Inside Out workshop: art for cats
“Art for cats “ is the preliminary name for an exhibition that will be organized by a group of Peterhof's residents from a psycho-neurological institute for people with disabilities. In the summer of 2014 MANIFESTA 10 will hold several workshops with a group of residents from Peterhof. In the first session one of the MANIFESTA 10 Art Mediators visited Peterhof and met some of its residents. The main goal of this first session was to get acquainted with each other and with MANIFESTA 10 and contemporary art.
Interestingly, it turned out that things that may first have appeared strange or puzzling to others evoked great interest amongst the audience of Peterhof. For example, having a closer look at images of Ann Veronika Janssens’ works, the residents admired the way she used electric light to draw on walls, the onlookers were not less perplexed by and interested in the endless lines by Otto Zitko, or the ruins of Hishhorn’s ‘Abschlag.’
It was very clear from this first meeting that the people of Peterhof are very interested in contemporary art. Having been introduced to MANIFESTA 10 and its artists they showed a very open attitude towards contemporary art. The resident cats of Peterhof were also present in the first session!
For the second session the people of Peterhof visited the main venue of MANIFESTA 10. No longer meeting between the walls of Peterhof: the residents came in person to the General Staff Building, to see the main exhibition. “The photos would look better if given some fresh touch”- said Vasya, one of the group. The excursion entertained a friendly discussion, where the participants were encouraged to share their ideas and interpretations about the contemporary art works. The MANIFESTA 10 art works certainly inspired the participants who will now also create their own art works based on their visit. Viewing each new exhibit made it clearer and clearer that the participants tend to regard Manifesta's artists as their equals: indeed, they are artists too.
The most prominent focus of the guided tour was devoted to the work ‘Tunnel’ by the Dutch artist Erik van Lieshout. Erik lived in the basement of the State Hermitage Museum with its resident cats for 2 months. This basement has been home to the Hermitage cats since the time of Catherine the Great. During his stay with them van Lieshout tried to improve their living environment. This work by van Lieshout will be the starting point for the exhibition that they will develop at Peterhof together with an art mediator from MANIFESTA 10. Stay tuned for more information about the result of their workshops and their exhibition with the Hermitage cats. According to the new project's developers the hope is that this future exhibition will become the sequel to the ‘Tunnel’.
Elena Leskova - M10 art mediator