“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 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 – Baltic and North Seas (Great Britain, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany).