Kyiv’s first international biennale of contemporary art

Curator: David ELLIOTT

100 artists from 30 countries

250 works on display

24,000 meters of exhibition area

Curator: David ELLIOTT (UK)

Commissioner: Natalia ZABOLOTNA (Ukraine)

Held on May 24 — July 31, 2012

MAJOR PROJECTS AT ARSENALE 2012 THE MAIN PROJECT

“THE BEST OF TIMES, THE WORST OF TIMES: REBIRTH AND APOCALYPSE IN CONTEMPORARY ART”

Curator: David ELLIOTT

Following the first lines of Charles Dickens’ famous novel A Tale of Two Cities (1859) set during the French Revolution, this exhibit leaps into this day to reflect on how contemporary art and esthetics use the past to depict the future.

The exhibit will revolve around four basic ideas:

The Restless Spirit

It looks at the ways in which we derive strength from beliefs, myths and concepts of the universe that are not governed by material needs.

In the Name of Order

It examines how, under the guise of rationalism, the authorities attempt to dominate culture by way of creating self-serving hierarchies.

Flesh

It takes the human body, its appetites, desires and limitations as its central theme.

The Unquiet Dream

It focuses on nightmares and premonitions of a di­saster without which we would be unable to change.

SPECIAL PROJECT

“DOUBLE GAME”

Curator: Oleksandr SOLOVIOV (Ukraine). The Polish side of the project is coordinated by Fabio Cavalucci, Director of Zamek Ujazdowski Centre for Contemporary Art (Warsaw).

A total of 25 Ukrainian and 13 Polish artists will display 50 works, including pictures, objects, installations, and performances. This project is a unique op­por­tunity for both countries’ artists, curators, and critics to meet, hold debates, find points of contact, and define the areas of identity, difference, and re­lationship.

TITLE PROJECT

“ANCIENT FORMS, ACTUAL VIEW”

An open-air exposition of ancient statuary plasticity – stone sculptures dating back from the Eneolithic Age to the Middle Ages – will be displayed on the territory of Mystetsky Arsenal in the historical landscape of the former Old Pechersk fortress. The unique monuments of ancient nomadic civilizations, which once played a sacral role, are of great artistic value today. It is a thousands-year-long history, concentrated in artifacts, of the Ukrainian land, which gave birth to certain artistic traditions. The project is an attempt to trace the influence of ancient forms on the development of art in later times, including the present day. Ukraine’s 12 museum institutions took part in forming the exposition.

DISCUSSION PLATFORM

“ART AFTER THE END OF THE WORLD”

Curator: Yekaterina DYOGOT (Russia)

What is there and what there should not be? This question is the point of departure on the Discussion Platform of the First Kyiv Biennale of Contemporary Art. The curator addresses this question to the present-day leading theoreticians of art, philosophers, sociologists, and activists, as well as the artists handpicked for the project. The Discussion Platform participants have been invited to reflect on what art will be like after the end of the world, to which we all bear witness.

The project is to be carried out in the format of debates, lectures, workshops, and master classes, as well as a conference scheduled for April 2012. A book will be published in the summer of 2012 to sum up the Discussion Platform events.

PARALLEL PROGRAM

The biennale’s parallel program comprises the cultural and artistic events to be held simultaneously with the main program of Arsenale 2012 on the initiative of a number of Ukraine’s art institutions.

The Arsenale 2012’s parallel program presents the most eminent and active participants in the art processes of Ukraine from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Kherson, and Dnipropetrovsk. The program comprises about 45 projects to be displayed in more than 30 art locations: art galleries of different formats, art centers, art laboratories and residences.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

The educational program of the First Kyiv International Biennale of Contemporary Art comprises several main components and is intended for diverse audiences – from art professionals to children.

There will be all kinds of educational events before and during the biennale, such as lectures, master classes, presentations, meetings with artists, curators, and art critics. A special cine- and video-program has been planned.

A large-scale fascinating program of excursions is also on offer: there will be a lot of tours intended for audiences of different backgrounds.

The biennale’s young visitors may visit master classes held by the lecturers specially invited from the UK. The classes will be aimed at developing creative abilities in children and focus on the artifacts and ideology of contemporary art.