Kokvitskaya Gora - the process of standing for community rights

Final project of the MA program “Art in Context” at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK)

This artistic research project explores the endangered Komi community of Kokvitskaya Gora, a constellation of 14 rural settlements in the Ust-Vym district of the Komi Republic, Russia. Combining ethnographic methods and personal narrative, the work examines how artistic practices can intervene in processes of erasure and support community agency.

The project is grounded in Grigorian’s personal connection to the region—her familly is from one of these villages. Through in-depth interviews and on-site engagement, the work gathers oral histories, memories, and everyday practices that challenge dominant narratives of rural abandonment.

Central to the project is the co-creation of a collective manifesto in collaboration with local residents and artists. This process-based, participatory format blurs the lines between research, art, and activism, resulting in a living document that articulates community demands and visions for the future. The manifesto functions both as an artwork and a tool of resistance—foregrounding Indigenous knowledge, lived experience, and place-based identity.

As an artistic research practice, Kokvitskaya Gora – The Process of Standing for Community Rights highlights the potential of situated, collaborative art to make visible hidden infrastructures of care and belonging in post-Soviet rural context. 

Read the full text here:
ResearchGate – Kokvitskaya Gora: The Process of Standing for Community Rights