PLACE: Kronstadt, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
CYLAND Medialaboratory is a new artistic laboratory created by St. Petersburg branch of National Center for Contemporary Art in cooperation with St. Petersburg Arts Project Fund, New-York. Together, it is a hospitable residence for the artists of the whole world, who would like to use new technologies in an artistic way. The project is created by Anna Frants and Marina Koldobskaya.
CYLAND has enough technical resources to be an artistic playground for organizing team-work on videoprojects, media-art projects as well as any other artistic activity concerned with up-to-date technologies.
EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
25.10.2007 – presentation of equipment for an interactive videohappening SPEEDLESS (the author of the project – Anna Frants). A participant (user of video-glasses) controls a video range seen in video-glasses by moving his body changing movement speed and trajectory. The project demonstrates interaction with the audience (what is called happening) which involves participant in contact with artificial reality seen in glasses as well as with the audience which reacts responding on his actions. The project has been never seen on public yet.
25.10-11.11.2007 – CYLAND-festival
MEDIALAB DETAILS
The artistic residence of National Center for Contemporary Art in Kronstadt gives artists an opportunity to live (reside) and work on their projects in Kronstadt both in terms of international artistic exchange programs and in individual way.
BASIC CYLAND ACTIVITIES
– creating artistic reality for different types of art-projects (video, movie, audio, photo, internet, computer and electronic experiments);
– participation and co-organizing public events (festivals, workshops, master-classes, club parties etc);
– cultural and artistic internet activity directed on promotion and popularization of media-art in Russia, establishing interregional direct contacts between institutions and authors which result in new interregional cultural cooperation projects;
– participation in international cultural exchange and artistic cooperation programs, in media-cultural programs of Nordic Countries (Nordic-Baltic-North-East European network).
The residence of National Center for Contemporary Art is located in the very center of Kronstadt, in a park next to Marine Cathedral, the city’s main point of interest. The two-floor residence building includes drawing-room, studio and two bedrooms. Today, 2 or 3 people can live in the residence at once in case if they are ready to use studio, kitchen and lavatory conjointly (together). General floorspace of the residence rooms is 108 square meters. It is planned to open a minor showroom which will also be used for workshops and seminars and an additional room for 4 people.
The residence is located in a short distance with old dockyards and sailing vessels workshops, drawbridges, docks, locks and channels. The city’s unique historical and cultural background makes it very inviting for artists who work in the area of public art, landscape art and social researches.
Since 2004 the residence participates in exchange programs of the Government of Nordic countries and Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art (NIFCA). At the same time National Center for Contemporary Art of St. Petersburg organizes visits of foreign and Russian artists within group and individual projects. There were artists from Armenia, Great Britain, Iceland, Russia, Finland, France, Swiss, Switzerland and other countries working in the residence. Among one of the most remarkable projects carried out by the Residence in 2004-2005 one may mention Interconnection, International audio and video Festival (July, 2004) and Kronstadt Forever, International Festival of contemporary art and experimental music featuring artists from France, Switzerland, Armenia, Russia and other countries.
GETTING THERE
The road from St. Petersburg to Kronstadt takes over 40 minutes by car or bus.
From subway station “Chernaya rechka” – bus 405. Traffic interval – 15 minutes. Fare is 40 rubles.
From subway station “Staraya Derevnja” – public bus 101. Traffic interval – 30-40 minutes. Fare is 14 rubles.
From subway station “Prospekt Prosveschenija” – bus 407. Traffic interval – 20 minutes. Fare is 40 rubles.