LabGarage Gallery in Kiev, Ukraine was formed in 2009 as a collaboration between young artists. It operates out of a garage and aims to be an avant-garde art and social hub, hosting exhibitions, music performances, lectures, film screenings and other cultural events. The gallery has no fixed schedule and allows visitors to view exhibitions through a peephole at any time. It has hosted over a dozen exhibitions featuring both local and international artists since opening.
2. How it started… LabGarage gallery was formed early in 2009 as a result of the collaboration of young artists who work on contemporary art projects , music , performance , lectures, cinema and literature. Collaboration process took place in a garage community located on Velyka Zhytomyrska street in downtown Kiev, Ukraine.
3. Concept The mission of LabGarage Gallery is to be an avantgarde, ad hoc art and social hub: Crisis gallery There are no illusions . Gallery is a supermarket of art . Art -c ounter . During the crisis a stall or a safe is enough . The logical evolution of a crisis trend is black market, barter, selling from underneath the counter . Non-stop gallery Being located comfortably in the recreational and historical part of the capital , the gallery gives a possibility of around- the - clock visitors’ contemplation of art objects . In order to keep the balance between permanent access to the expositions and ensuring safety to the exposed art pieces when the gallery is not open, the works can be seen and admired through the optical device in the door – the LabGarage peep-hole.. . Garage For today “garage” is a trend . LabGarage gallery is a new step in the evolution of gallery space that aims to create a dialogue with artists and cultural institutions all over the world.
4. Concept Gallery of openings The ergonomic principle of the gallery’s work, with the main accent on the opening of a project / exhibition, triggers emphasis on the other important element of our activities – “ opening” and discovering of new names , establishing new projects , dialogues and searching for new forms of expression. Association LabGarage is a minimal area for a maximum of cultural exchange, practice and collaboration. We initiate partnership with the widest range of representatives of art-world, from living legends to those who are making their first steps. Lectures, seminars, workshops, video-shows, literature evenings and other activities are an important part of our educational and reformative mission – Art to be. http://labgarage.livejournal.com/
5. Activities Labgarge Gallery maintains and develops such types of activities: Exhibitions – the Gallery offers room for contemporary art: collages, graphics, paintings, installations etc. “ Next step” – is a program of exhibitions for young artists, who are making their first steps in art creativity and searching their way. Music/performance – is a natural and constant activity of the gallery that accompanies almost every opening. Educational – lectures, master-classes and seminars of the “Evening School of Contemporary Art”. Film shows – entertaining and educational activity. This is not the final list of activities – it is very flexible and is being augmented all the time.
6. Accomplished projects “ Member of the society” – opening exhibition by Kashapov Boris also known as Andrusha Kremov (Ukraine). 13.03.2009 A blog project that is distributed by the artists in different spaces and includes street art, publications, fashion design, graphics. On the opening Andrusha Kremov presented some of the works from this project. Opening ended with a musical performance “T haw . Don Pedros Attacks” from punk - pani c eletroni c band “Penoplast”. Andrusha Kremov is a talented young artist, curator, author of publications about art, performance artist, participant of “Penoplast” performance and theatrical band, “icon of style”. More info about the artist – www. andrushakremov.livejournal.com
8. Accomplished projects “ A quatrain of blank verse ” by Viktor Kharkevich (Ukraine). 01.04.2009 Viktor is a young talented artist with his own perception of creativity and style reflected in his paintings. Viktor Kharkevich
9. Accomplished projects “ On the wall” by Zhanna Kadyrova – successful young artist (Ukraine) and Maya&Most (Russia). 25.04.2009 The theme of exhibition played with the perception of the notion “graffiti”. Zhanna Kadyrova’s work presented graffiti made from facing tile – the material on which graffiti is usually placed on, and Maya&Most painted graffiti work on the canvas and neglected the spontaneous nature of graffiti. Opening was accompanied with live guitar performance of the musicians – Dima Hardtennis, Dima Moiseev and others. More info about Zhanna Kadyrova: www.regina.ru/main?page=artists&id=47 More info about Maya&Most: http://www.fotarea.ru/chuprovision/ , http://www.fotarea.ru/maya/
12. Accomplished projects “ Burzhuische, Burzhuj ische” by Artur Belozjorov (actor, performance artist, leader of “Penoplast” musical/theatrical project, LabGarage gallery’s founder), (Ukraine). 09.05.2009 Artur made an art tuning for an ordinary trash can. That gesture resists the overwhelming glamour materialistic phenomenon of Ukrainian society. Opening was accompanied with live performance of the musicians – “Topor Orchestra”. Artur Belozjorov
15. Accomplished projects “ In Contact” by young artist Maria Pavlenko (Ukraine). 22.05.2009 Project is a graphical works that represent mostly police are telling about controlling system/network that we (Ukrainians) are in touch with. Thought it is not so obvious as being inside a social Internet network. More info about the artist - http:// urbanoscope.blogspot.com / Maria Pavlenko
17. Accomplished projects “ Return of Dima “The Pain” by performance artist and director Dima Moiseev (Ukraine). 01.06.2009 Project aims to restore the sexuality of an ordinary Ukrainian man. “Ukrainian man is Beautiful. Ukrainian man is Hot” – this is what seductive photos and risky live performance show are trying to say. Maria Pavlenko Dima Moiseev
18. Accomplished projects “ Pedestrian” by Ch & P: Sasha Chichkan, Alina Pivnenko (Ukraine). 22.07. 20 09 Labgarage presented " Pedestrian " project from Ch & Р junior. Young ladies showed the bright, gloss surr o undings that attracts driver's att e ntion and threatens unprotected pedestrian s on the zebra crossing. The o pening ended with Artur Belozjorov’s show - gloss and glamour rude destr u ction. Electric saw against the stack of fashion magazines .
21. Accomplished projects “ TrolleyTram&Transp ” by Max Roganov, Nastya Ryabova (Russia). 06 .0 8 . 20 09 Everyday trips from point A to point B by public transport have become absolutely mundane activities , that evoke boredom or even hate to its attributes: sounds, colors and forms. In a private car, on the contrary, the owner is in charge of all interior details and look. These details are carefully considered, most of the effort is put into them. Obviously, this is the fetishization of means of transport. «TrolleyTram&Transp» is not an attempt to start the décor machine on the rotten institution of public transport. We are interested in working with the left-over material of the present, coloring it with the fantasies of the feasible. The interactive installation by Max Roganov covers the wall with the musical-synthetic labyrinth. The cacophony of sounds produced by the viewers themselves will flow out of the installation pipes. The graphics by Nastya Ryabova, burning with socialistic dreams, will provide the unstoppable nutrition of the space with dots and lines. Opening was accompanied with a musical performance by EnergyaddicktionTeam that t oo k place on the roof .
23. Accomplished projects “ In the garage” by Ivars Gravlejs ( Latvia ), Camille Laurelli (France), Alisa Nikitinova (Chech Republic). 18 .0 8 . 20 09 All three of the artists live in different countries, and make decisions via text messaging. Every idea for some reasons turned out to be unattainable. The artists have decided to make an exhibition about their dreams of an exhibition, and to open the process of its creation to the viewer. After the opening visitors were entertained with music by DJ Mobilephone More about artists: Ivars Gravlejs - http://www.ivarsgravlejs.com/ Camille Laurelli - http://www.laurelli.blogspot.com/ Alisa Nikitinova – http://hs36.org/alice/ru/cv/ On 17 .0 8 . 20 09 artists sp o k e out before their exhibition opening
24. Education LabGarage proposes educational programm “Evening school of contemporary art ” coordinated by Nikita Kadan. 10.07.09 – lecture # 1 by Nikita Kadan. Topic – “Critic of the System/Being the part of the System”. Questions to discuss – Does art realise its critical potential within the institutional system? Can art exist out of the System? Is art an institutional phenomenon? Are there diffrent systems of art? 24.07.09 – lecture # 2 by Nikita Kadan about the communality in art. Speaker talked about art groups and communities. Local schools, interdisciplinary art communities, marginal groups, international networks with a common basis, groups that create a “collective author” or those being an instrument for individual practice. 26.08.09 - lecture # 3 by Vladyslav Goldakovskiy “ Architectural utopias and the city of the future “ - the excursus to the history of architectural utopias and discussion of the possible ways of the development of the cities.
25. Education, coordinator of the program Nikita Kadan – artist, participant of R.E.P. group, participant in many exhibition projects, co-curator of exhibitions. Publications about art: « Khudozhestvennyj zhurnal » ( Moscow ), Framework (Helsinki), Prostory ( Kyiv ) . Founder and editor of an online newspaper “ZOMBI” ( in collaboration with Inga Zimprich and Zonke Halmann) .
26. Film shows “ That Man: Peter Berlin ” documentary by Jim Tushinski, portrays the photographer, filmmaker, model, and gay sex icon Peter Berlin (USA, 2005). “ Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! ” Exploitation film directed by Russ Meyer . The film features gratuitous violence , sexuality , provocative gender roles , and campy dialogue. It has become a cult film favorite and has been widely referred to in pop culture . Entertainment Weekly ranked the film #15 on their list of "The Top 50 Cult Films". ( USA , 1965 )
27. Film shows “ The Girl on the Bridge ”, directed by Patrice Leconte , starring Daniel Auteuil and Vanessa Paradis . The love story of two lonely souls which have together managed to reach unknown heights . (France, 1999) “ Oleg Kulik: Challenge And Provocation ” i s the first film in Evgeny Mitta ’s and Alexander Shein's big film project "Anthology of Modern Art ”. Film tells about the creative activity of Oleg Kulik, who is one of the most popular russian artist on the world art scene. (Russia, 2008).
28. Concerts “ Stinx” band concert gathered near 150 visitors http://www.myspace.com/stinx77
30. Art Sales On 28.08.09 - 30.08.09 the first art-sale in LabGarage took place. It was garage sale of all the treasures we have collected. You c ould buy unique objects for almost nothing or trade your own things – a flea market is not for income’s sake, it is a communication act, a chance to have a good time, and to feel like an antiquarian. Anyone could c ome and bring their friends .
31. Location and guests LabGarage located on Velyka Zhytomyrska, 38 street in downtown Kiev next to the one of the most beautiful green area in the city – “Paisage alley”. That is a nice place to walk around and enjoy the peaceful view on green hills and Podil. Historically this place has been gathering art people. One of the reasons is that a popular touristic street Andriivskiy Uzviz, where art vendors and galleries are located, is not far away.
32. Location and guests LabGarage is a location 35 m2 with a big courtyard and vast room on the roof top with a picturesque view. It can comfortably welcome 100-300 people.
