My name is Anna Dubinina, and I work in visitor engagement and public programme coordination within the cultural sector.

I worked as a museum mediator at the Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve for about a year, engaging directly with adult visitors and students and helping them discover art through dialogue and shared exploration. For me, mediation is an opportunity to create a space where everyone feels free to express their opinions, share their impressions, and find their own meaning in works of art. Before taking on this role, I completed a three-month training programme in museum mediation and received a certificate.

Museum mediation helps attract new visitors and make art accessible and engaging for a diverse audience. It allows visitors to explore a subject more deeply, connect it with their personal experiences, and gain a better understanding of artworks.In Russia, museum mediation is not yet widely practised, but in recent years it has become an an increasingly popular approach to museum work. One of the key centres for training museum mediators in Moscow was the Tsaritsyno State Museum and Heritage Site, where Marina Romanova led a course combining the theory and practice of participatory exhibition tours.

For Odorum, a Museum and Academy of Perfumery in Moscow, my colleague Polina Kuznetsova and I are developing a series of video explainers exploring olfactory practices across different historical periods.The history of perfumery is a complex and highly specialised subject that can be difficult to convey through artefacts alone. Traditional guided tours also cannot reach every visitor. Behind the objects displayed in museum cases are the people who used them, their habits and practices, and the broader picture of life in the past.

The series of video explainers make complex information more accessible and engaging, enrich the experience of viewing artefacts with historical context, and bring the past closer to contemporary audiences. Here is the list of my main tasks for the project:

I also worked on texts for the art platform «Artefact», developing explications for paintings and making them more understandable for viewers. You can read about them via the link: the work «Skew Hill at the Outskirts of the Village» by D. Burliuk and «Still Life» by I. Mashkov.

I develop and deliver cultural events and educational projects, taking responsibility for shaping concepts, designing programmes, coordinating logistics, and moderating discussions. I create formats that connect exhibitions with broader cultural and academic conversations, bringing together experts, practitioners, and audiences. Through this work, I help institutions attract new visitors, deepen engagement with exhibition themes, and build lasting connections with professional communities.As part of HSE University’s academic conference in April, I moderated the roundtable «The Art of the Poster in Research and Design Practices.» Bringing together visual culture researchers and practising designers, I facilitated a cross-disciplinary discussion that connected historical and theoretical perspectives with contemporary design practice.

In 2027, a dedicated section on Visual Studies is also planned as part of the conference, building on this work to further strengthen the research community and encourage exchange among scholars working in the field. You can follow the project’s development via the link.

My academic contribution focuses on the intersection of aesthetics, visual culture, and heritage studies. I have authored an article, «The Optics of Abstract Art in the Aesthetic Evaluation of Megalithic Monuments», published in a peer-reviewed academic journal ranked in the first quartile (Q1) under the Russian Higher Attestation Commission (VAK) classification.I have also presented my research at academic conferences organised by St Petersburg State University, HSE University, and the European University at St Petersburg.