On September 6 at 18:30, the curatorial project “Basic Knowledge About the World (of Contemporary Art)” by the VIDSOTOK group (Anton Tkachenko and Nastia Khlestova) will open at the ART Basement of the Kharkiv Municipal Gallery. The exhibition will feature works by artists from different cities of Ukraine: Olha Fedorova (Kharkiv), Maksym Finoheiev (Odesa), Iryna Baranova (Lviv), Yan Bidnyi (Dnipro).

The project is dedicated to the difficulties in relationships between young artists and institutions, curators, grant providers, and viewers.

From the project concept:

“Relationships are a delicate matter, especially relationships between an artist and an institution (viewer, curator, object of creativity, grant provider, another artist).

When it comes to relationships in contemporary art, we often find ourselves unprepared for them. To a large extent, the problem is that there is a huge number of unwritten rules that a young artist learns in the course of interacting with the art environment and accepts as a given. However, not all of these patterns of behavior and rules of communication lead to healthy relationships between the subjects of the art environment.

“We are young artists, we are ghosts of contemporary art, invisible to curators and institutions. Our cultural environment is a desert island where a huge number of people who do not see us coexist. What should we take with us to this island in order to survive?”

Maksym (30 years old, artist, photographer):

“I understand that there are difficulties, but I keep working anyway.”

Olia (23 years old, artist):

“Every day I go on Facebook and see more and more new artists there. And they are all doing something, and you have to keep track of all of them. And that’s only in our country! And if you also include Russia and Belarus — where do people find so much time!”

Ira (21 years old, artist, designer):

“Up to a certain point, I did not set myself the goal of being needed by anyone in this environment at all, and then it all started happening by itself, and I still don’t understand anything.”

Anton (23 years old, artist, curator):

“Why apply to all these residencies — you won’t get accepted anyway.”

We look forward to seeing everyone at the opening at the ART Basement of the Municipal Gallery (15 Chernyshevska St., inner courtyard)