Igor Ponosov curated a collective studio which would have been situated in the Central Hall of The Street Biennial from the 6th to the 20th of September. This studio would have worked autonomously on various projects throughout Moscow. The project was cancelled by Igor two weeks prior to the exhibition opening due to the Biennial organizers’ ban on any art that discussed or critiqued political topics and current events.
invited artists: Harmen de Hoop, Brad Downey, Spy, Fra.Biancoshock, Sasha Kurmaz, Igor Rezola, Kirill KTO
"It’s true that we have wasted unbelievable billions on the Olympics, but we have not improved, and the life in Sochi hasn’t improved either. It’s true that the Crimea now belongs to us and we’ve got bad relations with Ukraine, and not only. It’s true, but ignoring all of it does not make us stronger. Quite the contrary, by turning a blind eye to all of it, we look as silly as those buffoons described by Marquis de Custine who visited Russia during the reign of Nicholas I: "The Russians are buffoons. In their attempt to imitate Paris they seem to be more Parisian than Parisians themselves.” So why to be afraid, to imitate or to hide? It’s much more important to argue, to discuss and to raise questions, and the art is the best tool for it. Especially if we're talking about street art, the art free of any qualifications and bias."
read the original article in Russian here
partizaning.org/?p=9587
and a Translated version by Fania Balabanova here
eng.partizaning.org/?p=6120
