APXIV at the Volga River
Kostroma is a small city on Volga River in Russia. Since ancient times till nowadays everything connected with the River defines the way of life and the topography of the city.
On September 15, 2018 APXIV artists invited guests and participants of KosMost Festival of Contemporary Photography to spend 3 hours on the board of the ferry Moscow-52 in the immersive walk. There were also regular ferry passengers travelling to their country houses.
The preparation to the event on the ferry started in the daytime on the central square of Kostroma. APXIV residents were investigating the local context, buying pieces of Kostroma’s painters and crafters, as well as the edition art at the print market which was held as an intervention within the Festival. One of the market tents was given to APXIV artists as a space for crafts. Artists and citizens were painting rubber boots, which were found at former Research Institute of Light Industry, one of the main industries of the town in the past. The ferry , as an event space, defined the way of the happening event. The Ship represents a symbol of journey to unknown, location without position where the movement of water defines the rules. Thus, the basis of the immersive walk was the direct and open interaction of artists with residents and guests of the town, improvisation and collective action.The first part of the immersive walk was devoted to the exchange of art , purchased before on the central square, for the ferry passengers’ stories about Kostroma and one Polaroid portrait of the narrator.
The second part was improvised. Following the ferry passengers’ advice APXIV together with the participants and spectators of the Festival, landed in the old believer village, called Chernopenye, got acquainted with its history and inhabitants, and exchanged the remaining art for stories and photos. The return journey took place in silence, the noise of the waves and the sunset descending on the water — the end of the immersive walk was spontaneous collective relaxation.