The project “Did You Have a Good Time?” Vremena Goda Café since 1968 explores the ideas of leisure that have existed in the past and present and that might develop in the future. Voice as a Strategy program looks into the possibility (or impossibility) of having an individual voice heard in public spaces of leisure in the current social and political circumstances. It envisages the possibility of a post-labour society where work is no longer separated from leisure and revisits the Soviet song legacy.
Contemporary artists often turn to performative practices, expanding our understanding of art. The program features performances by artists who have made their voice a key part of their practice. After presenting their work at the recreated Vremena Goda Café, they will discuss various strategies of working with voice and texts, as well as how listeners experience songs, with invited experts and the audience.
Techno Poetry cooperative (Anton Komandirov, Roman Osminkin and Marina Shamova), Lisokot, Zhenya Kukoverov and other artists will comment on the role of ideological and aesthetic critique, provocation and corporeal experiment in their practice and speak about the affects and influences they intend to produce through their work. Discussing these questions with them will be curators, experts and researchers, including from Garage. The evenings are curated and moderated by Olga Shirokostup.