If you’re in or near London, don’t miss the exhibition, The Urgent Need To Struggle, by the radical Russian arts collective, Chto Delat (What is to be Done) at the ICA, at Carlton House Terrace, right near Buckingham Palace. It’s on until 24 October, and features films depicting protest movements such as that mounted in opposition to the construction of a giant tower in St Petersburg by Gazprom, Russia’s largest company. There are photos and copies of Chto Delat’s multi-lingual newspaper.
It’s free, but it’s not open every day. Check it out here: http://www.ica.org.uk/25668/Visual-Art/Chto-delat-What-is-to-be-done-The-Urgent-Need-to-Struggle.html
On Friday 10 September the collective did a “learning play” in the manner of Bertolt Brecht. It was rough and ready, but thought-provoking … and definitely not following fashion.
Chto Delat makes you optimistic about Russia. These are people who take radical and revolutionary ideas seriously, who think about their art in a social context … and can equally do irony, self-irony and plain slapstick. Whether or not they always hit your buttons in terms of their artistic production, they will make you think.
If you’re nowhere near London – or St Petersburg, where they are based – don’t worry, they are on the web here: http://www.chtodelat.org/
And there’s a blog, which I’ve previously described as the best source of information on anti-fascist and other movements in Russia: http://chtodelat.wordpress.com/
