A Cultural Mediation Program

Date

From 22 May 2023 to 31 July 2023

Place

Garage Museum of Contemporary Art
Age limit — 16+

DESCRIPTION

According to Carmen Mörsch, Head of the Research Institute for Art Education at Zurich University of the Arts, «cultural mediation—and in my eyes this is its most important function, one for which there is no substitute—allows space for a resistant cultural practice, removed from elite enclaves of art appreciation and populist strategies of audience development.»

The aim of mediation is the regulation of connections, critical consideration of current events and dialogue with the viewer, and also the role of cultural intermediary, which is the goal of the mediation program Around the Garages. It will allow visitors to be in contact with art in the context of a range of Garage programs and in the Museum’s various spaces. While there are no exhibitions, the mediation program is constructed as a series of events of different formats in different locations. 

A mediator is an intermediary between the institution and visitors who communicates with tour or masterclass participants as equals. A mediator can express their identity, share their opinion, and encourage participants to do the same. The aim of mediation is not to teach but to provoke interest and excite.

Nine mediators, selected as the result of an open call and having undergone a two-month training course, will become guides for visitors to the Museum’s space and, in future, to the Narkomfin Building.

The title of the program appeared after a discussion between the curator of the program and the mediators. For them it was important to stress the mosaic-like nature of participation: each participant will see their own Garage when taking part in the mediation program.

In the main Garage building, the Seasons of the Year pavilion, mediations will cover Oleg Baranov’s project Going Down, special sessions in the World Gone By computer class, and also the collection of artist’s books in Garage Library. At Garage Studios at VDNKh there will be meetings with residents and discussion of their artistic practice.

You can take part in one mediation or visit every «garage» by participating in all of them. 

The mediators have also developed a program of meetings about collective writing practices for adults and two programs for teens: a series of four meetings about contemporary museums and a two-month program on working with text.

Mediation Program Curator: Maria Romanova

HOW TO TAKE PART

All of the events in the program are built on interaction with the mediators and active involvement in discussion of what has been seen. The maximum number of participants is 12.

All events in the program are free with advance registration.

Schedule

Mediations on the Oleg Baranov’s project Going Down

Participants will learn about this project, which was created as a Garage Archive Commission, and will discuss it in detail.

Date
May 22 – May 31
Place
Garage Museum of Contemporary Art

Mediations in the World Gone By computer class

Meetings with mediators in the World Gone By computer class are constructed around immersion in the online environment and using the potential of the space.

Date
May 22 – May 30
Place
Computer class "The World Gone By"

Mediation with Viktor Tsiryanidi on Artist’s Books

Participants will see and discuss unique art objects, the artist’s books in the collection of Garage Library, and create their own handmade books.

Date
May 22 – May 29
Place
Garage Library

Mediation at Garage Studios at VDNKh

Meetings will be based around getting to know the work of one of the resident artists and then discussing them with the mediator and the artist.

Date
May 23 – May 27
Place
Garage Studios

The Museum: Space and Meanings: A Series of Meetings for Teens with Anastasia Tikhonova

The series of four meetings for teenagers aged 12-14 will allow you to learn about the world’s most significant museums of contemporary art and develop your own project of an ideal museum.

REGISTRATION

Date
June 7, Wednesday
Time
18:00–20:00
Place
Garage Kids' Studio

A Manifesto for Tomorrow: several practices on collective writing with Anastasia Shestak

Participants will analyse the manifesto and its role in twentieth-century art, and will then write their own manifestos with each other, which they will present to the group.

REGISTRATION

Date
May 26, Friday
Time
19:30–21:30