A century ago, the Russian Nationality Room was envisioned and designed by Andrey Avinoff — one of Pittsburgh’s most influential intellectual, cultural, and artistic figures of the early twentieth century. As Director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History from 1926 to 1945, Avinoff stood at the center of the city’s cultural life, bringing together science and art through his work as both an entomologist and an artist.

As we celebrate the centennial of the Nationality Rooms at Pitt, this historic space continues its mission as a living site of cultural dialogue.

On April 20, we welcome Victoria Lomasko, a prominent Russian artist and graphic journalist living in exile, whose work documents protest movements, marginalized communities, and everyday life across the post-Soviet space.

Through the pop-up exhibition Sketching Protest: The Art of Victoria Lomasko, curated and annotated by students in SLAV 1400, and her public lecture, Lomasko will share how art becomes a powerful form of political expression and resistance.

Bringing Lomasko’s artistic activism into the Russian Nationality Room creates a powerful historical continuity — linking Avinoff’s vision of art as a cultural force with contemporary practices of visual protest and testimony.

This event invites the Pitt community to reflect on the enduring role of art in shaping public discourse across generations.