Film Still from "Spring" by Tatiana Kevorkova

New Russian Cinema: A Program of Short Films
Monday, September 13th at 6:00pm
The Embassy of the Russian Federation
2650 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Washington, DC
Free admission. RSVP is required to attend – please use the form below to RSVP.

The Embassy of the Russian Federation, in collaboration with CEC ArtsLink, presents New Russian Cinema–a screening of new short films from Russia followed by a conversation with the filmmakers.

The four featured filmmakers – Tatiana Kevorkova, Konstantin Smirnov, Irina Volkova and Mikhail Zheleznikov – will be in the US September 2-13 as part of the Open World Cultural Leaders program. During their visit, they will spend a week at the Telluride Film Festival in Telluride, CO and also present a screening of their films in New York City.

All films will be shown with English subtitles.

The featured films are:

For Home Viewing (2009, 29 mins, directed by Mikhail Zheleznikov)
“An ordinary Soviet school, the Olympic Bear, the death of Brezhnev, Perestroika, long-awaited adulthood. The trees outside my window were once so small, and now I can hardly see anything through them… ” Using a collection of school pictures, news footage, and 8mm home movies, Zheleznikov takes stock of growing up in the USSR in this poetic documentary.
Onda Curta (Short Wave) Award, 2010 Curtas Vila do Conde Festival (Portugal). Official selection, 2009 International Documentary Film Festival (Amsterdam), 2010 ZagrebDox Festival (Croatia), 2010 Tampere Film Festival (Finland), 2010 Documenta Madrid Festival (Spain), 2010 Huesca Film Festival (Spain).

Spring (2009, 15 mins, directed by Tatiana Kevorkova)
Polina is coming home from a date at the crack of dawn, trying not to wake up her mother as she sneaks into their tiny apartment.  But she’s in for a surprise that will bring the entire family closer… An upbeat story about love, breaking stereotypes, and water trucks.
World premiere.

Kolyan (2010, 15 mins, directed by Konstantin  Smirnov)
Kolyan has  a minimum-wage job and a sick mother, and every day is a struggle. Under the circumstances, falling under the sway of nationalism is all too easy, especially when you share this outlet of aggression with your friends, and it pays in cash.  But sooner or later the political crosses over into the personal, and Kolyan realizes the impact of his actions only when it’s too late.
Official Selection, 2010 Kinotavr Festival (Sochi, Russia) and 2010 Kustendorf Film and Music Festival (Serbia).

Seagulls (2010, 22 mins, directed by Irina Volkova)
Two young newlyweds embark on a strange honeymoon. He has his head in the clouds, she’s got both feet firmly planted on the ground, and they’re already bickering. Their life is ordinary, their means limited, and the future holds little promise. But dreams can come true, just like in the movies.  All it takes is a flight of the imagination.
World premiere.

The residency and film screenings are part of the Open World Cultural Leaders Program, an endeavor of the Open World Leadership Center at the Library of Congress, with partnership and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Renova Group of Companies.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Film still from "Seagulls" (dir. Irina Volkova)

New Russian Cinema: A Program of Short Films
Thursday, September 9th
Screenings at 6:00pm and 8:15pm
Tribeca Cinemas, 54 Varick Street
$5 suggested donation at the door.
RSVPs for this event are now closed. Additional tickets will be available at the door on a first-come, first-served basis.

CEC ArtsLink presents another installment of New Russian Cinema – a selection of the latest award-winning short films by young Russian filmmakers, screened in the US for the first time.

The four filmmakers – Tatiana Kevorkova, Konstantin Smirnov, Irina Volkova and Mikhail Zheleznikov – will be in the US September 2-13 as part of the Open World Cultural Leaders program. During their visit, they will spend a week at the Telluride Film Festival in Telluride, CO and present a second screening of their films in Washington, D.C. on September 13th.

Please note that there will be two back-to-back screenings in New York on September 9th. Both screenings include all four films and are followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers. All films will be shown with English subtitles.

The featured films are:

For Home Viewing (2009, 29 mins, directed by Mikhail Zheleznikov)
“An ordinary Soviet school, the Olympic Bear, the death of Brezhnev, Perestroika, long-awaited adulthood. The trees outside my window were once so small, and now I can hardly see anything through them… ” Using a collection of school pictures, news footage, and 8mm home movies, Zheleznikov takes stock of growing up in the USSR in this poetic documentary.
Onda Curta (Short Wave) Award, 2010 Curtas Vila do Conde Festival (Portugal). Official selection, 2009 International Documentary Film Festival (Amsterdam), 2010 ZagrebDox Festival (Croatia), 2010 Tampere Film Festival (Finland), 2010 Documenta Madrid Festival (Spain), 2010 Huesca Film Festival (Spain).

Spring (2009, 15 mins, directed by Tatiana Kevorkova)
Polina is coming home from a date at the crack of dawn, trying not to wake up her mother as she sneaks into their tiny apartment.  But she’s in for a surprise that will bring the entire family closer… An upbeat story about love, breaking stereotypes, and water trucks.
World premiere.

Film Still from "Kolyan" (dir. Konstantin Smirnov)

Kolyan (2010, 15 mins, directed by Konstantin  Smirnov)
Kolyan has  a minimum-wage job and a sick mother, and every day is a struggle. Under the circumstances, falling under the sway of nationalism is all too easy, especially when you share this outlet of aggression with your friends, and it pays in cash.  But sooner or later the political crosses over into the personal, and Kolyan realizes the impact of his actions only when it’s too late.
Official Selection, 2010 Kinotavr Festival (Sochi, Russia) and 2010 Kustendorf Film and Music Festival (Serbia).

Seagulls (2010, 22 mins, directed by Irina Volkova)
Two young newlyweds embark on a strange honeymoon. He has his head in the clouds, she’s got both feet firmly planted on the ground, and they’re already bickering. Their life is ordinary, their means limited, and the future holds little promise. But dreams can come true, just like in the movies.  All it takes is a flight of the imagination.
World premiere.

The residency and film screenings are part of the Open World Cultural Leaders Program, an endeavor of the Open World Leadership Center at the Library of Congress, with partnership and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Renova Group of Companies.

August 5-16, 2010

Award-winning composer David Lang (New York) to perform and conduct workshops with young composers at the Dundagas Workshop in rural Latvia.

Friday, August 6th | 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Instead of a Letter
Storefront for Art & Architecture
97 Kenmare Street, NYC
Free admission. Seating is limited.

Russian and American performers will present a new site-specific work  at Storefront for Art and Architecture this Friday at 6 and 7pm. Join us for this spectacular event that will use Storefront’s unique façade to explore the timeless themes of love and revolution.

Choreographers Kseniya Petrenko and Anna Isabel Keilson will present their new multi-media street theater piece Instead of a Letter. The half-hour performance will feature Russian and American performers. The work draws from the spirit of 1920’s revolutionary Russia and the poetry of Vladimir Mayakovsky and his explorations of the most fragile and revolutionary notion there is – love. We hope to see you there!

Performed by Anna Isabel Keilson, Carson Reiners, Lucy Struever, Masha Nebesnaya, Kseniya Petrenko, Dmitry Motuavin, Alexey Zherebtsov, and Denis Semenov. Directed by Kseniya Petrenko and Aleksey Zherebtsov. Choreographed by Kseniya Petrenko and Anna Isabel Keilson.

This event is funded through an ArtsLink Independent Projects award. The ArtsLink Awards programs are funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Trust for Mutual Understanding, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Ohio Arts Council, the Kettering Fund and the many dedicated individual supporters of CEC ArtsLink.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 8:00pm
New Russian Interdisciplinary Performance: HEAT
Dance New Amsterdam
53 Chambers Street, NYC
This event is at capacity. Any remaining available seats will be released on a first come, first served basis.

Presented by CEC ArtsLink in partnership with Dance New Amsterdam.

“The heat. It’s overbearing, inescapable. It brings our tempers to a boiling point and erodes our sanity as we stumble through a haze of mirages. But perhaps the heat can also melt the coldness in our hearts…”

Nataliya Dievskaya, Olga Leonova, Alexander Safronov, and Kirill Vytoptov present the premiere of an original collaborative work, marking the culmination of their three-week residency co-hosted by CEC ArtsLink and Jacob’s Pillow Dance.

The piece, which the visiting Russian artists are creating specifically for the residency program, plays on the concept of heat–both meteorological and metaphysical–through an imaginative combination of choreographic, theatrical and vocal elements.

The four young artists bring their diverse and accomplished backgrounds in musical theatre, contemporary dance, and interdisciplinary performance to the collaboration. Prior to their New York performance, they will take part in the Jazz/Musical Theatre Dance Program at The School at Jacob’s Pillow, joined by 20 other dancers from across the US and abroad. This year’s program, directed by Chet Walker, highlights the legacy of Jack Cole, considered the father of American jazz dance. On August 22, participants will perform alongside Broadway guest artists in the program’s culminating event A Jazz Happening. They will also perform excerpts at free informal showings on August 7, 14, and 21 as part of the Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out series.

The artists’ residency and performance are part of the Open World Cultural Leaders Program, an endeavor of the Open World Leadership Center at the Library of Congress, with partnership and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Renova Group of Companies.

Event Flyer

Related Press Release

Music from Uzbekistan at MASS MoCA

July 2010
Batir Dosimbetov, Ravshan Tukhtammishev and Kakhramon Bazarov
participate in the Bang on a Can Summer Festival at MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA

Solo performance of traditional music from Uzbekistan Tuesday, July 20, 4:30 pm,
Free with gallery admission

Bang on a Can MARATHON
Saturday, July 31, 4pm – 10pm,
Free with gallery admission

Since 2005, VisArt Central Asia has been orchestrating two-way exchanges focused on visual arts, contemporary music and arts management between the US and the countries of Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.  VisArt Central Asia enjoys a vibrant and successful partnership with New  York based contemporary music organization Bang on a Can.

For a complete Bang on a Can Summer Festival schedule visit www.bangonacan.org

Don’t miss!

12pm
Kambar Kalendarov & Kutman Sultanbekov performing Janglyk by Nurlanbek Nyshanov and traditional songs from Kyrgyzstan: Bek Tash, Kukuk, and Erke Kyz

10pm
Kambar Kalendarov & Kutman Sultanbekov performing Chyibyldyn Kyzynyn Koshogu by Asanbai Karimov, traditional song Tagyldyr Too, Mash Botoi by Atai Ogonbaev and Ala Too Jazy by Nurlanbek Nyshanov

CEC ArtsLink is proud to facilitate Kambar Kalendarov’s and Kutman Sultanbekov’s participation in the BoaC’s Marathon after their residency at the Bang on a Can Summer Institute at MASS MoCA in 2009.  

Funded by Open Society Institute.

For complete Bang on a Can Marathon schedule please call 718.852.7755 or visit www.bangonacan.org.

Ksenia Belenkova performs in "Everything in Roses", Achinsk, February 2010.

Monday, July 12, 2010 at 7:00pm (doors at 6:30pm)
New Russian Choreography
Joyce SoHo
155 Mercer Street (bet. Houston and Prince), NYC
Free.
This event is at capacity. Any remaining available seats will be released to the general public on a first come, first served basis starting at 6:45pm on the evening of the performance.

CEC ArtsLink is pleased to once again bring vibrant contemporary dance from Russia to the US by showcasing leading young choreographers in new collaborations. On Monday, July 12th, we invite you to a one-night-only showing of a brand-new work created and performed by Ksenia Belenkova, Tatiana Domovidova, Pavel Kurov, and Natalia Lisina.

The four featured choreographers will explore the themes of identity, communication and “us” versus “them” in a collaborative, semi-improvisational piece created during their US residency. Four different personas and energies, four mythical worlds based on the choreographers’ home cities in Russia, will collide on the stage.  Through movement and dance, they will forge a connection with each other and with a fifth, entirely foreign city—New York. The performance will be followed by Q & A with the artists and a light reception.

Prior to arriving in New York, the choreographers will spend two weeks in residence at the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina, where they will take master classes and collaborate with peers from around the world. This is the fourth year that CEC ArtsLink is partnering with the American Dance festival to host such a group.

Pavel Kurov

Modern and contemporary dance have been exploding on Russia’s cultural scene in recent years, but American audiences are largely unfamiliar with this trend and still think primarily of the ballet tradition in connection with Russia. CEC ArtsLink is excited to bridge this gap and give audiences both at ADF and in New York City the rare opportunity to witness a new generation of Russian dance. The residency will also be a valuable immersive experience for the choreographers, who will have the chance to exchange professional knowledge and creative ideas with colleagues and learn from established masters in the country where modern dance was born.

The choreographers’ residency and performance are part of the Open World Cultural Leaders Program, an endeavor of the Open World Leadership Center at the Library of Congress, with partnership and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Renova Group of Companies.

Event Flyer

Related Press Release

Mark Jenkins, Winder, 2005.

Installation Opening
Thursday, May 27th
Peter and Paul Fortress 

Through the rest of May, street artist Mark Jenkins (Washington, D.C.) will be lecturing and conducting public art workshops for young artists in St. Petersburg and Perm as part of VisArt Public Art program. Jenkins will fill the grounds of St. Petersburg’s Peter and Paul Fortress with his surreal figurative installations, on view starting May 27th. Funded by the Trust for Mutual Understanding and sponsored by 3M Company.

Dalibor Martinis, Simultaneous Speech

CEC ArtsLink is pleased to announce our ArtsLink Fellows and awards recipients for 2010. These artists and arts managers from across the US and from 18 countries throughout Central & Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus were chosen in one of the most competitive selection processes in our history. We are excited to support this talented set of cultural ambassadors and invite you to learn more about them and their projects through the links below.

2010 ArtsLink Fellows in Visual & Media Arts

2010 ArtsLink Projects Award Recipients in Performing Arts & Literature

Center for Contemporary Opera (New York, NY) collaborates with the Music and Art Support Foundation (Latvia)
Anna Gaskell (New York, NY) collaborates with SOSW Special School (Poland)
The Hinterlands (Milwaukee, WI) collaborates with the National Theater of Kosovo (Kosovo)
Immigrants’ Theatre Project (New York, NY) collaborates with Klub Hanoi, Divadlo Feste, and Masaryk University (Czech Republic)
David Lang (New York, NY) collaborates with Dundagas Workshop (Latvia)
Ledoh (San Francisco, CA) collaborates with the Artisterium Association (Georgia)
Francisco MacMurtrie (Brooklyn, NY) collaborates with the Euro Balkan Cultural Research Center (Macedonia)
Sam Newsome (Brooklyn, NY) collaborates with Lucian Ban (Romania)
Palissimo (New York, NY) collaborates with Stanica Zilina Cultural Arts Center (Slovak Republic)
Michelle Tea (San Francisco, CA) collaborates with Unidentified Flying Abject and Ania Czerwinska (Poland)
Anne Washburn (New York, NY) collaborates with Anna Lengyel (Hungary)
Scott Wells (San Francisco, CA) collaborates with Artus Contemporary Arts Association and Kontakt Budapest (Hungary)

2010 ArtsLink Independent Projects Award Recipients

Anton Batagov (Russia) collaborates with the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media & Performing Arts Center (Troy, NY)
Belarus Free Theatre (Belarus) collaborates with Erik Ehn at Brown University (Providence, RI) and The Lark Play Development Center (New York, NY)
Arturas Bumšteinas (Lithuania) collaborates with Sonic Sircuits Festival of Experimental Music (Washington, D.C.)
Michał Jachuła (Poland) collaborates with Ludlow 38 Gallery (New York, NY)
Natalya Kochorashvili (Russia) collaborates with San Francisco Art Institute (San Francisco, CA)
Dalibor Martinis (Croatia) collaborates with Bryan Reynolds at the University of California (Irvine, CA)
Ksenia Petrenko (Russia) collaborates with Storefront for Art and Architecture (New York, NY)
Ana Sofrenović (Serbia) collaborates with Peter Sciscioli (New York, NY)
Borjana Ventzislavova (Bulgaria) collaborates with Kala Art Institute (Berkeley, CA)