Crowdfunded culture zine makes new bid for success

An online portal devoted to Russian contemporary art and culture reopened today after an absence of two months brought about by financial difficulties. Colta.ru launched in July 2012 following a crowdfunding drive, the first such example of this in Russia, but closed after just three months. The website’s founders have now secured three-quarters of the funding it needs from long-term investors and plan to raise the remainder through crowdfunding. A new design for the website will be launched in March. Colta.ru was set up by the former editors of OpenSpace, Russia’s first and most visited internet magazine covering art, film, music and other ares of contemporary culture. Its editor-in-chief since inception has been Maria Stepanova, a well-known literary critic and poet.