Garage Museum of Contemporary Art’s project Open Systems. Self-Organized Art Initiatives in Russia: 2000–2015 begins on June 16 at the Typography Center for Contemporary Art in Krasnodar

With Open Systems, Garage continues its work in Russia’s regions, exploring new ground and introducing contemporary art to local audiences all over the country.

The Typography Center for Contemporary Art in Krasnodar continues the project Open Systems, organized by Garage in 2015, which explores the phenomenon of self-organization in art.

Since 2000, the Russian art scene has witnessed the rise of artists’ DIY initiatives, including independent non-profit spaces, exhibitions in converted factories and underground crosswalks, street festivals, internet projects, and apartment shows. Together these reflect the autonomy of emerging generations of artists from both state-run and private institutions.

Open Systems is a live, research-based exhibition that presents self-organized initiatives, exploring the phenomenon from the perspectives of artists who have pioneered projects over the past 15 years. The aim of the project is to present artists’ speech while those artists strive to develop new forms of social communication in the big world of art. The aim of the project is also to enhance cooperation in the struggle against the dictates of institutions and commerce.

The Typography Center for Contemporary Art in Krasnodar and the Urals branch of the National Center for Contemporary Arts in Ekaterinburg continue the research project initiated by Garage. The exhibition in the Typography Center pays particular attention to the south of Russia to focus on the specifics of the region.

The experience of Open Systems participants shows both the uniqueness and the universality of each artist’s history in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh, Krasnodar, Rostov-on-Don, Taganrog, Vladikavkaz, Sochi, Ekaterinburg, Nizhny Tagil, and other cities. Together the participants ask questions that challenge the conventions of the world as we know it, and the way we think about art.