Elena Charlamowa

The idea & concept of the artproject "Almanac BERLIN an OPEN CITY"
Chief editor

Born in Tallinn, grew up in Leningrad (St Petersburg).
Graduated from secondary school N 318 in Leningrad (several courses taught in Italian). Graduate of the philological department of Leningrad State University of Zhdanov. I have been living in Berlin since 1988.

1990-1992 - Fellow received by Berlin Humboldt University, specialty "culturology".

2001-2003 – Postgraduate degree at the State Library, foundation "Prussian cultural heritage" (Berlin).

Since 1993, I participate actively in the artistic life of the city of Berlin. I conceive and am the curator of numerous German and Russian art projects. My main area of interest lies in the caracteristics of a space and interaction between spaces, including spaces of various cultures and forms of art. Joints, dams, metamorphosis. To me, these states of transition, in life and in art, are what is truly interesting and inspiring to artistic reflection. "To observe, to watch and to see - to make space for what is": here is, in my opinion, the main principle that should guide a "cultural designer" to generate pertinent projects.

In life, I try to stick to the Chinese wisdom: "The opposite thing of truth is also truth".

Projects in recent years:

2007 Co-author and producer of documentary theater project "Russian-German Soldiers PHRASEBOOK. DAS DEUTSCH-RUSSICHE SOLDATENWOERTERBUCH ", Sophiensaele Theater, Berlin. Author and director Aglaya Romanovskaya.

2009 Curator and Manager of the Festival of contemporary Russian performance art "Pravda Street / Strasse der Wahrheit", 18.-26.06.09 Sophiensaele, Berlin.

Since 2005, I am the conceiver and publisher of a series of authors' books entitled “ALMANAC BERLIN - OPEN CITY" (in collaboration with the artist Vladislav Zaitsev). Since 2009, I lead this project in collaboration with the curator Anastasia Stein.

Vladislav Zaitsev (Sajzew)

Born in 1957 in Perm.
He graduated in 1984 from the Mukhina Academy of arts, City of Leningrad.
Member of the Artists Guild of Russia since 1989
Since 1995, he lives in St. Petersburg and Berlin.
Maintains a continuous creative activity: engaged in personal and group exhibitions, symposiums, art projects in Russia, Germany and other European countries. Works in the field of design architecture (interiors and facades of buildings) and landscape objects (sculpture in landscape, playgrounds).

A few words about the work in the “Almanac BERLIN an OPEN CITY":
"Artproject is a series of publications in collaboration with Berlin artists and writers. I saw this project as a necessary form of social communication. I am interested in this project as a professional artist who wishes to exchange work with a range of creative people living in Berlin. Our almanacs are a form of creative collaboration. As a whole, the series is a cultural cross section of Russian Berlin today. I act as the project’s art director. Joint work between the collaborators involved in this project implies compromises... and the result is an artifact - this book is a unique object. All that is difficult and inaccessible is interesting to all. And the most difficult in this process, concerns human relations. Personally, I cooperate with the authors, and am open to collectors. “Almanac BERLIN an OPEN CITY" is a form of cooperation on every level".

Anastasia Stein