Happy holidays from Garage

Dear Friends,

As our 10th anniversary year comes to an end, I would like to thank everyone who helped us to make it such a momentous year, from regular visitors to those who had their first experience of Garage in 2018, whether in person or via social media. And, of course, GARAGE cardholders and Patrons, who continue to provide invaluable support to the development of the Museum. I am also grateful to all of the artists, curators, collectors, gallerists, writers, critics, and historians who worked with us these years.

In 2018, around 900,000 people visited Garage. That’s an average of 2,500 visitors per day! Over the year we hosted 17 exhibitions, over 3,000 educational events, 730 tours, 406 film screenings, 2 professional conferences, 9 building-wide performances, and 5 dance-filled Mosaic Music concerts. The third Garage Art Book Fair attracted 12,000 visitors over three days. More than 2,500 people took part in workshops and projects organized by our Inclusive Programs Department, which has made Garage a regional leader in the field of museum accessibility.

Garage Archive Collection expanded greatly in 2018, acquiring more than ten archives, including those of Alexei Shchusev (1873–1949), one of the most important architects in pre-Revolutionary and Soviet Russia, artist and historian Andrei Khlobystin, art historian and curator Andrei Erofeev, and artist Vladislav Mamyshev-Monroe (1969–2013). Through its Russian Art Archive Network, Garage is making more of the archive collection available in digital form. Garage Library continued to grow, adding over 4,000 new titles. We welcome new Library members (it’s free to join!).

There’s an exciting program ahead in 2019, with solo exhibitions by Pavel Pepperstein and Rasheed Araeen and a major group show called The Coming World, on the theme of ecology and the future. But the first event in the new year is Art Experiment, our traditional participatory project, which aims to get children and adults involved in making art during the New Year holidays. This year The Miracle of Light celebrates the 180th birthday of photography and you can learn various ways of creating images, including how to make and use a pinhole camera.

Thank you for being with us in our 10th anniversary year. On behalf of all the staff at Garage, I wish you a happy, healthy, and peaceful 2019.
 

Anton Belov