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CEC ArtsLink initiated St. Petersburg’s first large-scale international festival of public art in the city center in September 2012. The Festival transformed the urban landscape, illuminating the history and beauty of Liteiny Prospect and its courtyards for city residents and visitors. Over the course of four days, Art Prospect filled the courtyards, parks, and storefronts of Liteiny Prospect with temporary public art installations and performances. The Festival was curated by CEC ArtsLink in partnership with Art in Odd Places, a New York based organization, which presents visual and performance art in unconventional settings.  Both the Art Prospect Festival and the Art in Odd Places Festival shared the common theme of “MODEL” in 2012, encouraging citizens in New York and St. Petersburg cities to step away from their every-day paths and move them into a new awareness of urban spaces.

 

Art Prospect brought together eighteen Russian and American artists and arts collectives who shared a commitment to bringing art into untraditional venues and reaching a broad audience.  Nine U.S. artists, including Sheryl Oring, Paul Notzold, and Ed Woodham, traveled to St. Petersburg in September 2012 to create and install work for the Festival. Among the many exciting works shown were the sensational wheat paste collage “Miss Bennet” by American artist Swoon and video projections by Minneapolis based artist Andrea Steudel. The Festival also featured projects by ten leading artists from St. Petersburg and Moscow, including site-specific installations by Petr Belyi and Ilya Gaponov, performances by Mylo (“Soap”) and the theater ensemble “Light People,” and an interactive board game by Olga Zhitlina.

 

The Art Prospect Festival was accompanied by an educational program of lectures and workshops by participating artists.

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