From September 24 to 27, the Museum of Moscow will host the blazar fair of young contemporary art for the seventh time. One of its main innovations is the Region of the Year project, which this year spotlights the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area. An Arctic.ru correspondent attended a closed preview for collectors and members of the art community and discovered the truly unique culture and nature of Yamal through the artists’ works.A dedicated stand for Yamal explores the theme of northern light – from the polar night and the first rays of the sun to the white nights. It features works by several artists for whom the sun and the northern lights are not merely a backdrop but a source of inspiration.Antonina Pyryseva from Salekhard creates cyanotypes on textiles and glass. Another resident of the regional capital, Tatyana Makarova, captures northern impressions in embroidery. And the artist Alexei Ponomaryov turns to the image of a power transmission line – the infrastructure that brings light to the homes of Yamal residents.Two more artists from Salekhard stand out. Alyona Gerasimova, reinterpreting local ornamental patterns and legends about the sun, embodies them in ceramics, while Varvara Konovalchuk works in bone carving – the young artist creates a play of light and shadow by hand, drawing on the cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples of Yamal.In addition, the exhibition includes works by participants in the Yamal Printmaking Festival: silk-screen prints, stamps and stencils made by artists from across Russia.“This year we decided to take an unconventional approach to choosing partners. We know regions that are quite developed in terms of culture and tourism, but this time our attention was drawn to Yamal, which has become one of the centers of attraction for young artists. We wanted to open this region to a wide audience,” said Anna Naumova, co-founder and art director of blazar.In turn, co-founder and development director Alexandra Lekomtseva noted the importance of the fair’s new section dedicated to the regions. According to her, in most cases, the creation of artistic associations there is a private initiative. But in the future, the organizers are counting on the active assistance of regional authorities.As Anastasia Galumova, head of the Yamal Gallery Fund project, noted, Yamal can be considered one of the flagships for the development of the creative economy in the Arctic zone. Governor of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area Dmitry Artyukhov has championed the creation of a network of eight art residencies in the region to support emerging artists and develop creative communities. Artists aged 14 to 35 can work on their projects there, and the best are eligible for a grant from the Youth Policy Department of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area.In total, more than 3,000 applications were submitted to participate in the young contemporary art fair. Spread across three floors of the museum, the exhibition brought together the works of 48 independent artists, 64 designers, 11 digital artists, as well as stands of 29 contemporary art galleries and 7 collection design galleries.
From September 24 to 27, the Museum of Moscow will host the blazar fair of young contemporary art for the seventh time. One of its main innovations is the Region of the Year project, which this year spotlights the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area. An Arctic.ru correspondent attended a closed preview for collectors and members of the art community and discovered the truly unique culture and nature of Yamal through the artists’ works.
A dedicated stand for Yamal explores the theme of northern light – from the polar night and the first rays of the sun to the white nights. It features works by several artists for whom the sun and the northern lights are not merely a backdrop but a source of inspiration.
Antonina Pyryseva from Salekhard creates cyanotypes on textiles and glass. Another resident of the regional capital, Tatyana Makarova, captures northern impressions in embroidery. And the artist Alexei Ponomaryov turns to the image of a power transmission line – the infrastructure that brings light to the homes of Yamal residents.
Two more artists from Salekhard stand out. Alyona Gerasimova, reinterpreting local ornamental patterns and legends about the sun, embodies them in ceramics, while Varvara Konovalchuk works in bone carving – the young artist creates a play of light and shadow by hand, drawing on the cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples of Yamal.
In addition, the exhibition includes works by participants in the Yamal Printmaking Festival: silk-screen prints, stamps and stencils made by artists from across Russia.
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At the blazar Young Contemporary Art Fair in Moscow
“This year we decided to take an unconventional approach to choosing partners. We know regions that are quite developed in terms of culture and tourism, but this time our attention was drawn to Yamal, which has become one of the centers of attraction for young artists. We wanted to open this region to a wide audience,” said Anna Naumova, co-founder and art director of blazar.
In turn, co-founder and development director Alexandra Lekomtseva noted the importance of the fair’s new section dedicated to the regions. According to her, in most cases, the creation of artistic associations there is a private initiative. But in the future, the organizers are counting on the active assistance of regional authorities.
As Anastasia Galumova, head of the Yamal Gallery Fund project, noted, Yamal can be considered one of the flagships for the development of the creative economy in the Arctic zone. Governor of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area Dmitry Artyukhov has championed the creation of a network of eight art residencies in the region to support emerging artists and develop creative communities. Artists aged 14 to 35 can work on their projects there, and the best are eligible for a grant from the Youth Policy Department of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area.
In total, more than 3,000 applications were submitted to participate in the young contemporary art fair. Spread across three floors of the museum, the exhibition brought together the works of 48 independent artists, 64 designers, 11 digital artists, as well as stands of 29 contemporary art galleries and 7 collection design galleries.
