A City as an Art Project

What does one need to turn a Russian city called Perm into the center of contemporary art? Do they need support of the governor? Yes! Injections of huge sums of money? Sure! Do they need approval of its citizens? It seems like no! No one asked me or my friends living in my native city Perm if we like those «Red People» made of wood that have occupied the city center. Those sculptures are the project of a group of designers from Moscow called the Professors. They are part of the so-called art project PERMM and as well as some other art objects you find today in Perm, were brought from Moscow. In fact, Perm has become recently the place where modern artists, sculptors, designers, actors and stage directors from all over Russia have acquired a possibility to exhibit their works of art, taking up each corner of the city, as well as its budget. They have turned its streets, parks, facades of  houses into free experimental arena,  with Perm citizens having no voting rights.

Another example of Perm contemporary art project are 50 hundred logs making up a cyrillic letter «П» that stands for «Пермь» - the name of the city (link).This «monument» is a land art object that is aimed at promoting a new symbol Perm as a contemporary art center.  Am I disappointed with my native city`s «new look»? Not exactly, I just don`t want foreigners think the name of the city is Permm instead of Perm with a single «m» , neither do I want to live in a city called just «П». Modern artists are most welcomed in Perm if only these newcomers are not going to alter according to their own taste the character of the city I grew up in.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                Tatyana