ran in early 2016, followed by the Power and Architecture season.

The Calvert Journal

In 2013, the foundation launched The Calvert Journal, a digital magazine of contemporary New East culture, including art, film, architecture, design and avant-garde culture. It is updated daily with reportage, comment and photography, by an editorial team in London and a network of contributors in the New East. Initially launched with a Russian focus, The Calvert Journal has since broadened its scope to include all 29 countries in the New East region.