Intervals is an annual international multimedia art festival held in Nizhny Novgorod since 2017. It was founded by the Nizhny Novgorod light-show company dreamlaser.[5] It is billed as the largest media art festival in Russia.[4] The festival brings together multimedia installations, audiovisual performances, musical acts, and an educational programme; most exhibitions are free of charge.[1]
Format and Programme
The festival takes place annually in April and runs for four days. Each year a single theme is chosen: in 2026 it was "Sign / Symbol".[2] Venues span the Historic Center and the city's outlying districts — building façades, embankments, gardens, and industrial sites. During the day indoor locations are open; after dark, urban spaces come alive with outdoor projections and light installations.[3]
The festival's permanent headquarters is the TSEKH* space at 32 Varvarskaya Street. Opening-night concerts and evening music programmes are traditionally held there as well.[1] Audiovisual performances take place at the Concert Warehouse at Strelka, and educational events are held at the Mayak Academy on the Nizhne-Volzhskaya Embankment.[1] Regular venues include the Nizhny Novgorod Yarmarka, the exhibition warehouse at Strelka, the Rekord cultural centre, Aleksandrovsky Garden, and the Nizhne-Volzhskaya Embankment.[2]
The music program features concerts by Russian and international performers. In 2026, the evening program included rapper Husky, the band GLUM, Russian band Symbol, Nizhny Novgorod collective "Stantsiya metro Gorkovskaya," Chinese musician Yang Bing, and DJ Kirill Shapovalov.[1] The opening concert that same year was staged as a standalone theatrical performance with a choir and choreographed theatrical elements; it was directed by Vladimir Varnava.[2]
The educational program is organized by Kafedra School.[5] In 2026, it comprised 36 events with online broadcasts, featuring more than 30 speakers — media artists and senior executives from cultural institutions. Participants included Deputy Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region Berkovich Oleg.[2]
Participants and Installations
The festival brings together artists from various countries. In 2026, works by artists from Germany, Denmark, Spain, Italy, China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia were presented.[2] Among the notable installations that year was CHRONOMORPH by the collective PANTERRA, shown in Pavilion No. 2 of the Nizhny Novgorod Yarmarka, combining metal, screens, and smoke; on its first day alone it drew more than five thousand visitors.[2] For the first time, The Chkalov Staircase served as a screen for an audiovisual projection: Filip Roc's work ASCENT visualized the idea of ascent, tracing a path of light across the steps.[2] Nizhny Novgorod studio dreamlaser presented the installation Strata on the Nizhne-Volzhskaya Embankment and Transmission in Alexandrovsky Garden.[2] German artist Dominik Kissling presented Waveworm — an object made of thin film in continuous motion driven by air and gravity.[2]
In 2025, the festival placed installations including on the oil-cracking tower of the former Gorky Oil and Lubricants Plant, transforming an abandoned industrial structure into an art object.[3] A Taiwanese media artist presented the immersive installation "Being Somewhere, Sometime" in the TSEKH* space, while studio SILA SVETA, together with MTS Live, presented "The Singularity Point" — a meditation on the origins of the Universe.[3]
Audience and Recognition
Over the years, the festival has grown substantially in reach. In 2025 it was attended by more than 450,000 people,[5] and in 2026 by more than 530,000.[2] In 2026, the festival won the "Best Thematic Festival" category at the bema! awards.[5]
Sources
- V gorode N — INTERVALS — 2026 in Nizhny Novgorod: map and full festival programme
- KP — Nizhny Novgorod — Half a million viewers and 19 unique venues: How the INTERVALS 2026 festival went in Nizhny Novgorod
- KP — Nizhny Novgorod — A pack of robot dogs, a futuristic portal, and the origin of the Universe: How the Intervals 2025 media art festival went
- intervalsfest.com — Intervals Festival
- t-j.ru — Intervals 2026 Festival: programme, dates, what to see