Curator Statement


EXHIBITION OF YOUNG ARTIST
OR FESTIVAL OF ALTERNATIVE ART?
By Eva KHACHATRIAN

Festivals of alternative art have several years of history in Yerevan. In 1997 the first Exhibition of Young Artists was organized at ACCEA, which right away became an annual event. Later when the departments of music and theatre were established at the Center, exhibitions of young artists turned into festivals of alternative art. However, the dominating majority of the participants remain young artists; that is why the words "alternative" and "young" are often identical and "exchanged" in the Armenian context. By the way, all of the exhibitions of young artists and later the festivals of alternative art were curated by young artists/curators who themselves participated at the exhibitions/events. Among them were Vahram Aghassian, Mher Azatian, David Kareyan and Tsomak. In spite of a number of young curators who have recently joined the Center, in 2003 the responsibility of organizing the Festival of Alternative Art was entrusted to Vahram Aghassian, who had prior experience by having associated with Exhibitions of Young Artists. This time he worked in cooperation with the coordinators of Theatre and Music Departments of the Center, including this writer. Festival opened with a group exhibition called "ANTIFREEZE". On the second day a concert of electronic music was held, which, on the third day was followed by a video viewing session of videos by more than 10 young artists, called "One Frame, One Minute". The festival was concluded by a concert of rock music on the fourth day.

Unlike the previous ones, this festival took place in the newly renovated building with white and clean walls and new floors. Previous alternative art festivals were organized in the dusty and dilapidated spaces of ACCEA. All of these festivals were implemented thanks to the enthusiasm of the artists, which found fertile ground at the environment created by the artistic leadership of ACCEA. The result was emergence of pioneers of the post-soviet alternative art, free in spirit and very radical in nature.

But, let us return to the ANTIFREEZE. Antifreeze is a chemical element, which is added to the radiator to prevent freezing of water. Water in turn prevents overheating of the motor. The message of the festival is that contemporary art plays the same role for the society. It is directed against culture, but not aimed to harm it, but to prevent it from "freezing". In Armenia weather (the winter season) reflects on the activeness of the arts in a negative manner. However, this is not the only factor that "freezes" the artistic environment. The main source of this "ice" is in people?s minds, in their inner psyche. This condition may only be overcome through establishing strong communication between artists and the audience: the community at large. Art is a mode of communication, which helps to overcome the emptiness and "melts the ice". We invited artists who were against something, who were protesting. Their presence could, and we hope did, contribute in "warming" the environment.

A number of foreign artists from Germany, USA and Iran took part in the exhibition. This factor was of great importance, as the Center usually represents mostly Armenian artists. Young curators at ACCEA are trying to change the policy of so-called "Armenia for Armenians" by introducing and including internationally oriented projects. Besides, organizers of ANTIFREEZE paid special attention to providing publicity and establishing closer contact with the society. Before the opening, the festival was advertised and highlighted on radio and television, presenting the concept and program of the festival and of the overall activities of the Center. For the first time a live concert of electronic experimental music was included in the Festival of Alternative Art. In the day of the opening the number of visitors was so big that "crashing" into one-another could not be avoided. On the opening evening a band called "Reincarnation" performed action/music. The band "exhibits" itself as an "extremist" band. But if one follows the lyrics, it will be evident that in actuality they have anti-fascist posture! A "crash" took place after the performance. On the following day, for the concert of electronic music security guards had to be called in to prevent undesirable incidents. The festival had turned into real interaction between the public and the artists. A feeling of extremism had emerged.

In general this festival was a kind of a mixture of the new and the old. There was some nostalgia towards the former extremism, which, however, was transplanted in a renovated and clean environment. It could be concluded that today Armenian alternative art has reached a certain point of maturity where it has gained certain identity and status. In order to strengthen and promote it we should start engaging in organization of international projects.

Eva Khachatrian
Curator