Penza, 20 September 2013. PenzaNews. The members of inter-regional socio-cultural media forum “Province Search” dedicated to the 350th anniversary of Penza, which brought together the representatives of federal mass media, as well as editors of TV companies from 15 regions of Russia, discussed the role of the media in promoting the cultural and historical heritage of the provincial cities and their image on Friday, September 20.

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The moderator of the event, the head of “News of Culture” studio of “Culture” channel Vladislav Flyarkovsky outlined the topics for discussion, such as “Mass Media — Historic mission in preservation and development of historical and cultural heritage,” “Formation of a new image of cultural journalism. What should be the modern mass culture and the television like?”, “How to attract young people to watching cultural programs?”, and “Culture as a factor of unity of people.”

The discussion was opened with a presentation of a number of projects, including multimedia contest “Russia 10,” a participant of which is Penza sculpture park “Legenda.”

Speaking of “Legenda” and the Penza region as a whole, the chief editor of “Culture” channel Sergei Shumakov set the region as an example of a place where coexist classical and contemporary art, since the latter is often left out.

Describing the attitude of Russians to the arts, Sergei Shumakov used the term “cultural reservation,” which, he says, is necessity to some extent, but it does not give independence and creates the fear of the future.

“We are not willing to think ourselves and are afraid of the future. According to the study, 40 % of Russians are making plans just for a couple of days ahead. We keep looking back, and this is a very dangerous thing. Yes, we have mastered the topography of cultural television, which often tells only about what happened, for example, the program about classical music, and it is unclear what to do with contemporary art. If we do not find the answer to this question, we shall find ourselves in the cultural isolation,” Sergei Shumakov said.

In his opinion, if a person does not understand the language of contemporary art, “he will not be able to fly into space.”

“It is very dangerous to be in a situation where one will not be able to read the signs of our time. We need to somehow start talking to the audience in the language of contemporary art taking at least one tenth of the air,” the guest from the capital pointed out.

“If we take Penza sculpture park “Legenda,” which is taking part in the project “Russia-10” and the presentation of which has just taken place at the Forum, it is a completely different world that exists around us. And there, where these two cultures — classical and modern — can co-exist, is the future. If we do not have this, we will find ourselves either in one cultural ghetto or in the other,” Sergei Shumakov concluded.

In turn, the head of culture and archive of the Penza region Evgeny Shilov suggested the necessity of the classical art for intellectual development of a person.

“I am a journalist, and I have always written my texts listening to classical music, such as Mozart. However, I am not able to write to the modern rhythms, so I think that classical culture should be the basis of education. I stand for the classics,” Evgeny Shilov stated.

In the end, the head of culture and archive of the Penza region told the audience about the work done by the local associations in the region and their role in promoting the cultural and historical heritage.