SAINT PETERSBURG ART FAIR «1703»
16.06.22 - 19.06.22
Press release
Saint Petersburg Art Fair «1703» is a large-scale cultural project which aims to promote art collecting in Russia and support local artists and art galleries. 1703 Art Fair will be presented in St. Petersburg
The Manege Central Exhibition Hall in St. Petersburg is going to host a 1703 Art Fair for the first time. The fair is set between June 16 to June 19 2022, and it is organized with the support of St. Petersburg Cultural Committee. The project is designed to foster the institution of collecting in Russia and encourage local artists and art galleries. The fair is established as a new annual cultural event and its first season is timed to coincide with the celebration of the 350th anniversary since Peter I’s birth. The fair is initiated and hosted by PJSC Gazprom.
Boris Piotrovsky, Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg: “The annual contemporary art fair in St. Petersburg is the event we have been waiting for a long time. Art fairs are an important part of urban culture; therefore, 1703 makes St. Petersburg a contemporary art center. Such an event, among other things, confirms our status as a modern cultural capital. I hope that 1703 is going to become an open space for regular meetings between artists, collectors, art critics, and young professionals. Past experience of world capitals proves that this format is exactly what the art market needs to grow rapidly. In the current circumstances, this is especially crucial — both for the participants in the creative process and for everyone who is interested in it.”
The 1703 Art fair is going to showcase art works from private collections and leading galleries. New names, iconic representatives of the art world, public lectures, educational program — the event will cover a wide range of contemporary art world perspectives.
Vadim Navoenko, CEO of the Gazprom Cultural Initiatives Foundation: “The Gazprom Group sees systematic support of culture and art in the city as one of our priorities. Both the city and the company recognize the need to create new venues and formats for cultural exchange. 1703 Art Fair is an example of our work in this direction. By launching the project in the anniversary year of Peter the Great, we pay tribute to the visionary spirit of the founder of St. Petersburg. Thanks to him, a new point of inspiration and attraction appeared on the map of Russia. This idea is reflected in the name and the epigraph of the fair — “1703. Inspired by the city." When St. Petersburg was built, it was a point of progressive creative forces. Similarly, today the city is inviting everyone who speaks the language of art.”
During the fair at the Manege, the space will be arranged into three sections — Galleries, Collections and Digital Art. The Galleries section will bring together both the long-established and young art galleries of St. Petersburg, Moscow and other cities of Russia. It will show contemporary artists’ works, available for purchase. In the non-commercial Collections section, St. Petersburg galleries will display the art works from private collections. Among them is — To Be With Art, a special project curated by Marina Gisich, the founder of Marina Gisich Gallery, featuring contemporary art works from private collections of Zenit football club players and iconic works from the curator's personal collection. Another iconic project is an Exhibition of Eleven by KGallery - the works from the gallery’s collection created by members of Eleven, a Leningrad group of artists. In the Digital Art section, visitors will find digital works and art objects accompanied by NFT tokens.
The exhibitional and galleries fair part of the program will be complemented by a lecture hall from the Masters school, an educational project in the field of art. In 2015, the school was founded in St. Petersburg by art critic Polina Bondareva. It is known for organizing special lecture programs for various fairs and festivals, such as Cosmoscow, Blazar and Art Moscow. For guests and participants of 1703, the Masters team has prepared a series of discussions and lectures, where leading art experts, curators and gallery owners will talk about promising young artists, future of the gallery business, secrets of collecting, and trends in digital and NFT art.
1703 Art Fair in St. Petersburg is included in the official cultural program of SPIEF-2022. Tickets for the fair can be purchased through the website of Manege Central Exhibition Hall starting June 1, 2022 or at the box office of The Manege during the days of the fair. Age restriction — 12+