The Moscow International Biennale for Young Art, one of the largest and most ambitious projects in the field of contemporary art, will be take place this summer for the fourth time. The Biennale combines the creative initiatives of artists of the new generation from Russia and abroad. Leading Moscow museums and centers of contemporary art, in collaboration with regional and foreign partners, have participated in the preparations for this event.

Focusing on both present and future, moving in time and space between concerns with microcosms and universes, this exhibition resounds in a polyphony of individual perspectives interwoven by different ideas of aesthetics and culture — as well as standards of ‘goodness.’ The dream of good art — however it is made and wherever it comes from — has to be rooted in truth, ethics and a belief in life.

David Elliott on the concept of A Time for Dreams:

"For this fourth edition of the International Biennale for Young Art in Moscow I have chosen the title A Time for Dreams in acknowledgement of the chronic precariousness of our own times and the urgent need for the dreams and visions of younger and future generations to break the barrier of ‘things as they are’ to make things better. Europe has not seen a major war for nearly seventy years and although its present situation is far from hopeful and many conflicts still occur elsewhere in the world, we believe, perhaps foolishly, that morality and ethics will triumph.
Good art can reveal unexpected relationships and truths. It demands of the artist both a position and a perspective on reality and the future: the ability to see, analyze and experience in order to dream. The dreams that these young artists express are of many kinds: utopian and nightmarish, cynical and hopeful, hot and cold, wet and dry, vulnerable and strong. But, above all, they are challenging and constructive. This also implies that, in order to make the space to create something better, sometimes they have to destroy that which is destructive itself. A Time for Dreams was selected from over 3,000 art projects submitted on the Biennale website and includes the work of eighty three artists under the age of thirty five chosen from across the world. Half of them are women, and this reflects a long overdue development in the art world. As part of my curatorial work, I travelled extensively in Russia meeting artists and visiting studios and, of course, also relied on my past experience in encouraging artists to apply. Still, for me, there were many new discoveries in the works I found on the website.

Founders: The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Department of Culture of the City of Moscow, National Centre for Contemporary Arts (NCCA), Moscow Museum of Modern Art (MMOMA)
Organizers: National Centre for Contemporary Arts (NCCA), Moscow Museum of Modern Art (MMOMA)
Co-organiser of the Main Project: The Museum of Moscow
Artistic Director of the Biennale: David Elliott
Main Project Venue: The Museum of Moscow
Venues for Strategic Projects National Centre for Contemporary Arts (NCCA), Moscow Museum of Modern Art (MMOMA)

A Time for Dreams 

 

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