BIENNALS:6th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art

The 6th Moscow Biennale, brings together more than 70 participants from 30 countries. The biennale, due financial difficulties instead of being a full-fledged exhibition, it will function as a “think tank realized in real-time”, according to the organizers, the Biennale changes its structure this year: “The Biennale take place over 10 days, and then a documentary exhibition about it will be presented for the duration of the following month”.

By Dimitris Lempesis

The major Biennale project takes place in the historical Pavilion No. 1 “Central” of VDNKh, where participants create works online and speak about the future. A huge installation in the shape of the infinity sign appears at the entrance to the pavilion. The special projects are located in the colonnade of Pavilion No. 71, Pavilion No.13 and the Circorama. The Moscow Biennale is the epicenter of a vast effort by the Moscow art scene that includes more than a hundred exhibitions throughout the city, structured within the categories Special Guests, Special Projects and a Parallel Program, ranging from “Structures of Existence: The Cells”, a Louise Bourgeois survey show, “My Red Homeland” the first exhibition in Russia of Anish Kapoor, to “Our Land / Alien Territory” at Central Manege, a large-scale project featuring artists from Russia and other countries whose works address the relation of geography and politics. The main topic of the displayed works is the phenomenon of disputed territories and borderline areas facing persistent instability. “Insight. Scenes From Russian Art Life 1986-1992” at Ekaterina Cultural Foundation is an exhibition has been conceived as an experimental project, which does not aim to provide visitors with readymade answer but prompts them to take an active part in comprehending and interpreting contemporary art instead. The show is dedicated to the so-called heroic period of new Russian art during the last quarter of the 20th century. Also many other solo and group exhibitions that present diverse perspectives on the Moscow and broader Russian art scene. Only on the grounds of VDNKh are three major exhibitions, besides the Greater Caucasian Pavilion, which is built by The Unbound art collective, invited by the biennial as a fourth, autonomous curator. The biennale’s theme concerns cohabitation and coexistence in the 21st century. Since large migrations are the future, for a lot of reasons (armed conflicts, economic crises, or natural disasters) people need to be ready to live in more nomadic ways, embrace new forms of cooperation and address emerging forms of apartheid. The biennale’s organizers hope that the public will engage with the performances and discussions on these issues. Artists, scholars and other specialists discuss questions raised in the biennale’s theme, “How to Gather? Acting in a Center in a City in the Heart of the Island of Eurasia”. System thinkers as: Rem Koolhaas, Saskia Sassen, Ulrike Guérot, Mariana Mazzucato, Eyal and Ines Weizman &Pascal Gielen, among others offer their take on the question “How to gather?”, every day with lectures, statements, open meetings and a daily talk show hosted by Chinese writer Mian Mian. The rtists such: Babi Badalov, Sergey Bratkov, Honoré d’O, Els Dietvorst, Fabrice Hyber, Elena Kholkina, Li Mu, Augustas Serapinas, Luc Tuymans, Peter Wächtler, Anastasiya Yarovenko, Qiu Zhijie & Constantin Zvezdochotov realized works on site. All the territories explored by the artists are different, but have something in common: particularly, the charged dynamism of a borderline area, political instability, and the mixed national identity patterns. Recurring daily statements and performances by: Saâdane Afif, Ricardo Brey, Vaast Colson, Gabriel Lester, Leon Kahane, Alevtina Kakhidze, Andrey Kuzkin & Taus Makhacheva, among others are spread over every full day. The biennial includes a media machine as part of its infrastructure to document, edit and reflect upon on the spot. After the gathering, different archival formats will follow up on the biennial, including a feature documentary by Singaporean film director Ho Tzu Nyen, a website with annotated documentation, a book, and a documentary exhibition from 3/10-1/11/15 at the biennial’s site.

Info: 6th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art. Pavilion 1, VDNKh. Prospect Mira 121, Moscow, Curators: Bart De Baere, Defne Ayas Nicolaus Schafhausen & Unbound art collective, Duration:22/9-1/10/15, Hours: 14:00-22:00, www.6th.moscowbiennale.ru