Exhibition gives voice to artists from the Russian Urals

A new exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod features video interviews and documentaries of artists from the Urals in a bid to foster dialogue about the region’s growing creativity. The exhibition, entitled Art Residency, at the National Centre for Contemporary Art comprises large screens showing footage of artwork from the 2012 Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art in order to explore the artistic processes of those involved in the event.

The exhibition’s commissioner, Alisa Prudnikova, told The Calvert Journal that the Art Residency programme, which organised the show, will celebrate its fifth birthday this year. She said: “The main aim of the exhibition is to stimulate interest in Yekaterinburg because it’s getting very important regionally in an artistic context. Our idea was to establish a programme that gives artists the opportunity to work and tell a story related to the regions in this area.”

On show will be the work of Yekaterinburg street artist Timofei Radya and photographer Leonid Tishkov, best known for his Private Moon series of images. The programme will also host a public seminar dedicated to discussing the cultural development of industrial cities in the Urals.

Prudnikova said: “We’re giving space for artists to tell their own stories of their perceptions of the city, from perceptions of the industrial parts of the town, to factory life, the city environment or the urban fabric of the city. Art Residence tries to find ways to integrate art into everyday life.”

Art Residence will be open until 20 April.