Photo Club “Novator”. The 20th Century.

Among the highlights of the exhibition are masterpieces by the classics of Soviet photography and the founders of the Moscow photo club “Novator” — Alexander Khlebnikov, Vasily Ulitin, and Georgy Soshalsky. Each of them devoted several decades to photography. The exhibition showcases works created between the 1960s and 1990s.

The following period marks the heyday of amateur photography in the Soviet Union: cameras appeared in almost every Soviet household, and the state supported the establishment of photo clubs at Palaces of Culture. During these years, photographers gained access to nearly every genre — from still life, reportage, and portraiture to the nude.

The foundation for the ROSPHOTO exhibition was laid through the selection of works by Anatoly Boldin, a photographer and longtime head of the “Novator” Photo Club. Much of his work was devoted to preserving the history of this unique photographic community.

Anatoly Boldin: “‘Novator’ was founded in Moscow on December 1, 1961, and was based at the House of Culture of Construction Workers bearing the same name. It was originally established to organize leisure activities for amateur photographers, many of whom later became professional photojournalists and artists.

By the mid-1960s, the club at the district House of Culture had become the center of Moscow’s amateur photography movement, with a membership of 300 people. ‘Novator’ exhibitions, held in various cities across the USSR, consistently attracted great public interest. In 1989, works from the club’s collection were included in the landmark anniversary exhibition “150 Years of Photography”, held at the Moscow Manege.”