Cosmoscow 2018 Museum of the Year

"All leading international institutions which understand the importance of preserving the ‘ephemeral’ cultural heritage, are engaged in the formation of media art collections. This is what shows us today the state of modern society and the main changes taking place in the process of understanding the world and its perception by a modern society. We are very glad that even before the opening of the Museum’s Quarter the Cosmoscow guests will be able to see our new collection. After all, what we are talking about is the art that is ‘alive’ where Today and Tomorrow live side by side," said Marina Loshak, Director of The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.  

"New media is one of the main vectors for the development of contemporary art and, at the same time, a very serious challenge for the art industry. I am very glad that Cosmoscow visitors will be able to get acquainted with the best examples of media art included in the excellent collection of The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and know the opinions of established experts during the educational programme. I’m glad that it happens as part of our cooperation with the Pushkin State Museum, one of the leading museums in the country," added Margarita Pushkina, Founding Director of Cosmoscow International Contemporary Art Fair and Founder of Cosmoscow Foundation for Contemporary Art.  

The collection of media art and the educational programme are organized with the support of the Cosmoscow Foundation for Contemporary Art, founded in 2017. The Foundation combines numerous initiatives of Cosmoscow. The main objective of the Foundation is the systematic support of contemporary art in Russia and the promotion of young artists. The Foundation’s activities include purchase of contemporary art works and their donation to museum collections. In 2017, as part of the partnership between Cosmoscow and the State Tretyakov Gallery a special acquisition of three works by Russian artist Andrey Kuzkin was made to the museum’s permanent collection with the support of Cosmoscow Foundation for Contemporary Art. This year, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts will also receive a donation of works by contemporary artist whose name will be announced at the Cosmoscow Press Conference on September 6.

Presentation of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts’ Media Art Collection:

Unequaled in Russia, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts’ media art collection includes works created on the basis of the museum’s collection, site-specific projects and works that allow us to comprehend classical art using the latest technologies. Formation of time-based art collection is the starting point for understanding the new experience of human perception of the surrounding world, in which visual images, tactile sensations and the perception of information by hearing are inextricably linked with the process of cognition. The core of the collection is formed by the works that expand the boundaries of perception and offer new formats of interaction with reality. Special attention is paid to the works that are iconic for the development of media art.

As part of Cosmoscow, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts will present the works of media art classics. Among the works that have already entered the collection and will be represented at the fair are the video installations of Gary Hill (USA) and Fabrizio Plessi (Italy), the video art of Marianne Heske (Norway), and the trilogy of the Russian art group Provmyza (Sergey Provorov and Galina Myznikova) "Despair" (2008), "Inspiration" (2010) and "Eternity" (2011).  

Educational Programme:

As part of the educational programme, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts will present the concept of the development of the Museum’s media art collection, a promising project of a shared collection developed together with LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), as well as practical issues of media art collecting, copyright, copies, originals, etc.  

Friday, September 7, 2018, 3 pm

Session “Know how. The revolution in the art market: from video art to new media. User’s manual”

Among latest fairs’ trends are not only the withdrawal of material art and the opening of new horizons for time-based art, but also the transition of the market to digital space and the development of crypto- currencies. How do all these changes transform the traditional market environment? What prospects does it open for all market participants today? How does the media art market work? What features need to be considered when buying media art and what problems can be encountered? How does the development of digital technology today affect the experience of collecting, selling, and what is the future of the market? The participants of the session are invited to disclose these and related issues in a joint discussion, share their professional knowledge and experience in acquiring works of media art both on the foreign and Russian markets.

Moderator: Olga Shishko (Russia), curator of the "Pushkin Museum XXI" programme.

Participants: Egbert Dommering (Netherlands), Emeritus professor at the Institute for Information Law of the Amsterdam University, member of the Copyright Commission advising the European Union government and parliament on copyright and related rights; Carlos Duran (Spain), Founding co-director of LOOP and Screen Projects, director of Senda Gallery and Espai2Nou2 Gallery; Daria Parkhomenko (Russia), founder and curator of Laboratoria Art&Science Foundation; Irina Sergeeva (Russia), leading lawyer and consultant on intellectual rights.

Saturday, September 8, 2018, 1 pm

Session “Buying time. Predicting the future of museum and private collections”

The participants of the session will discuss how "time" today, rather than objects, becomes the basis of private and museum collections and what prospects are possible in the future for new art collections. Media art radically changes the formats and approaches to the creation of collections apart from expanding the perception and opening the prospect for a dialogue between classical and modern art. Time-based art and video art become a part of museum archives and private collections, as well as active "participants" of the art market. How does the investment in the future correspond to media art, performance and all that exist in the museum environment as time-based art? Works of media art become the basis for creating shared collections, as in the case of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and LACMA, and also change the traditional approach to collecting.

Participants: Marina Loshak (Russia), Director of The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts; Dmitry Sergeev (Russia), Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Mail.Ru Group; Kati Kivinen (Finland), Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma; Olesya Turkina (Russia), Leading Researcher of The State Russian Museum; Gary Hill (USA), artist, pioneer of media art, participant in the Features programme at the Art Basel 2018; Svetlana Marich (Russia), Phillips’ Worldwide Deputy Chairman; Bernard Blistene (France), Director of the Centre Pompidou (Paris).

Sunday, September 9, 2018, 1 pm

Session “Psychology of collecting. Collecting media art as a radical practice”

The session is devoted to the experience of collecting media art, performance and video art. How to move from graphics to video art? How a private media art collection can be built? As part of this event, collectors, gallery owners and art dealers will share their opinions on who is a contemporary media art collector and will discuss with the artists the forms of effective interaction for the formation of a valuable media art collection.

Participants: Nikolay Palazhchenko (Russia), curator, art dealer, curator of the Art Management and Gallery Business faculty of the RMA business school; Mila Bazeva (Russia), director of the Artwin Gallery and the Gogova Foundation; Polina Kanis (Russia), artist; Dmitry Volkov (Russia), collector, businessman, SDV Arts & Science Foundation; Carlos Duran (Spain), Founding co-director of LOOP and Screen Projects, director of Senda Gallery and Espai2Nou2 Gallery; Egbert Dommering (Netherlands), Emeritus professor at the Institute for Information Law of the Amsterdam University, member of the Copyright Commission advising the European Union government and parliament on copyright and related rights.

Notes to Editors:  6th Cosmoscow International Contemporary Art Fair will take place from 7 to 9 September 2018 at Gostiny Dvor supported by Main Partner Qatar Airways, Strategic Partner Credit Suisse, Automobile Partner Audi, Official Partner Beluga and Official Hotel St. Regis Moscow Nikolskaya. 6 September is dedicated to collectors, art professionals, curators and press. Public viewing is from 7 to 9 September (12 pm to 8 pm).

Contacts for press:

Elena Kurbatskaya | +7 916 798 9987 | [email protected] Noel | +79854572199 | [email protected]

About Cosmoscow

Cosmoscow International Contemporary Art Fair was launched by Russian collector and philanthropist Margarita Pushkina in 2010 and aims to bring together both Russian and international collectors, galleries and artists. Cosmoscow is Russia’s only international art fair taking place every September with its own spot in an international art calendar. The 5th anniversary edition of the fair took place at the Gostiny Dvor on September 8-10, 2017 representing a record number of 54 Russian and International galleries and welcoming 19,200 guests. Over 2,000 people visited Cosmoscow Collectors’ Preview.

"Pushkin Museum XXI"

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts has been realizing a strategy aimed at attracting new spectators by incorporating works of contemporary art into the familiar museum exposition since 2014. In 2017, the museum announced the creation of the “Pushkin Museum XXI” programme, which aims to give visitors an idea of the latest art and its brightest representatives. The objective of the programme is to demonstrate the art of "new classics" who speak the language of modern forms.

The mission of the “Pushkin Museum XXI” is to demonstrate the great achievements of the international artistic culture, in the combination of classical and contemporary art. "Pushkin Museum XXI" is an innovative programme, in which all forms of presentation of contemporary art come into dialogue – from painting and sculpture to virtual reality and video art.