The final cycle of concert programs of the Project «Concert in the dark. Inclusion» was implemented in April 2024 in the city of Tula with the support of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives.
Each concert program of the Project «Concert in the dark. Inclusion» is more than a concert. It is a combination of live music and an immersive performance that takes place in absolute darkness. In addition to the cultural component, the Project has social significance and plays an important role in the integration of people with disabilities into the creative economy, promotes the development of creative entrepreneurship of blind people.
Dmitry Barsenkov, head of the creative industrial cluster «Oktava», notes: «The number of inclusive creative projects is increasing every year. It provides people with disabilities to have the opportunity to participate more actively in the cultural life of their cities. Creative spaces, such as our creative industrial cluster „Octava“, promote traditional spiritual and moral values through culture and creative industries, and support the integration of people into the creative economy of the region».
The head of the team of blind guides of the Project «Concert in the dark. Inclusion» Evgeny Arnapolsky adds that «despite the fact that part of the organizational processes of the Project are carried out by people with visual impairment, this Project is mostly not about the blind. „Сoncert in the dark. Inclusion“ gives people the opportunity to look at the art and culture from a different perspective, without the usual way of obtaining information that they use on a daily basis».
Thanks to the support of inclusive creative projects such as «Concert in the Dark. Inclusion», people with disabilities gain the opportunity to realize themselves and their projects in creative professions, including through the musical art attributed to the creative industry.