The Space of Freedom: Apartment Exhibitions in Leningrad, 1964-1986 September 12 to December 3, 2006 Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art University of Richmond Museums On view from September 12 to December 3, 2006, The Space of Freedom: Apartment Exhibitions in Leningrad, 1964-1986, presents more than forty artworks created during the period in Russian history when the Soviet government attempted to eradicate all art that did not conform to the government's edicts. Social justice and the right of freedom of speech and expression are the underlying themes of The Space of Freedom. Art from the collection of the Museum of Nonconformist Art, Pushkinskaya-10 Art Centre, St. Petersburg, Russia, is displayed in a re-created Soviet communal apartment with details and furnishings typical of the era. Banned from public expression and demonstration, many Russian artists began in the late 1950s to exhibit in their own communal apartments, for periods of a day or two, or even just a few hours. Attendance at exhibitions numbered as many as one thousand people and up to one hundred or more artworks would be displayed in a single room of an apartment. For such free expression, many artists suffered suppression, imprisonment, and even death.
The Space of Freedom focuses on both the artwork shown in a communal apartment and the exhibition space within the apartment itself as a significant part of the history of Russian art. The work on view is a representative selection of art that was displayed in various apartment exhibitions between 1964 and 1986, including several pieces by the most important figures in the history of nonconformist painting. These forty-six works have never before been exhibited together or in such a manner of installation outside of Russia. Organized by the University of Richmond Museums and the Museum of Nonconformist Art Pushkinskaya-10 Art Centre, St. Petersburg, Russia, the exhibition was curated by Joseph C. Troncale, Associate Professor of Russian and Co-Director of the Russian Studies Program, University of Richmond, Evgeny Orlov, Director, Museum of Nonconformist Art, and Vice President, Pushkinskaya-10 Art Centre and Sergei Kovalsky, President, Pushkinskaya-10 Art Centre. The exhibition's re-created apartment was designed and constructed by the University of Richmond's Theatre and Dance Department. The exhibition is made possible in part with the generous support of Global Partners, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional funding from the University of Richmond's Tucker - Boatwright Festival of Literature and the Arts, the School of Arts and Sciences, the Cultural Affairs Committee, and the Louis S. Booth Arts Fund. An illustrated exhibition catalogue, published by the University of Richmond Museums is available for purchase.   PROGRAMMING "Meet The Artist" Series "Creating a Space of Freedom in Soviet Russia." Lecture by Evgeny Orlov, Director, Museum of Nonconformist Art, and Vice President, Pushkinskaya-10 Art Centre and Joseph C. Troncale, Associate Professor of Russian and Co-Director of the Russian Studies Program, University of Richmond and curator the exhibition Friday, September 18, 7 p.m. Camp Concert Hall, George M. Modlin Center for the Arts Lecture University of Richmond's Center for Civic Engagement Brown Bag Series: "An Oasis in a Desert of Collapse:   Pushkin 10 Continues the Struggle for Free Expression." Lecture by Evgeny Orlov and Joseph Troncale. Friday, September 22, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, University Museums, George M. Modlin Center for the Arts Reception and Preview of the exhibition Friday, September 18, 8 to 9 p.m. Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, University Museums, George M. Modlin Center for the Arts The events are open to the public and free of charge. The Space of Freedom:   Apartment Exhibitions in Leningrad, 1964 - 1986 will be on view March 9 to April 22, 2007 at the Faulconer Gallery, Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa; and October 24 to December 9, 2008 at the Samek Art Gallery, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.