CHAT: Revolution

In the first of a new series of arts talks, film-maker Margy Kinmonth introduces a screening of her acclaimed documentary exploring the explosion in Russian avant garde art by pioneers like Chagall, Kandinsky, Malevich in the period immediately following the 1917 Revolution. Drawing on the collections of major Russian institutions, contributions from contemporary artists, curators, and performers and personal testimony from the descendants of those involved, her film brings the artists of the Russian Avant-Garde to life. These were pioneers whose colourful, inventive work flourished in response to the Utopian challenge of building a New Art for a New World, only to be broken by implacable authority after 15 short years with Stalin’s rise to power.