Semyon Mikhailovsky at the RUSSIA EXPO: "It was important for me to make a strong emotional exposition about my country"

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On June 9 at the International RUSSIA EXPO, a lecture entitled “Russia's Pavilion at the Venice Biennale” was held as part of the Exhibition Week timed to coincide with Global Exhibitions Day. It was presented by Semyon Mikhailovsky, member of the Presidential Council for Culture and Art, Rector of the Ilya Repin St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, Commissioner of the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale since 2016.

In his speech, the expert traced the history of exposition in different countries and the emergence of active interest in the “Russian style”, drew a parallel between the architectural and conceptual features of the world's largest expositions and VDNH, answered questions from the audience. And, of course, the main topic of the lecture was the evolution of the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale and the features of the exhibitions held within its walls.  

"The Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale has many advantages. The first is the good architecture by Shchusev, the beautiful place on the sycamore alley and, finally, the terrace where you can go out, look into the distance, and there is the sea, the sky and - Russia. Once, when doing an exposition with the Hermitage, I thought: let's put an optical tube on this terrace and look at the Hermitage, and the Hermitage will look at Venice, and in this way we will connect Venice with St. Petersburg, although, as I believe, these cities are quite different from each other,” said Semyon Mikhailovsky.

The expert also noted what was the most important for him in organizing the Pavilion.

"I am happy that I was born in such a large and complex country, so when I made the exhibitions, I was filled with pride that I represent Russia. And it was important for me to make a strong, emotionally thoughtful exposition about my country. And, of course, we have really great artists, so for me one thing was inseparable from the other. It may sound pathetic, but it was a great honor for me to raise the flag of my country at the prestigious international exposition in Venice," said Semyon Mikhailovsky.

Separately, the expert noted the high significance of the RUSSIA EXPO: “It seems to me that now we have more opportunities to focus on ourselves, to solve issues in favor of our people, to value them, to pay more attention to young people. And, of course, we should always turn to culture as a saving tool. And if we speak without any grandiose words, we will be able to achieve fantastic results because our people are indeed very talented, and this is our most valuable asset. As for the RUSSIA EXPO, I believe the most important aspect is its attendance figures. After all, if people come here, it means they like it, they find some meanings for themselves, and when there are such figures of attendance, there's no need for words".

The Venice Biennale is one of the most famous forums of world art, an art exposition held every two years with the participation of an international jury. Established in 1895 as the “International Art Exhibition of the City of Venice”, it soon gained global significance and played a major role in the establishment of modern art. The Russian Pavilion was built for the Venice Biennale in 1914 at the expense of the famous patron of art and collector Bogdan Khanenko, designed by architect Alexei Shchusev.