The II International Independent Art Festival

“THE LEVEL OF A SEA”,

dedicated to the 20th anniversary of   Art Center “Pushkinskaya-10”

Central Exhibition Hall «Manege», St.-Petersburg, Russia,
24 October – 8 November 2009

In 2009 The “Pushkinskaya-10” Art Center in St Petersburg celebrates its 20th anniversary. The workers of independent art united in The Society “Free Culture” (S «FC»), professional artistic association, decided to mark this date by organizing the II international festival of independent art. The 1st festival «From the falling to the flight», dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the Art-Center «Pushkinskaya-10» and the problem of migration of Russian avant-garde, was held in 2004.

The “Sea Level” metaphor, which unites the seashore cultures, became the key one in the concept of the St Petersburg festival. Such uniting is not accidental. The ancient civilizations, with their rich culture and art, existed exactly in a dialog with a sea. Ebbs and flows determined the rhythm of the life of people; the people’s well-being depended on the sea. Only the middle – optimal – level of the sea guaranteed the uninterrupted development of culture and civilization. The ancient laws still stand in new times. Thereby, the level of a sea determines the level of happiness of people through at all times.

In 1777 in the island of Kronstadt in the gulf before St Petersburg the starting point – tide-gauge – the zero mark of the water level of the World Ocean was laid. The crossing of the magnetic lines suggested the place which probably unites the creative work of the builders of the Earth’s noosphere.
Water unites people through over the world.
«Its universality: its democratic equality and constancy to its nature in seeking its own level: its vastness in the ocean of Mercator’s projection: its unplumbed profundity in the Sundam trench of the Pacific exceeding 8,000 fathoms: the restlessness of its waves and surface particles visiting in turn all points of its seaboard: the independence of its units: the variability of states of sea: its hydrostatic quiescence in calm: its hydrokinetic turgidity in neap and spring tides: its subsidence after devastation: its sterility in the circumpolar icecaps, arctic and antarctic: its climatic and commercial significance: its preponderance of 3 to 1 over the dry land of the globe: its indisputable hegemony extending in square leagues over all the region below the subequatorial tropic of Capricorn: the multisecular stability of its primeval basin: its luteofulvous bed: Its capacity to dissolve and hold in solution all soluble substances including billions of tons of the most precious metals» James Joyce. «Ulysses».

In The St Petersburg Central Exhibition Hall “Manege” all the kinds of contemporary art will be presented: painting, printed and digital graphic arts, sculpture, installation, video-art, photography, performance, music.

The Art-Center “Pushkinskaya-10” and The Museum of Nonconformist Art present the concept of the Festival’s organization in the St Petersburg coordinates. As all seas are integral parts of World Ocean, at the Festival there will be oceanic countries too. There are four vectors issuing from the zero mark of the Sea Level at the Kronstadt Tide-Gauge in Russia. They directed towards White Sea (Arkhangelsk), Caspian Sea (Makhachkala), Baltic Sea (Kaliningrad) and Sea of Japan (Vladivostok). The vectors of Sea Level outside of Russian state boundary are directed to the South – Black and Mediterranean Seas (Ukraine, France, Greece, Italy, Israel, Spain), towards the East – the Pacific Ocean (Japan, the USA), towards the West – the Baltic and the North Seas (Iceland, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany).

Condition of participation in the competition of artistic projects
for the guests of the II International Festival of Independent Art «The Level of a Sea»,
dedicated to the 20th anniversary of art-center «Pushkinskaya-10»

Projects for competition (reproductions, sketches, photos, conceptions in written form) are sent until 1 April 2009 on e-mail: p-10@mail.ru with theme of message «The Level of a Sea». 2-3 projects are desirable with further discussion and selection 1 of its.

Discussion and selection of winners-participator of the II International Festival of Independent Art «The Level of a Sea» in Central Exhibition Hall «Manege», Saint-Petersburg, Russia will be held from the 1 of April till the 1 of June 2009 by Artistic Council of Festival. The Artistic Council consist of artist, director of Museum of nonconformist art E. M. Orlov, artist, president of art-center «Pushkinskaya-10» S.V. Kovalsky, artist, director of gallery «Art-League» J.A. Ribakov, director of TechnoArtCenter I.A. Aktuganova, director of the Gallery of Experimental Sound A.A. Popovsky, artists N.V. Sychov and I.M. Orlov. Announcement of results of competition will be on the 1 of June 2009.
The winners of the competition should send images of the artworks in format of .jpg with extension of 300 px, short creativity biography of 5 lines for participation in catalogue. Cost of participation in catalogue – 1 page = 60  € (2 pages =110 €).

Projects, winned in competition, will be taken for exhibition only with personal attendance of authors or their plenipotentiaries. Artworks for exhibition won’t be taken in absentia. Artworks, created in accordance with projects, should be delivered  in Central Exhibition Hall «Manege» on the 20th of October 2009.

The winners of competition will be supported FOR FREE with:
place in Central Exhibition Hall «Manege»;
PR of action (with supporting of city government, paper, TV and radio broadcasting, internet information);
1 example of catalogue;
visits of all actions in museums and galleries of art-center «Pushkinskaya-10».

The winners of competition will pay BY THEMSELVES:
tickets to Saint-Petersburg and back;
residence in hotel;
delivering of the works;
from the side of the art-center is helping in reservation of rooms in hotels and transferring (meeting in a station-houses).

DOWNLOAD:

Festival program (.doc)

Poster (2.51 Mb)