MARE ARTICUM Reflects on the Social Issues

MARE ARTICUM in 2002 had two issues on globalization and art and politics. Globalisation investigates the way in which the globalisation processes lead to completely new ways of perceiving social reality. It starts with "transculture" and the evolution of hitherto existing cultural patterns, moving on to the manner in which political decisions receive cultural and historical legitimisation. The issue also touches on the risks of the expansive "Euro-American" model of culture to those cultures that are not familiar with Western institutions of public life, including, seemingly, the most valuable ones such as democracy and human rights.

The mutual interconnections between the realm of art and politics are the intellectual background of the Art & Politics issue which presents art positions for which the pint of departure is the definition of art perceived as a stimulate tool for social debate and the form of engagement with the public life. The emphasis is put there on the critical observation of the social environment and formulation of openly political postulates which aim at reshaping of the structural values and institutions whose mission is to implement and maintain them.

New Art in St Petersburg. The spring issue will focus on the St. Petersburg art scene in conjunction with the 300 anniversary of the city. The issue will present the most important art phenomena that characterise the local art scene, its dynamics and interconnections. Additionally, the issue will serve as the platform to disseminate information about the most active institutional and non-institutional art spaces in St. Petersburg. The issue is edited in collaboration with Ekaterina Andreeva curator of the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

Tested on Art Mare Articum's 2003 fall issue entitled Tested on Art will be a critical survey of the structures, institutions and systems contemporary art has to go through to reach its viewers, buyers, consumers. The issue will cover such topics as the artist's studio, gallery space, museum, collection, curator, art criticism, cultural diplomacy and their interconnections. Based on the internal and external observation of contemporary art world will look also for alternatives destabilising this established system. Special focus will concern new democracies, placed outside of the system, criticising it and tempting to join it. It will examine incompatibility of perception and adventures of contemporary art in its public reception. Also it will discuss the problem of the system insider and possibilities of the "artist friendly" and "curator's friendly" environment.

The issue is edited in collaboration with Aneta Szylak a freelance critic and curator based in Gdansk and New York.

Public promotions. Additionally the editors had scheduled the organisation of three public promotions of the magazine.

In July 2003 at Na Obvodnom Gallery in St. Petersburg; in September 2003 at the Bornholm's Art Museum and in October 2003 at the Rostock Kunsthalle.

Annual Session of the Commission on Culture. MARE ARTICUM editorial board will also serve as a consultant for preparing the forthcoming session of the CoC UBC (to be held in Szczecin in Oct. 2003) devoted to the organisations working in the field of contemporary visual arts (museum, galleries, artists run spaces) with special focus on communi-cation with the audiences and different educational and workshop projects and other innovative form of communication.