Mapping the monumental art of the socialist world
The Atlas Sovieticus is RACMAS’s first major research project: a digital atlas documenting, mapping and making accessible monumental art created across the former socialist world.
From mosaics and murals to reliefs, sculptures and other forms of integrated art, thousands of monumental artworks were created across the socialist countries during the twentieth century. Many remain part of the everyday urban landscape, yet their artists, histories and techniques are often little known or difficult to access.
The Atlas brings these works together in one research and public-access platform.
A transnational cultural landscape
The Atlas does not treat these artworks as isolated examples belonging exclusively to today’s national borders. Similar artistic movements, techniques, themes, materials and approaches to monumental art can be found across countries that were once part of a shared cultural and political sphere.
By mapping these works together, the project reveals connections between places, artists, techniques and artistic traditions that are difficult to see through conventional national art histories.
Research meets the public
The Atlas is designed as more than a conventional archive.
Its digital platform combines a geographical map, artwork database and research resources with public participation. Contributors can help identify, document and research artworks, while people encountering monumental art in their own cities can add knowledge to the wider record.
The result is a continuously developing body of knowledge built through the interaction of research, local expertise and public discovery.
Exploring monumental art
The Atlas allows users to discover works geographically, investigate individual artists and techniques, and explore the different forms monumental art took across the socialist world.
It also experiments with new technologies to make this heritage more accessible—including AI-assisted artwork recognition, location-based discovery and augmented reality that can provide new ways of experiencing artworks in their original surroundings.
A living archive
The Atlas Sovieticus is an ongoing project. New locations, artworks, artists and research are continually being added and refined.
Its ambition is not simply to create a record of what survives, but to make a dispersed and often overlooked cultural heritage visible, searchable and connected.