Since 1997 MARE ARTICUM has established a stable net of correspondents representing the leading artistic institutions in the Baltic Region. Since then, the net jointly prepared two issues of the magazine: Utopia and The Autonomy of Art, as well as developed several bilateral artistic projects in Riga, Szczecin, Oronsko and Stockholm.

Baltic Biennial organisers - Szczecin Pomeranian Dukes' Castle and Szczecin City Council appointed MARE ARTICUM net as a co-ordinating body for the new edition to be shown in Szczecin in October 1999 under the name N.E.W.S. The event will feature the art of the 90-ties, panel discussions and video presentations.

Approximately 25 Baltic artists, recommended by the MARE ARTICUM's correspondents, will participate in the show. Critics and theorists will contribute to the panel discussions.

Szczecin has also approached the Baltic Art Centre in Visby and Riga's Foreign Art Museum with a proposal for closer collaboration within the project. To discuss the details the Gotland Community invited the representatives of the above institutions and organizers from Szczecin to the meeting in Visby held on 14-17 January 1999. The show will be presented in three locations: Szczecin, Riga and Visby. Negotiations with other art centres to extend the project to four locations are still being carried out.

The new issue of MARE ARTICUM, the Baltic art magazine, has just been published. This time the leading theme is The Autonomy of Art.

One can find here articles on interesting art events in the Baltic (e.g. 2nd World Latvian Exhibition, 6th Performance Festival in Bytow (Poland), Performance Festival Civilisation Anticivilisation Bröllin/ Szczecin/ Berlin), as well as discursive articles presenting leading artists in the Baltic Sea Area, including: Pekka Niskanen, Lea & Pekka Kantonen (Fnland), Mirosuaw Bauka, Grzegorz Klaman (Poland), Eriks Bozis (Latvia), Inessa Josing (Estonia), Artur Klinow (Belarus) and others. MARE ARTICUM is also presenting the lead art institutions like GEDOK Atelierhaus in Lübeck, International Art. Centre in Poznan, Moltkerei Werkstat Cologne and Schloss Bröllin Mecklenburg.