Some considered the choice of St. Petersburg controversial, however Manifesta believes that engaging with Russia at this time is important and necessary. Over the coming 125 days, MANIFESTA 10 will present the art of our times, featuring some of the world’s most renowned contemporary artists, across several venues in the Hermitage Museum and at locations within the city of St. Petersburg. More than 500,000 people are expected to attend.
In the lead up many new commissions have been created and artworks installed also respond to the encyclopedic collection and history of the State Hermitage Museum. Numerous artists have also responded to the sociopolitical context of contemporary Russia. With over 50 artists participating, notable projects include Thomas Hirschhorn’s fourteen-meter high installation, in which living spaces spill out into the inner courtyard of the new General Staff Building; Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster’s operatic ensemble of handkerchiefs on a huge scale proportional to the interiors of the new modern and contemporary wing; and Rineke Dijkstra’s video portrait of a young ballerina, which memorializes St. Petersburg’s culture of dance and gymnastics. Yasumasa Morimura pays special tribute to the history of the Hermitage by recreating scenes recorded by two artists who documented “the Hermitage’s wounds” during the siege of Leningrad.
Venue.- The tenth edition will be hosted by the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia
Dates.- from June 28 until October 31, 2014.
