“Why Did I See This?” podcast created by Аrzamas radio for UniCredit Bank Private Banking customers in Russia was named a prizewinner of “Enlightener.Digital” award in the special category for accomplishments in verbal art. 

“Authors are changing the perception optics for the art of the last two centuries and shedding light on the visual by verbal means. This is a great accomplishment, as it enables people to imagine the things they are unable to see”, wrote panel member Irina Prokhorova, a literary critic, Editor-in-Chief of New Literary Review publishing house, co-founder of Mikhail Prokhorov’s charitable foundation, in the press release published by award organizers .

“We take pride in the fact that “Why Did I See This?” podcast created by joint effort of Mastercard and Arzamas was highly appreciated by the panel of this reputable award. UniCredit Private Banking customers have traditionally been highly interested in culture and art and strived to broaden their horizons. We are happy to support their endeavours by means of a high-end product offered in an extremely customer-friendly format”, says Igor Ryabov, Head of Private Banking Department at AO UniCredit Bank.

“Earning the “Enlightener” award makes us very proud and happy. This is recognition by the expert community. We are extremely pleased! “Why Did I See This?” podcast is among the most important and popular projects by Arzamas. In every single broadcast, the authors face a crucial educational challenge: explaining sophisticated phenomena of world art intelligibly without losing in expertise and depth. Furthermore, they have to do so without relying on any visual images! Essentially, Kirill Golovastikov, Ilya Dorochenkov, and the entire team working on the podcast have invented a new language to discuss art. I am very happy that such great partners as UniCredit Private Banking and Mastercard have made these discussions available to those who care about an informed perception of art, knowledge of history of culture, and expert-level narrative with a human intonation”, says Filipp Dzyadko, Editor-in-Chief of Arzamas.

“Why Did I See This?” podcast was launched in 2019 by UniCredit Bank Private Banking Russia working in concert with Mastercard and Arzamas educational website. It is intended for UniCredit Private Banking customers and is devoted to the major exhibitions of the year in Russia and worldwide. Customers use designated podcasts that can be accessed by means of a personal promo code in Arzamas Radio mobile app to be the first to acquire the information enabling them to get ready for a visit to an exhibition on a monthly basis. Furthermore, customers are provided with full access to all materials available in Arzamas Radio mobile app: courses and podcasts in history, literature, and art intended for both children and adults.

Digital.Enlightener is a special category within the Enlightener Prize Award aimed to support development of educational activities through online projects. The Enlightener Prize Award was established in 2008 to support Russian speaking scientists and science journalists who are able to talk simply and enthrallingly about the newest discoveries and research. Digital category allows submissions of educational online projects in Russian language published on various types of platforms (YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud, iTunes Podcasts, Telegram Medium, IGTV, Facebook Watch, VK, and the like) based on free content distribution.