By Camilla Canocchi

Often known as ‘Europe’s last dictatorship’, Belarus rarely makes the headlines other than for restrictive measures introduced by the government or attacks on press freedom. For all its mystery, Belarus isn’t a country that springs to mind when talking about contemporary art, but a new art gallery is working on representing and promoting Belarusian artists, not only in Belarus but the rest of Europe.

Under a new name and with a new space which opened last October in the centre of Belarus’ capital, Minsk, Ў, which was founded in 2004 as Podzemka, is probably the only non-governmental art gallery in the country where contemporary Belarusian artists can exhibit their work and gain profile.

“For young contemporary artists it is currently almost impossible to find a space in Belarus where to showcase their work,” explains Ў’s artistic director Anna Chistoserdova.

In fact Minsk has around five commercial, state-backed galleries where the only type of art that can be found comprises traditional paintings and sculptures. The government’s lack of interest in contemporary art is also confirmed by the fact that Belarus only featured at the Venice Biennale contemporary art event in 2005, and even then only unofficially.

As a result, Chistoserdova and her team helped organise the ‘Independent Belarusian Pavilion of 53rd Venice Biennale’ in Minsk last year, in order to initiate talks about Belarus’ possible participation at the official event in 2011.

Its name, Ў, is a letter found exclusively in the Belarusian language, and is symbolic of Belarusian culture. Similarly, the language used in the exhibition’s written material is Belarusian, even though the vast majority of the people speak Russian.

“We think it’s important to bring back people’s attention to Belarusian culture and language,” explains Chistoserdova.

Among the many activities at the gallery, there is also ‘Start’, a programme designed to discover new artists, who are not only offered a space to exhibit their work but also given help with sponsors, international residencies and competitions.

“Start is an important part of our work,” says Chistoserdova. “Thanks to this programme the circle of artists in the gallery has gradually been growing. At the moment we have 16 resident artists.”

Ў’s collaborations with other European cultural organisations and artists are also a significant part of the gallery’s activity, and at least every three months it holds an exhibition of an artist from another European state. Since the beginning of this year there have been two exhibitions featuring foreign artists – State of Mind, a media installation by two Swedish artists focused on the issues relating the gay community in Russia, and another exhibition featuring the works of an Estonian artist.

“We have good relations with many foreign cultural institutions,” says Chistoserdova. “I am receiving a new proposal almost every week from different organisations asking to start collaborating at some projects.” Projects have been planned in conjunction with organisations in Poland, Lithuania, Sweden and Germany.

“The total absence of interest in contemporary art from the state has forced some young artists to leave the country and to continue their study in Europe,” adds Chistoserdova. For this reason, she aims to build links with Belarusian artists living abroad. “Very often these artists have contracts and deals with international galleries, but now at Ў we are working to change this.”

The gallery has registered sales almost exclusively in foreign countries. “We haven’t had much interest from Belarusian buyers,” says Chistoserdova. “We have been selling mostly to foreign private collectors and to one gallery in Ukraine.”

Despite complaining about the lack of government interest in contemporary art, Chistoserdova believes things might be changing, as Ў has been invited by the current Minister of Culture to be part of a national Belarusian festival to be held this September.

Ў is a unique platform that provides a cultural opening for a country that for too long has been isolated in Europe.

Published on 27th July 2010