Hello, I'm Damien Pestell from Be Your Business and welcome to this episode of HIP Biz where I speak to business owners about how they have created a successful business they love, what matters most to them and what they have learnt on their journey so far.

This week I speak with Olga Mamonova who owns and runs Kino Teatr, an arts venue in the heart of St Leonards with her husband Russell. The Kino opened its doors in 2014 but the building first opened as a cinema in 1913.

Olga talks about rescuing this hidden gem when it was being used as storage space for a bathroom shop and how they got a lot of the kit for the cinema second hand an how the Kino has since developed into the cultural heartbeat of the town.

I discover what life was like in 1970’s Moscow in the Communist Soviet Union - Olga loved her life there and fondly remembers how the arts were easily accessible to her and her family. She attended music school with children from a wide variety of backgrounds and often went to shows at the Bolshoi Theatre for just £5!

Her father was a novelist, translator and poet, he specialised in the connection between different cultures and had a passion for Japanese culture. He came from a poor background but raised Olga and her sister to have his values about culture being the most important thing in life.

She grew up having a strong passion for her own and other cultures and pursued a career in the arts, working at a contemporary art gallery in Moscow where she met her husband Russell, an artist himself.

Finally we talk about the importance of culture to a community, The importance of St Leonards culturally and what it was like starting an arts business not long after the biggest recession ever.