| Origin of the Project |
| After studying the Academy of Fine Arts in St.
Petersburg and holding her first international exhibitions, Anna Filimonova became a true
artist thanks to her life in Paris. The city liberated her from a certain formality and
helped her to express her artistic spontaneity. Certain parts of Paris fascinate her :
Montmartre, of course, but also the City Internationale des Arts, where she was fortunate
enough to have a studio during her first extended stay in Paris. In this unique space, she
mingled with people of diverse nationalities. Born in the Soviet Union, Anna Filimonova was infused with its cultural richness as well as its difficult, contradictory history. With Gorbachev's opening of the Iron Curtain, she very quickly acquired a taste for travel. Her youthful spirit and her experience of life under the Soviet regime made her see the outside world and Paris in particular, with a fresh perspective. Immediately she became interested in the internationalisation of art through the growth of communications media, the blurring of national borders and the social upheaval occurring in several countries. She began working on a post-graduate degree in the Philosophy of Art, on the subject of "Young Russian artists: between tradition and Western influence". Her work having been received with highest honours, she is pursuing a Ph.D. and developing her thesis by constantly relating it to both creative practice and theory. The problem of national identity for the contemporary artist at the end of the 20th century and the links between the artist's creations and his or her origins are the key concerns, and are those that an artist is trying to convey through thoughts, feelings and experiences. In June 97 at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Toulouse the French management and communication company Axel International, with the support of AIDEC (International Association of Decompartmentalization of Economie and Culture) organized the conference-debate on the importance of art discovering and international contacts, for the purpose of economic progress and development. In October 97 the symposium about the Multiculturalism was held at the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris. Anna Filimonova took part at this symposium and met many persons working on this problem. Multi-identities, the relations of cultures is the theme which preoccupies different professsionals. What make, what think the artists about this situation ? This topic is brought up by Anna Filimonova to investigate these problems with the opinions of the professionals, and to organize this symposium. |