Bringing Statues to Life: How a Tula Artist Uses AI to Reimagine Her City
Tula-based artist Marina Beregovaya has “brought to life” over twenty of the city’s monuments using AI, turning static sculptures into animated digital characters that have captured the attention of locals and viewers far beyond Russia
Making the “Mother-in-Law” Roar
Beregovaya is a multidisciplinary creative—painter, musician, poet, and video editor—who recently discovered AI tools and began integrating them into her art. Her latest experiment: using the Kling neural network to animate Tula’s sculptures. Inspired by a similar project from another artist, she decided to put herself into the scenes alongside the statues.
“I only got into AI a few months ago. I saw the idea of ‘living monuments’ online—though in those videos there were no real people. I thought it would be fun to make one about Tula, featuring me in the frame! For this project I used Kling. My prompts were super simple—five to seven words describing the action and the camera movement,” she explains.
The resulting video includes more than twenty sculptures: a cyborg flea, Peter and Fevronia, writer Veresaev, a dinosaur mother-in-law, the student “Tail,” and other iconic city landmarks. With modern AI, the “Tula Tea Party” monument turns into a cozy gathering, Peter the Great waves to residents, and the famously fierce “Mother-in-Law” growls at passersby. Working on the project even helped Beregovaya rediscover her city.
“For a creative person, all monuments are beautiful. But when I tried to photograph them all in a single day, I realized I don’t know Tula as well as I thought. One of my favorite surprises was the sculpture group near the Tulamashzavod factory—the contact statues evoke strong emotions and were easy to bring to life on the first try!” she says.
An Inspiring Chain Reaction
The idea of AI-animating public art isn’t new. In Nizhny Novgorod, artist Andrey Ivanov made the bronze residents of the “Millionka” district move, while photographer Viktor Mikhalev in Perm used neural networks to make statues talk. In one clip, Vasily Tatishchev reflects on history; in another, Alexander Pushkin recites his poem “Winter Morning.” Mikhalev sees these projects as tools for educational tours that combine historical context with modern digital immersion.
“I use modern technologies for educational projects and treat historical values and figures—symbols of our country’s great achievements—with the utmost care and respect,” Mikhalev noted online.
The State of Generative Content
Neural networks are already widely used for entertainment content, but their technical sophistication is rapidly improving. Today’s algorithms can not only animate a face but also sync voice, mimicry, and background. Upcoming tools aim to turn a single photo into a full-motion video with realistic emotion, gestures, and speech patterns.
While cinema has adopted these methods, experts stress that AI doesn’t replace the artist—it’s a tool. The concept and final composition remain in the creator’s hands. In fact, AI can increase earnings by enabling more projects in less time.
From Local Project to City Branding
Beregovaya’s work has boosted Tula’s appeal and reinforced its image as a tourist destination. The sculptures have become recognizable symbols for potential visitors. Her approach—merging local landmarks with cutting-edge technology—evokes emotional engagement and could inspire similar projects in other regions.
In the future, municipal tourism boards, cultural organizations, and tech companies could collaborate on multimedia experiences—video, AR/VR, interactive apps—that immerse visitors in a city’s atmosphere and strengthen local branding.
