2 November 2014 marked the end of four months of Manifesta10 Biennial in the State Hermitage Museum and other venues across the city of St Petersburg. The biennial attracted an astounding 1,510,309 visits across all venues of the biennial: the Winter Palace and, General Staff Building – (both of the State Hermitage Museum), the Apartment Art as Domestic Resistance and to the various education and public program events that took place across the city.

2014 marked the 20th anniversary of Manifesta, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, which was initiated in response to the new social, cultural and political reality that emerged in the aftermath of the Cold War. This Jubilee year event analysed the 25 years of changing realities and experiences as they transformed within this new global world order.

One of the oldest and most prestigious museums in the world, the State Hermitage Museum was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great as her personal art collection and has been open to the public since 1852. In 2014 the museum celebrated 250 years of existence. The newly renovated General Staff Building, the new premises of the State Hermitage Museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art, was the main stage of Manifesta 10, curated by Kasper König.