User:Dmitry Rozhkov/1 Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art

The 1st Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art was held in Moscow from January 28 to February 28, 2005. This exhibition laid the concept, structure and traditions of the Moscow Biennale, in accordance with which the subsequent shows were held: the division of the Biennale program into three parts - the thematic main project, special projects and a parallel program, - invitation of special guests, appointment of a commissioner and a curatorial group at the head with a curator-coordinator, distribution of exhibition sites around the city, publication of a catalog, etc.

The Biennale was organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography of Russia (FACC) and the State Museum and Exhibition Center ROSIZO. The Minister of Culture (since 2004 - the head of the FACC) Mikhail Shvydkoy was appointed the chairman of the organizing committee, the Director of ROSIZO Evgeny Zyablov was the commissioner, and his deputy Iosif Bakshtein was the curator-coordinator.

The theme of the 1 Moscow Biennale was "Dialectics of Hope", the "associated thinker" - Boris Kagarlitsky. The main project sites were the V. I. Lenin Museum, the Shchusev Museum of Architecture and the Vorobyovy Gory metro station. As part of the main project, 41 artists presented their works.

More than 30 special projects were posted at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Central House of Artists, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art and the Museum Center of the Russian State University for the Humanities.

The artists Christian Boltanski (France), Bill Viola (USA) and Ilya Kabakov (USA) were invited as special guests.

Starting from the very first Biennale, the parallel program began to include practically all Moscow exhibitions of contemporary art that coincided in time, including exhibitions in private galleries. Thus, about 300 artists from 22 countries took part in the event.

"The Big Project for Russia"
Since the second half of the 1990s, the idea of creating a large Russian art forum comparable to the world's largest biennials has been in the air. This idea was supported by the Ministry of Culture and, after the adoption of the Federal Target Program "Culture of Russia. 2001-2005", began to take real shape. Preparation for such a large-scale event was accompanied by great anticipation, enthusiasm and widespread public debate, in which the initiative was called "The Big Project for Russia" (Большой проект для России).

On January 30-31, 2003 the State Museum and Exhibition Center ROSIZO, then headed by Evgeny Zyablov, held a symposium in Moscow "The Big Project for Russia. Problems and prospects". The most famous curators of the world became its participants: Francesco Bonami, Germano Celant (both Italy), Harald Szeemann, Hans Ulrich Obrist (both Switzerland), René Block (Germany), Robert Storr (USA).

In the same year, the Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art was established by the Ministry of Culture. The Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography and ROSIZO also became its organizers. The chairman of the organizing committee was the Minister of Culture Mikhail Shvydkoy. Evgeny Zyablov, who became the Commissioner of the 1st Moscow Biennale, Iosif Bakshtein, who acted as the curator-coordinator, and Victor Misiano, who left the curatorial group before the opening of the forum, were directly involved in the preparation and conduct of the event. The 1 Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art held in January-February 2005.

The Moscow Biennale has become the largest periodical cultural event in the Russian capital. In total, 41 young artists from 22 countries took part in the main program of the festival. Starting from the very first biennale, the parallel program began to include practically all Moscow exhibitions of contemporary art, which coincided in time, including exhibitions in private galleries.

Main project. "Dialectics of Hope"


The theme of the 1 Moscow Biennale was "Dialectics of Hope", the "associated thinker" - Boris Kagarlitsky. The main project sites were the V. I. Lenin Museum, the Shchusev Museum of Architecture and the Vorobyovy Gory metro station. As part of the main project, 41 artists presented their works.