VENICE.- Teresa Iarocci Mavica has been appointed commissioner of the Russian Pavilion in the Giardini, main exhibition area of the Venice Biennale (La Biennale di Venezia), the largest international exhibition in Europe. The respective order was signed by the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky on November 8, 2019.

The strategic management of the Pavilion has been appointed to Smart Art consultancy. For 10 years, Smart Art will be working to ensure financial independence and sustainable development of the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale: it will provide professional support for projects on stages of their preparation and implementation, as well as maintaining the infrastructure of the building that needs special and careful treatment.

Anastasia Karneeva, Smart Art co-founder: “This long-term lease will allow us to think big, plan proactively and act strategically. First of all, the Pavilion needs restoration. We are currently conducting an examination of the building and preparing for restoration meeting all necessary requirements providing a proper fire safety system, ensuring accessibility conditions for people with disabilities, air conditioning and so on. This way, the Russian Pavilion will become not only comfortable and technically equipped but also open to a diverse audience.”

Smart Art will carry on the work of previous commissioners and curators, professionals who have done a lot to integrate Russian contemporary art into the international context. Together with the Ministry of Culture, Smart Art has formed an international Art Council, an advisory body aimed to promote the wide spreading of information about the Pavilion and its sufficient positioning on the international art scene. The list of Art Council members includes artists Emilia Kabakov and Vadim Zakharov, curator Francesco Bonami, Director of the M KHA Museum in Antwerp Bart de Baere, Director of the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow Marina Loshak.

Smart Art begins its cooperation with the new commissioner of the Russian Pavilion appointed by the Ministry of Culture – Teresa Iarocci Mavica, a professional who has provided significant support to contemporary art in both in Russia and abroad. All procedural decisions will be made in a transparent and collaborative nature, with the involvement of a working group of experts forming the current agenda.

In December, the commissioner of the Pavilion and Smart Art will present a project for the Biennale dell’ Architettura 2020 and a schedule of forthcoming events.

Teresa Iarocci Mavica is a curator. In 2005–2008, she headed the Moscow-based Contemporary City Foundation, an experimental venue promoting the professional development of young curators and artists. In 2009, together with Leonid Mikhelson she established V-A-C, a non-profit foundation for contemporary art with a mission to support Russian artists, curators and researchers both in Russia and abroad. Since 2016, she has been Member of the Supervisory Board of Manifesta, The European Biennial of Contemporary Art. As of 2019, she is a citizen of the Russian Federation.

Established in 2016 by Anastasia Karneeva and Ekaterina Vinokurova, Smart Art is an art consultancy that supports contemporary Russian artists. Smart Art founders have a vast international experience. The list of their accomplished projects include personal exhibitions by Sergey Sapozhnikov (Drama Machine), Daria Irincheeva (Empty Knowledge), Sveta Shuvaeva (Lake View Limited Offer), Alexandra Galkina (Welcome Under The Table), Alexandra Paperno (Abolished Constellations), Alexey Buldakov (Thumbelina), Anastasia Potemkina (When the Flowers Do Not Cast Shadows), Daria Irincheeva, (Continuous Function), and Fomosapiens group exhibition.