Moscow’s Garage Museum Announces Pop-Up Exhibition in St. Petersburg

Is New Holland Island Russia's next cultural hub?

New Holland Island, St. Petersburg, including the Bottle, a former prison that has been turned into an arts space. Photo courtesy of New Holland Island, St. Petersburg.

The Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow has announced an exhibition of work by emerging Russian artists at a brand new off-site location on New Holland Island, St. Petersburg.

The man-made island, named like that because of its visual similarity to Amsterdam, is home to several 18th century buildings that underwent years of neglect following the Russian Revolution, including a former prison that is now an arts space called the Bottle.

After the successful experimental temporary program “Summer on New Holland,” which took place on the island between 2011 and 2013 and that was funded by Dasha Zhukova’s foundation, New Holland has recently undergone an extensive revamp in an attempt to transform it into a cultural hub.

Anastasia Kuzmina Untitled, 2016 Video still, courtesy of the artist

Anastasia Kuzmina, Untitled (2016). Video still, courtesy of the artist.

The new exhibition space is not the first beautifying intervention made by the young institution. Founded in 2008 by Zhukova, a Russian philanthropist and mega-collector, last year the Garage Museum moved into a repurposed Soviet restaurant in Moscow’s Gorky Park, for which the architect Rem Koolhaas designed a new polycarbonate skin.

Alexandra Sukhareva Between Two Pleasures, 2016. From the project Bracket, 2012–present Installation, digital documentation Courtesy of the artist

Alexandra Sukhareva, Between Two Pleasures (2016). From the project “Bracket” (2012–present). Image courtesy of the artist.

The institution’s pop-up show will take place in a temporary pavilion on the island, which is reopening as a public park on August 27.

The exhibition, titled “Experiences of the Imaginary” and curated by Andrey Misiano, will showcase the work of nine emerging Russian artists: Nikolai Alexeyev, Aslan Gaisumov, Evgeny Granilshchikov, Ilya Dolgov, Anastasia Kuzmina, Kirill Makarov, Ivan Novikov, Alexandra Sukhareva, and Anna Titova.

These up-and-coming artists were all recipients of the Garage Museum’s supporting grant. 

Ilya Dolgov Herbarium, 2012–present Acrylic on paper 30 ɯ 40 cm Courtesy of the artist

Ilya Dolgov, Herbarium (2012–present). Image courtesy of the artist.

“Experiences of the Imaginary” will be on view at New Holland Island, St. Petersburg, from August 27–September 25, 2016.

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