Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art

“Winzavod” is a center for contemporary art in Moscow's Basmanny District, one of the first and largest complexes of its kind in Russia. It occupies the site of a former industrial enterprise in the 4th Syromyatnichesky Lane, near Kursky Railway Station. The center houses galleries, artists' studios, antique shops, cafés, and venues for lectures and screenings. The center's opening in 2007 was one of the first attempts to transform an industrial zone of the Russian capital into an independent cultural cluster.

Development of the plot now occupied by “Winzavod” began in the early 19th century, when it was the estate of a Guards officer named Melgunov, later passed to his sister, Princess Volkonskaya. In 1805 the land was bought by the merchant Monin, and a few years later by Nikifor Prokofyev, who set up a mead and beer brewing operation. In 1821 the property was acquired by Friedrich Danielson, a merchant from Reval, who expanded it with a two-story brewery building and a malthouse. By the middle of the century the enterprise had passed to Vasily Kokorev, and in 1873 to the joint-stock company “Moscow Bavaria.”

The surviving buildings form an ensemble typical of 19th-century industrial architecture, combining red-brick structures with a plastered main house in the Empire style. The façade of the former manor house is marked by a portico with a pediment, which still bears the decorative monogram of one of its former owners. The production buildings — the brewery workshops, the malthouse, and the wine cellars — have austere façades with rows of tall windows, typical of factories of that era. About seven historic buildings have survived on the site, now adapted as exhibition halls and studios.

In 1889 the Travnikov merchants opened a combine for producing grape and dessert wines on the neighboring plot, which operated for more than a hundred years; in the Soviet period it turned out up to one hundred and fifty product lines. Wine production ceased at the end of the 20th century, and in 2001 the enterprise went bankrupt. In 2004 the new owner of the site, the company MVK-Estate, decided, at the initiative of entrepreneur Roman Trotsenko, to establish a contemporary art center there. “Winzavod” opened in 2007, with Sofia Trotsenko as its first director.

Today “Winzavod” brings together several dozen galleries, design studios, a photo lab, and a bookshop. Its venues regularly host exhibitions, fairs, film screenings, and educational programs. Entry to the grounds is free, and some exhibitions are open to visitors at no charge. The complex has become one of the venues that shaped Moscow's cluster of creative industries, alongside Artplay and the Garage Museum.

Over two centuries, the plot in Syromyatniki has gone from a noble estate through brewing and wine production to becoming a leading venue for contemporary art in Russia. The preservation of the historic buildings alongside their new cultural purpose has made “Winzavod” an example of the careful treatment of Moscow's industrial heritage — a place where the city's history meets contemporary art.