Acknowledging a recent petition that the Manifesta 10 Biennial boycott Russia in light of its recent anti-LGBT laws, the organization has responded, refusing to abandon the festival location, and emphasizing the festival’s role examining contemporary Russian society.  “We are conscious of the political climate and the significant conservative shift taking place in Russia, of which this issue is but one example. It is also helpful to know that the leading LGBT organizations in Russia do not support a boycott of the Olympics or other events. They know engagement is important.”  Said Viktor Misiano, Chair of the Manifesta Foundation. (more…)

A recent exhibition of work featuring a portrait of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wearing women’s underwear has been shut down by state authorities in St.Petersburg this week, with the offending artist fleeing the country for asylum in France.  “We are powerless facing the despotism of authorities,” says Tatiana Titova, director of the Museum of Power, where the exhibition was held. “The museum was closed for no reason.”  (more…)

Europe’s Manifesta Art Biennial has named the Berlin-based Kasper Konig as its curator for next year’s edition of the fair, which opens next June in St. Petersburg.  Konig’s active role in defending artistic statements in the face of conservative criticism in Germany will make for an interesting counterpoint to Russia’s current political climate, where Putin has just passed the Homosexuality Propaganda law.  “Contemporary art and exhibits from the State Hermitage should dance side by side.”  Konig said in a statement. (more…)

St. Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum has been announced as the location for next year’s Manifesta 10 exhibition.  The biennial exhibition of contemporary European art will see mark its 20th anniversary, as well as its first version of the event in Russia.  “With the arrival of Manifesta, the Hermitage will highlight its traditions: its roots within the epoch of Catherine the Great and her passion for the contemporary art of her time, and the role that the museum’s collections and exhibitions have always played in the artistic life of Russia. We see contemporary art is a natural, albeit intricate, development of these age-old traditions.”  Says Hermitage Director Mikhail Piotrovsky. (more…)

Antony Gormley, Still Standing (2011-12). Installation view. Via AntonyGormley.com.

British sculptor Antony Gormley has been given the opportunity to place seventeen new works in the Dionysius Hall of the classical Greek and Roman galleries of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.  The exhibition is titled Still Standing: A Contemporary Intervention in the Classical Collection; the unique juxtaposition of contemporary sculpture in a classical setting sheds new light on the Hermitage Museum.

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WORKac selected to design Roman Abramovich’s New Holland Island, an art destination in St. Petersburg, Russia [AO Newslink]

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New Holland Island, via architettura.it

Adding to an assortment of yachts and football clubs, Roman Abramovich has purchased the entire New Holland Island in St. Petersburg. For nearly $400 million, island plans center around a museum complex – complete with hotels and shopping – to house a portion of the Russian oligarch’s extensive art collection. Among the collection are such high profile pieces as Francis Bacon‘s 1976 “Triptych” and Lucian Freud‘s 1995 “Benefits Supervisor Sleeping,” for which Abramovich paid record-setting prices at Sotheby’s New York and Christie’s, respectively, on an extravagant pair of back to back evenings in 2008.

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