Translated material
The Manege will host an art fair in the framework of the PMEF
A group of five countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
This year, the art-fair “1703” should become part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Her Gazprom PJSC will hold in Manezh from June 15 to 19.
There is no detailed event program yet. But immediately after the announcement, the project caused criticism in the St. Petersburg art community: it was called inappropriate, and artists were called to refuse to participate.
Paper ” says what is known about the fair and what grades are given by art critics, gallerists and curators.
Fair in the "Manege" should become part of the PMEF in June
The plans to launch the new St. Petersburg art fair became known at the end of April-the ARTFRAGMENT telegram channel said that the event will be held from June 15 to 19 as part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (PMEF), and PJSC Gazprom will become its organizer. The fair was called "1703", the site for its holding was chosen by the Manege Center.
At the disposal of the Paper there is a version of the presentation, which was then sent to the St. Petersburg gallery. This material states that the reference to the year of the founding of St. Petersburg in the name of the fair should “reflect the philosophy of the continuation of the visionary traditions of Peter I”. The main task of the event - the support of Russian contemporary artists and galleries, follows from the document.
For organizing art fairs, they use all the areas of the exhibition hall, the presentation says. The exposition area will be about 2.5 thousand square meters, and the participants will be offered stands with an area of 20 and 40 square meters. In addition, on the ground floor they plan to open a bookstore, bar, a curatorial gallery and a section of digital art, and on the second - a lecture from the Masters school.
Initially, it was expected that 30 galleries would take part in the event. On June 15, “VIP-day” with closed shows for collectors and participants in the PMEF was planned, and from June 16 to June the fair “wide public” will be able to visit the fair. The expert council of the project should include vice-governor Boris Piotrovsky, Petersburg galleryman Marina Gisich, founder of Vincavod Sofya Trotsenko and others.
There is no information about the fair on the PMEF website , but stands with advertising of the event have already appeared in the city. One of them is located on the corner of the Highway of the Revolution and Sredneokhtinsky Prospekt, the link in the announcement leads to the official website of the event . It says that the details about the project will soon be published.
“Paper” requested information from the organizers of “1703” last week, they did not answer our questions.
Some representatives of the art community have criticized the initiative
The first to report about the fair was the independent art critic Pavel Gerasimenko, whose articles were published in The Art Newspaper Russia, Kommersant, Republis and other publications. In his blog on the Patreon service, Gerasimenko called on artists, gallerists and curators to refuse to participate in the event. In his opinion, the fair will ideologically support military operations in Ukraine: “It is necessary to demonstrate the activity of cultural life, create the impression of normality and distract attention from the war.”
-Consent to participate in the art fair “1703” is the approval of the whole situation after February 24, in which not only military operations, but also censorship, lists of “foreign agents”, the closure of publications, criminal prosecution of artists and activists in the range from Cyril to Sasha Skogochilenko . This is a decorative design of the regime, which - it is worth repeating again - under the sign of the struggle against non -existent threats, is conducting a murmur policy.
Regarding the announced fair, Alexander Generalov, art critic, curator and co-founder of the “shame” space closed after the beginning of hostilities in Ukraine also spoke out. On her Facebook, she drew attention to the fact that almost all structures in modern Russia are somehow connected with the state.
-There is no difference for me personally: the Gazprom manager sell the “Gazprom” to the “quiet” galleries or do it on a grand scale within the framework of the PMEF. It generally seems to me that some active art life according to the previous rails in the capitals with discoveries and “deadly spray of champagne” looks a little well ... Strange. But it seemed to me before.
Galerists and curators interrupted by "paper" diverged in the scores
Representatives of the MANEZH Center have not to comment on the fair and the discussion around it did not. The Marina Gisich Gallery told Paper that the work on the organization of art fairs began in September 2021, and the gallery took part in the formation of the concept of the project. “The fair was a long dream for us and our colleagues, we have been looking for opportunities for its implementation for many years, and therefore, of course, we were not going to stay away,” the representatives of the cultural institution noted. According to them, on the ground floor of the “Manege” they will present the curatorial project of the Gallery to be with Art with works from the collections of Marina Gisich and the players of the Zenit football club.
-At the stand of the gallery, we will show three artists, each of whom is known for its consistent commitment to black and white. <...> Gathered together, these things reflect the growing polarization of the modern world, dichotomic thinking, which penetrates deeper into our daily life. The blooming culture of cancellation today, calls to divide everyone and everyone in their own and strangers seem to us dangerous and destructive trends. Real art always remains relevant, there is no inappropriate time for it. And its main function is creation - just what we all need now.
The co-founder of Myth Gallery Olga Profatilo informed Paper that the gallery refused to participate in the fair-primarily due to a change in political and economic circumstances in recent months. “Participation in the fair seems impossible for us because it is primarily a festival and a festival of art, and what large -scale festival of actual art can be discussed now?” She explained.
- It was important for us to take into account not only our thoughts about participation in the project, but also the position of our artists. After all, it is they - those in whom we believe and with whom we work. We do not participate in the fair in any form: neither in the format of representation at the stand, nor in the exhibition of collections. And a sharp reaction of the professional community, in my opinion, is logical. Today it is difficult to find a compromise, everywhere - in politics, economics, culture - we meet polar views.
Other interlocutors of the “Papers” dispersed. For example, the director of the Street Art Museum Tatyana Pinchuk noted that for her the world [after the start of hostilities in Ukraine] “became black and white”: “There can be no half-tones when they are bombing in anything innocent unarmed people.”
- In this situation, to cooperate with the sponsors of war is public agreement, obedience and adoption of the rules that the Nazis established. The art professional who will participate in this event are the Gazmanovs-Kiselevs from the world of contemporary art.
According to the curator of the SAM Fair Fair Lizaveta Matveeva, today the Russian art community "is engaged in its own separation from the inside." She told the “paper” that she considers the mutual reproaches of the art market participants “the last thing to do today”.
- We all have to make a difficult choice daily today and put ethical questions for ourselves. In my opinion, if you worry about the fate of someone concrete and you see professional and ethical risks for this person, which for some reason are not obvious to him, it is better to call and talk to him personally and directly, discuss, explain your position. Still, a public poke with a finger is not the most effective way to appeal for the better in people. As for the project itself as a whole, a large fair is a festive, festival format, and the mood is now not at all festive.
The PMEF program will include other entertainment events
The International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg will last from June 15 to 18, more than 500 Russian companies, as well as representatives of 69 countries , will take part in it, the organizers say. Among these states they called the UK, France, the USA and even Ukraine. Who exactly will represent these countries is not specified.
From the “ Architecture of the Program ” PMEF-2022 it follows that the forum participants will discuss the cooperation of the BRICS countries, the regulation of cryptocurrencies, “deadllarization”, Fake News and “Turn to East 3.0”. Art Yarmarka will not be the only entertainment event: in the framework of the forum, for example, business breakdowns and a sports week with a zone in the city center and boxing tournament are planned.
This summer, PMEF ticket will cost 960 thousand rubles. This is much more expensive than in previous years: last year, for comparison, it was possible to get to the PMEF for 840 thousand, and in 2019, to the pandemic, for 350. “Paper” told how much money the St. Petersburg authorities would spend on the organization of the forum.
Photo on the cover: Petr Kovalev, TASS
Save the "paper" right now 💚
We need money to continue work
support "paper"What else to read: