the first workshop to be held by the institute für wahre kunst bore the challenging title of “trespassing permitted”, and took place within the framework of a cultural festival in a far-flung corner of russia. full of anticipation, we prepared at length and in depth for the event, aiming to both confront young russian artists with the coincidence inherent to the fine arts and give them opportunities to experiment with coincidental strategies.

we naturally began with theoretical reflections designed to provide a foundation for the practical work of the following days. this included the presentation of the coincidental experiments of victor-marie hugo, consideration of the links between the contemporary and coincidence and the exhibition and discussion of work by the arabian artist hassan sharif.

we were armed with the assertion that it is vital for contemporary artists to both experience the coincidental as an artistic strategy and develop the ability to build a relationship with it. we drew a blank. in their own words, we were face-to-face with “non-contemporary” artists whose activities included the production of classical stuffed toys, decorative, life-size igloos and graphic, spray-painted murals. Caught unawares but not unnerved, we got into our strides and boldly presented our theories.

„in this way, and in creating something of the present, the artist enjoys great freedom and looks fearlessly into the face of coincidence. […] if they attempt to prevent the occurrence thereof – which is in any case essentially impossible – their contemporaries will prove to be closed off to coincidence to a large extent, with coincidence playing less of a role in their perception of life. if, on the other hand, they do not prevent coincidence, the artist opens up a range of opportunities to their peers which would otherwise not have been available to them.”

we try to sow seeds which might blossom into conversation with project participants on whether or not the contemporary and coincidence can be seen as synonyms, or perhaps which opportunities coincidence will offer the art and artists of the future. all fall on stony ground. is it simply a question of language barriers, or have we elected to use the hammer drill when the tooth pick would have been more appropriate? the faces of the russian creatives seem to wrinkle into question marks. is it all just a once-revered pirouette the judges will now only give five out of ten for? Perhaps we can be grateful for the fact that the ice does not break during our excursion to this ark for a bygone era, and would only have been danger of sinking into soviet times long-since past if it had done.for our part, we dream of elegant ballerinas on sky-blue gas pipes which snake through a landscape of khrushchovkas. we search without success for the harbour mud we had promised ourselves, and instead sit in a lakeside railway café stamping single-ply serviettes. right up until our final day, a good-natured cloakroom attendant in ultramarine garb at the “north” restaurant greets us as we search amongst fascinatingly indefinable pastries for an insight our workshop participants have already gained. this is demonstrated by their closing remarks on our tendency to work with concepts: “you can keep all of that reflection and theory – we prefer to do something with our hands.”