The results of the open international grant competition

WINNERS

of the Open International Grant Program in Visual Art and Literature
"ARTKOMMUNALKA 2022–2023"

 

 1. Olesya Ilyenok (Yekaterinburg, Russia), Change of Contemplation

Change of Contemplation is a series of contemplative studies of cities in order to reveal people's code as they perceive the streets, the textures, and the noises.

"With the practice of dérive, I change the focus of my attention from everyday life to an active exploration of urban nuances, like peering, listening, and touching. This is similar to popular mindfulness exercises, but instead of being directed inward, it goes outward, into the city space. By selecting a particular medium as a guide (e.g., clay blanks), I gather contemplative data on the city, which I then expand and use in a different perspective (e.g., the conversion of texture into sound)."

Photo: SCAPE - a sound sculpture made from soil from Vladivostok, which was collected near Russky Island.

 

2. Daria Goncharova (Saint Petersburg, Russia), The Rest

"I often refer to the subject of the incidental part in my work. The outside material is an important element of my projects, whether it's a text, a message or a single object. I'm interested in the probabilities that are implemented in this incidental contact.
In the residence, I will continue working on the phenomenon of libraries, which I started in my project Worlds i[i] , as well as the theme of materiality, which is typical for this social institution.
A library is not only a social institution, but also a kind of data archive where everything has to be registered and systematized. Even so, you can also find incidental things that people leave in the books after reading them (bookmarks, torn out pages, and other miscellaneous objects.).
My project refers to the theme of the human footprint and the Message that the reader leaves behind unintentionally in the archive of many other Messages (the library and its books)."
Photo: works from Worlds i[i] project at the exhibition in the New Tretyakov Gallery.

 3. Gabbilen Galychev (Moscow, Russia), Practical Theater Lab

 

"I want to talk about the memories and objects that are important to the people of Kolomna. You can tell the story of your family, love, joy, or loss with the help of objects. The stories of objects told by the project participants become the material for a play that later turns into a chamber performance, created by means of the object theater with the director and actors engaged.
It is important to show that personal belongings are relevant to the historical process so that any object can eventually become a part of the exhibition."

 

5. Maria Ivanova (Saint Petersburg, Russia), Kolomna Fabric

"I study textiles and the textile industry of central Russia, as well as the conversion of images from fabric into paintings. I copy fabric patterns and make my own paintings inspired by fabrics and carpets. For the competition, I aim to make a project consisting of several handkerchiefs with landscapes and landmarks of the city, using the motifs from the 18^th and 19^th century handkerchiefs made using the techniques of embroidery and stenciling."
Photo: The first impressions of Norilsk, which I could put in my pocket as a memory. Fabric, stencil, embroidery, 2021.

 

6. Tatiana Efrussi (Moscow/Paris, France), Tara Fatehi (London, UK/Iran), Behold this Fragment of an Unknown Star: Kolomna

"This project is based on site-specific explorations in Kolomna and surroundings. Through this process we are working towards a performance that is inspired by naghali and pardekhani – two forms of Iranian traditional theatre which involve poetry, storytelling, singing and acting in front of a painted screen that works as a visual script. The title Behold this Fragment of an Unknown Star is derived from one of Velemir Khlebnikov’s poems of the Iranian cycle (1921), that describes a metaphoric (and metamorphosic) journey through Persian mountains, Moscow, Oka and Volga rivers into the outer space. We appeal to this poem to underline our interest in the sites that we tread on as well as shared connections in our own cultural history (between Russia and Iran). The stories travel from one place to the next, through us, our bodies, our paintings and our performances."

 

7. Anastasia Grigoriadi (Moscow, Russia), In a Calamus Thicket

"According to one theory, the etymology of the name Kolomna means “a river in a calamus thicket”. Throughout the art project, I intend to explore Kolomna via a story about the wild edible plants that can be found around the city.

I would like to start by collecting information and answering questions about the botanical diversity of Kolomna in the past and present; identifying the locations of wild edible plants and by creating a map of the city illustrating this. It is possible to find plants suitable for replacing arugula in dinner salads; to compile descriptions of floral species found in Kolomna; and, finally, to develop culinary recipes in cooperation with the Moscow Fermenters Society, in which wild plants are to play a major role. The output will be a book (with a 5-copy print run, an electronic version; and possibly a multi-copy alternative using risographic printing); a souvenir that tells the story of local dirokos in a playful manner (e.g. cards); an open joint book launch-dinner; a tablecloth dyed with local plant dyes; sculptured candles made of natural wax, shaped to resemble particular indigenous plant species; fermented and non-fermented dishes based on local wild crops."

Photo: Fermentation, 2019.

 

8. Ekaterina Kharitonova (Istra, Russia), Speaking

The author believes that poetry is a special kind of internal speaking, unfolded outwards, and thus she aims to unfold an "installation of words" alongside Kolomna, its inhabitants, and buildings. Line by line, passers-by compose a text according to the rules of bouts-rimés. The text will include things overheard in the streets and noticed on the walls. Any elements of street art, vandalism, graffiti, street signs and other urban objects can all serve to create an urban centon.

 

9. Valeria Babitskaya (Moscow, Russia), Souvenir Manifesto

Within the time allocated, the author will lay out a route from the Kolomna of the past, an ancient Russian trading center, to the Kolomna of today, a tourist center of the Moscow region. Valeria will design a new type of souvenir - practical ones, able to turn the "souvenir addressee" into a memory creator and heritage keeper; to leave behind trinkets, souvenirs for passive admiration, and move towards "memorabilia" that stimulates action.

 

10. Mahboubeh Khosravi Khaftar (Shiraz, Iran), The Problems of Being Polite

Is it hard to be polite? Is it worth while being polite? Should you be polite? These are problems of those who are polite. So far, we do not know the exact connotation of the title, but the East does not give unequivocal answers and does not like being asked unequivocal questions—especially the Sufi East.

Mabubeh Khosravi Haftar comes from Shiraz, the hometown of Saadi and Hafiz, the greatest Persian poets. She started out as an illustrator of children's books but gradually immersed herself in the world of words and began to write for children herself. We'll bathe the cats of Kolomna, rescue migrating birds from the headwinds, and cross the drawbridge...

 

11. Sergey M. Shamatulsky (Minsk, Belarus), A Well with No Echo

The author designs books, writes and publishes in two languages—Belarusian and Russian—and is going to talk to people in Kolomna. His idea is to select something of value out of their stories that can be used as the basis for his feature stories in order to eventually create a portrait gallery of human feelings. His aim is partly therapeutic, for both the author and the protagonists: to banish fears by creating their own safe world.

 

Our sincere congratulations to the winners

This year the winners will be joined by one former artist-in-residence – Chung Ling Jolene MOK (Hong Kong & United Kingdom) with her project “Farming and Foraging for Filmmaking”, the winner of the "ARTCOMMUNALKA 2021" Grant Competition. The project could not be implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. 

*** hand processing color reversal slides (E6)

"I will be experimenting with an ecological film-development method by mixing my own plant-based developer for black & white film stocks, utilizing the native flora of Kolomna. ‘Farming and Foraging for Filmmaking’ will open up a space for me to engage my art and filmmaking with the natural landscape of the forests in Kolomna.  I am planning to create a film depicting the experiment involving wild and farm-grown plants in Kolomna and celluloid film. I believe the conceptual and material aspects of my process-oriented filmmaking proposal reveal the idea of the interconnection between the artist and the art residence."