1703 Art Fair launches annual lecture program dedicated to art collecting

In popular culture the work of an art collector is often seen as a simple one: to buy pieces of art and hang them on the wall. The usual portrait of your typical collector lacks halftones, gravitating towards the extremes: proud investors with unlimited budget or modest enthusiasts; prudent businessmen or philanthropists devoid of pragmatism; lonesome curio collectors and extraverted party people. Though in reality collectors are ordinary people, albeit with a bit more complicated lifestyle: artists and curators are seen anywhere but the exhibition openings, experts of the field are consulted with on a regular basis, trends and tendencies of the art market are closely monitored. They are also no strangers to "mundane" problem-solving.

Having realised the gap between art collecting as an idea and the real thing, we decided to put together a lecture program that will dispel myths and preconceived notions, as well as explain the actual "rules of the game". To help with this, we invited industry professionals: an art collector, a gallerist, a philanthropist, a curator, and an art critic. Collector Kseniya Chilingarova will share the story of the formation of her collection as well as principles of art acquisition, while co-founder of the New Collectors foundation Ekaterina Lapshina will muse about the collector's mission in the 21st century. DiDi Gallery's founder Revaz Zhvania will speak on the gallery's role on the secondary market and the specifics of interfacing with different types of art dealers, with MYTH Gallery co-creator Olga Profatilo and collector Maria Filshtinskaya chiming in with valuable insights on the importance of professional ethics in communication. A deep dive into the history of Russian contemporary art and industry, helmed by art history professor Gleb Ershov, will establish an important basis for understanding of the aforementioned problems. The analysis of trends in art collecting, which will accompany every event of the cycle, will conclude with a discussion on the current state of the art market and its prospects with guests Marina Loshak, Pierre Christian-Brocher, Sergey Limonov and Polina Bondareva.

The annual program will run from February to June and will open with a lecture by Tikhaya studio chief curator Alisa Savitskaya. On February 12th in the Yasnaya Polyana conference hall Alisa will share how in ten years' time a self-organisation from Nizhny Novgorod managed to preserve its team of like-minded individuals, acquire a building in the city's centre, establish connections with philanthropists and attract collectors, and ultimately grow into a full-fledged art institution that is currently fostering new professional standards and actively influencing the Russian art industry at large.

Registration available at link.

See you there!