ZBOR intro

ZBOR is a special project of the research platform of contemporary Belarusian art KALEKTAR. The project is conceived as a magazine about artistic expressions created over the past decades.

From now under the rubric essays specially prepared by Belarusian authors will appear, each of which will describe specific works of Belarusian artists, groups and institutions, as well as significant phenomena.

Information about the experience already accumulated in the contemporary art of Belarus, both on the Internet and in print media, is presented quite spontaneously. There are not many research texts about specific works of Belarusian artists and groups. Mostly individual works are mentioned in passing in review publications: both in reviews of exhibitions and in articles about artists. Most often, artists have to order special texts for creating portfolios and presentations themselves. At the same time, Belarusian authors created a large number of works and statements, the vast majority of which were not recorded and rethought textually. Even many iconic and famous works of Belarusian art of recent decades are represented by spontaneous publications.

In fact, a special institute for the study of contemporary art is supposed to be engaged in such analytical activities, but due to the current cultural and political situation in Belarus, this project has not yet been implemented, as it was done in neighboring countries, which leads to oblivion and loss of memory of already experience in Belarusian art.

The creators of the ZBOR project hope that the resource, by ordering detailed research articles on the works of Belarusian artists and groups, will be able to contribute to the process of preserving and restoring the history of Belarusian art of recent decades. According to the idea of the creators of the project, essays will appear on the site not only about iconic works and important phenomena, but also about many forgotten and “invisible” statements. At the same time, all publications are created in such a way as to represent a variety of artistic strategies, periods and themes. In addition, in each publication that appears on the site, the historical contexts in which the works were created or which they fix will be emphasized. Thus, the materials will not only preserve the artistic experience made by representatives of contemporary Belarusian art, but also reveal the cultural and political conditions of certain stages of the development of Belarus.

ZBOR is a tool that helps within the activities of the research platform to construct the archive of modern Belarusian art in the most detailed way. With the help of this project, the creators of the resource hope not only to consistently preserve and analyze the experience gained in contemporary Belarusian art, but also to popularize it both within the country and abroad.

The editors and the authors of the ZBOR resource are counting on feedback and assistance in the development of the project. If you notice inaccuracies in the publications or you have additions and recommendations for creating new publications, please contact us by e-mail: kalektar.org@gmail.com or on the facebook page.

We will be especially grateful for your personal contribution to the project.

First stage:

In 2015, the KALEKTAR platform team prepared a research and exhibition project "" at the Arsenal Gallery in Bialystok, which represents the first results of the activities of the KALEKTAR platform and the ZBOR resource. This large-scale research and exhibition project presents 40 selected works by Belarusian artists created from the 1980s to 2014. All selected works are one of the key statements that determined, to one degree or another, the development of various areas of Belarusian contemporary art.