New exhibition space of the Moscow Museum:
from the compass of architect Shukhov to the Moskvich car

On City Day, a free exposition, “Museum of Moscow. Reference point ”is a detailed story about the formation of the museum and its role in the life of the capital.

The name of the project “Reference Point” contains several meanings. It points to the objects that laid the foundation for the museum’s collections. The works of art and artifacts included in the exhibition will not only act as evidence of various eras and key elements of the museum’s own history, but will also reflect the connection between the city dweller and the city, man and his objective world. So, among the exhibits of the “Reference Points” are the compasses of the architect Vladimir Shukhov, a mug from the set of “royal gifts” of Nicholas II, the distribution of which led to a grand crush on the Khodynka field, a marching razor set of an officer of the Napoleonic army and much more.

The exposition covers the main events of urban and museum history from the foundation of the museum in 1896 to the beginning of the XXI century. Significant objects of museum collections will be presented here: archaeological artifacts, documents, photographs, paintings of different eras, works of contemporary artists Alexander Vinogradov and Vladimir Dubosarsky, Semyon Faybisovich and Konstantin Batynkov. The exhibits are complemented by brief explications explaining the role of each artifact in the formation of the capital and museum.

One of the important sections of the “Reference Points” exposition is the “exhibition of the month”, where objects related to a variety of events and dates will be exhibited. In September, the "theme of the month" will be objects, cars and architectural objects of the Soviet era associated with the toponym "Moscow": the perfume "Red Moscow", the hotel "Moscow", the eponymous radio and typewriter, the car "Moskvich" and more.

An important part of the exposition consists of previously unexposed plans, catalogs and reports of the museum, compiled by its first director, a famous Moscow scholar - Pyotr Vasilyevich Sytin (1885 - 1968). The inclusion of Sytin’s documents and manuscripts illustrating his huge collecting work in the subject line gives the name of the exhibition one more, obviously, the most important meaning: the project is a reference point for scientific and artistic studies devoted to the past, present and future of the capital.

Natalia Katonova, curator: “Before the“ Reference Point ”, the Moscow Museum did not try to tell about itself, in the first person express its role in the history of the capital. Now, when a permanent exhibition opens in Proviant warehouses, it becomes the new entrance zone of the museum, literally: the entry point, the point of acquaintance with its unique biography and a rich, diverse collection. ”