Winzavod is a pre-revolutionary industrial complex in Moscow that became the capital's largest art cluster. The history of Winzavod spans two centuries. In the 1870s–1890s a brewery called “Moscow Bavaria,” owned by the Tarusins merchants, was located here. Later, in 1889, the Travnikov merchants opened a plant here for producing grape and dessert wines. It operated for more than a hundred years — from the late 19th to the late 20th century. In 2007, the Winzavod Centre for Contemporary Art opened on the former territory of the complex.\r\n\r\nWinzavod is the first private centre for contemporary art in the country, bringing together art galleries and studios, educational programs and showrooms on its premises. Winzavod’s mission is to support the Russian artistic community and develop domestic contemporary art. The project’s concept can be compared to a “city of craftsmen,” as it implies uniting creative people and projects in a single space.\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nOn the basis of Winzavod the activities of the Foundation for the Support of Contemporary Art are implemented. Its main tasks are researching and developing street art, and promoting and supporting the country’s art industry. At the Foundation’s initiative the WIN-WIN Market was created to support independent artists and creative collectives. In 2022, Winzavod Studios opened in the art cluster, where creators can join with like-minded people and create art in real time.\r\n\r\nThe art cluster houses many spaces occupied by galleries and exhibition halls, artists’ studios, shops and showrooms. They are located in former workshops, halls and cellars used for storing the combine’s wine products and are open to visitors. The industrial atmosphere of the late 19th–early 20th century premises in a “loft” style organically combines with paintings, sculptures and installations by contemporary artists.\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nWinzavod is home to eleven contemporary art galleries and six educational centres where exhibitions are regularly held and displays change, and where laboratories of art criticism and journalism operate. Winzavod can also be visited as part of a tour. There are three types of tour programs: historical, contemporary and children’s. The historical tours relate to the history of the complex, the contemporary ones teach how to understand current art, and the children’s tours present art to young visitors in an interactive format.
