The NCCA Ural branch was launched in Yekaterinburg in 1999 and became the city’s first institution working in the contemporary art field. In 2005–2011, the branch published ZAART magazine, which became an archive for the Ural art of the 2000s. At the same time, the NCCA professionals formed a vast collection of video art from Ural and Siberia.

Since 2008, the branch is running the Ural Plants: The Industry of Meanings program, focusing on an artistic rethinking of plants and industrial reality in an urban environment. This research resulted in one of major projects in Russia’s art system — the Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art. 

Since 2011, the branch hosts exhibitions, implements educational programs and cooperates with local artistic community through organizing exhibitions, portfolio reviews, workshops and art residences. In 2018, a new project was introduced at the NCCA — the Young Artist’s Lab.

Today, over ten projects of the Ural branch have been nominated for the Innovation Prize.

The Young Artist’s Lab is an educational project produced in cooperation with Yekaterinburg’s leading cultural institutions. The Lab’s activities are focused on providing support for young artists and creating conditions for quality experience sharing inside the artistic community. The first Young Artist’s Lab was launched in 2018 at the NCCA Ural and was nominated for the Innovation Prize. The Lab’s program includes theme-based courses with lectures and practical sessions at partner institutions. The Lab’s lecturers and masters are curators, artists, and gallerists.

Фестиваль современного искусства «Бажов-фест» формирует новейшую уральскую мифологию на основе различных интерпретаций сказов Павла Бажова. Фольклор, этнография, художественные опыты мастеров ХХ века, обширный исторический материал, накопленный археологами и краеведами, уральские герои, чудеса и чудища — разработка «мифоносных» пластов Урала помогает региону обрести новые смыслы.