Monthly Archives: February 2012

“Less Art!”: Critic Katya Degot calls upon Russians to take their Protest Seriously

As Russia’s election nears, protests meet counterprotests meet little white balloons, tied on cars circling the Garden Ring. With an exercise in mass hand-holding scheduled for this Sunday, critic and openspace editor Katya Degot has paused to warn protesters that … Continue reading

Posted in Moscow | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

012 Baku: Azerbaijan gets its first festival of public art

Baku’s absurdly rich cultural history (and relatively welcoming and well-monied upper classes) have made the city an attractive target for the more imperialistic international art institutions. While none of these projects have materialized so far, on February 24,  the nonprofit … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

“What is and What Should Never Be”: Katya Degot reveals the Discussion Program for the Kyiv Biennale

We posted earlier about the Kyiv Biennale which will open this May with David Elliot’s project “The Best of Times, The Worst of Times. Rebirth and Apocalypse in Contemporary Art.” Today, the Biennale announced its Discussion Program, which has been assembled by … Continue reading

Posted in Kyiv | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Moscow gets a first look at its new Design Museum

Today, ArtPlay (the sprawling industrial complex home to this year’s main project of the Moscow Biennale) will present the city with the “Museum of the Future,” the Moscow Design Museum. The Museum will exist in two iterations. The permanent collection … Continue reading

Posted in Moscow | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

How to Work Better: New York’s Artists Space takes a look at the role of alternative art spaces

In a noteworthy extended piece for the Observer, writer Andrew Russeth talks with Stefan Kalmár, the former director of the Kunstverein Munich who since 2009 has served as the director for New York’s alternative art space pioneer, Artists Space. Russeth … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Russia’s National Center for Contemporary Art announces the nominees for the Innovation Prize

Russia’s National Center for Contemporary Art just announced the nominees for the 2011 edition of its Innovation Prize (which made headlines last year over its on-off inclusion of the group Voina.) The Prize is awarded in five categories: Work of … Continue reading

Posted in Moscow | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“The Ukrainian Body” censored in Kyiv

In the wake of Putin’s statements about the proactive promotion of realism as more effective than censorship, reports of censorship have come pouring in from Moscow’s southern sister Kyiv. According to a statement from co-curator Serge Klymko: On February 10, … Continue reading

Posted in Kyiv | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We Need to Talk About Jeddah

As we approach the year anniversary of the Arab spring, the question arises: what do we expect to see? What qualifies as “progress”? Edge of Arabia took a stab at answering, with its homecoming exhibition in Jeddah, candidly titled We … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Putin advocates Realism – “not Socialist Realism, but just Realism”

In a what would be comical if it weren’t so chilling turn for the Russian art world, painter Ilya Glazunov entreated Vladimir Putin  to take up the case of realistic painters, struggling to eek out a living in the landscape of so-called “contemporary … Continue reading

Posted in Moscow | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Pinchuk Art Centre kicks off the Future Generation Prize 2012

Starting today, the Victor Pinchuk Foundation will accept online applications for the Future Generation Art Prize, which recognizes artists under 35 years of age with a generous grant towards the production of a work. Baibakov Art Projects will continue to … Continue reading

Posted in Kyiv | Tagged , , | 4 Comments