ANASTASIA VEPREVA
The Night Shift, film
(St. Petersburg, Russia)
This short film shot on location at the Ivan Gaza House of Culture follows a new guard as he clocks in ahead of his first night on duty. The guard walks around the building, which radiates animosity, appearing frightening and mysterious. Suddenly, he meets a woman janitor who reassures him, and the two begin their nightly rounds. The janitor shows the guard around, telling him about the building’s past, and he overhears the House of Culture’s other, nocturnal life: behind closed doors, in empty classrooms, long-disbanded clubs meet, and children’s voices echo in the hallways.
Anastasia Vepreva is an artist, curator, and art critic from St. Petersburg, Russia. She was born in Arkhangelsk in 1989. As an artist, she works with speculative and fictional approaches to memory studies and critically understanding new technology. In addition to her solo exhibitions, she has shown work at steirischer herbst, the 2nd Garage Triennial of Russian Contemporary Art, Stuttgarter Filmwinter, PLURIVERSALE III, the 4th Moscow International Biennale for Young Art, MANIFESTA 10, and the 35th Moscow International Film Festival. Vepreva was awarded a Garage Museum Grant for artists (2019–2020). She is an organizer and co-curator of Suoja/Shelter Festival in Helsinki, Finland. Her work has been published in Moscow Art Magazine, ArtLeaks Gazette, Dialog of Arts, and the independent online magazines Colta.ru and Aroundart.org. She is an editor at K.R.A.P.I.V.A. magazine. Vepreva holds a double MA degree from Smolny College (St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg) and Bard College (NY, USA). She also has a specialist’s degree in History.