On January 27, 2026, the grand opening of the international exhibition "Native Lands" took place in the Historical Multimedia Park "Russia — My History". The project was organized by St. Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design. The exhibition became a part of the All-Russian Youth Art Media Festival "I am proud of my small homeland."
The exhibition brought together works by young authors from the regions of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The exhibition, placed on 36 graphic tablets, includes personal stories, artistic images and animated plots. The multimedia part of the project was the result of interdisciplinary collaboration between students of the Institute of Graphic Design, the Institute of Applied Arts, the Department of Digital and Additive Technologies, the Institute of Business Communications and the Higher School of Printing and Media Technologies of St. Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design.
Ekaterina Nikolaevna Tugolukova, Director of the City Student Press Center (STUDPRESS), Associate Professor at St. Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design and head of the exhibition, noted:
Love for the Motherland begins with a personal story — with your family, the street, the city where you grew up. This project gives young people the opportunity to realize the value of their roots and to talk about them in the modern language of art.
The importance of the event was emphasized by Evgeny Nikolaevich Shuvalov, head of the sector of the Ƶ Coordination Center, a confidant of Vladimir Putin in the 2024 elections and a participant in his:
Such projects build respect for one's country through an understanding of its history and culture. When young people talk about their Homeland sincerely and from themselves, this is the most powerful and honest conversation.
Lilia Andreevna Hertseva, a participant in the exhibition, shared her experience. She created the work under the mentorship of Associate Professor Yulia Sergeevna Tikhonova. The author noted that the use of artificial intelligence and author's techniques allowed her to take a fresh look at the history of her family.
The project "I am proud of my small homeland" has been implemented at the university since 2022, bringing together more than 1,000 participants from 40 cities, and continues in the format of a series of traveling exhibitions.