Sergei Bugaev-Afrika (b. 1966, Novorossiysk) is an artist, curator, and public figure; a key figure of the Leningrad/St. Petersburg underground and new art scene of the 1980s–1990s. In 1980 he moved to Leningrad, where in 1981, after meeting Sergei Kuryokhin, he joined Kuryokhin’s first ensemble, the Crazy Music Orchestra (later Pop Mechanics). He headed the industrial and biological sections while simultaneously collaborating with the bands Kino, Aquarium, and Zvuki Mu. During one of the performances he met Timur Novikov; together they founded the New Artists group, which later evolved into the Mayakovsky Friends Club, dedicated to bridging the traditions of the early avant-garde with contemporary practices. Since 1984, Bugaev-Afrika has participated in more than 200 exhibitions in Russia and abroad. His solo projects have been presented at museums and galleries across Europe and the United States, including: Afrika and Timur Novikov (The Raab Gallery, London, 1989); Donalddestruction (The Clocktower, New York, 1991); Afrika (Queens Museum of Art, New York, 1992); Krimania: Ikonen, Monumente, Mazafaka (MAK, Vienna, 1995); Rebus 11: Works on Copper (I–20 Gallery, New York, 1997); Sergei Bugaev Afrika (Museum Küppersmühle, Duisburg, 2008); Rebus (Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow, 2015); Afrika. Rebus (National Centre for Contemporary Arts, Moscow, 2018); and An Affair with Kitsch (Museum of Art of St. Petersburg of the 20th–21st Centuries, 2022).He has taken part in major international exhibitions, including the 48th Venice Biennale (1999), the 1st Valencia Biennial (2001), the 1st Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (2005), as well as Berlin–Moscow. Moscow–Berlin. 1950–2000 (Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin / State Historical Museum, Moscow) and RUSSIA! (Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York and Bilbao), among others.