Berlin | ArtRegion: Berlin, Schöneberg

Haus am Lützowplatz

Ceremony / Die Zeremonie

27. August – 10. Oktober 2021

“Astonish me!” With these words, the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev describes the universal power of Russian cultural heritage.

The Western world was famously introduced to the Russian culture at the beginning of the 20th century by Sergei Diaghilev, an art critic and ballet impresario. Known under the famous title „Ballets Russes Company“, he organised and launched a series of major art exhibitions and performances across Europe. It was Diaghilev’s dream to bring Russian culture to the West and create a world of art in which décor, costumes, music, and expression were one harmonious whole. In one world – it was a celebration, an act, in which Russians are real virtuosos.

As the title proposes the exhibition Ceremony: Russian Seasons, The Wedding is following in Diaghilev’s footsteps of promoting Russian culture. Diaghilev’s achievements are priceless and yet we see mainly male names in the history of the 20th century art associated with Russia. The exhibition Russian Seasons: The Wedding symbolises a new stage in the formation of Russian culture in a woman’s face, whose activities have been hidden in the shadow of the masculine society. Ironically focusing on the theme of the Ceremony of the Wedding, another dance and a celebration like a ballet,  the following exhibition is bringing together a new generation of female Russian artists re- thinking the role of the modern women in the Eastern society.

Historically, a wedding has long been considered the most important event in the life of a Russian woman, whose role was defined by serving and making the life of her husband and future children. The wedding as a system of ceremonies that consolidate marriage took its final shape in Russian culture by the 15th century. Young girls were prepared from a very early life-stage for their future marriage and had to acquire all the necessary skills to run the future household, which included cooking, sewing and taking care of the family. Among the Slavs, marriage was one of the most important social institutions and was accompanied by numerous rituals that were filled with certain motives and symbols.

Despite the rapid growth of the worlds’ economy, a shift in paradigms and in traditional roles in modern Russia, marriage is still to be considered the most important event for female „self-realisation“. A modern Russian woman is expected to be well-educated, develop a successful career, have a perfect appearance, and take care of the household and the family. This exhibition that symbolically takes place in Europe symbolises the farewell to the shackled old ideas, praises Russian traditional heritage and announces a new chapter for a woman in the eastern society. The new role that a woman has achieved in Russia by 2021 is stated in the artistic statements by Russian female authors.