Olga

Sviblova

Visual arts

Olga Sviblova is a highly regarded art historian and curator of exhibitions, known for her active participation in the art world, advocacy for artists' interests, and her role as an educator. Her efforts have significantly contributed to bringing contemporary Russian art to global recognition. She has curated over 500 projects in contemporary art and photography both in Russia and internationally.In addition to her curatorial work, Olga is also a director and screenwriter of documentaries about Russian art. Her films have received accolades at festivals in Switzerland, France, America, India, and Russia, including the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.As a distinguished figure in the arts, she is an Honored Art Worker of the Russian Federation and an academician of the Russian Academy of Arts. In 1996, Olga founded and headed the first photography museum in Russia, the "Moscow House of Photography," which evolved into the Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow in 2001. She founded the Rodchenko Moscow School of Photography and Multimedia as a department of the museum in 2006.Olga played a pivotal role in organizing the XVII Youth Exhibition in Moscow in 1987, where, for the first time, works of unofficial artists were showcased. She is the founder and art director of the Moscow "Photobiennale" (since 1996), the "Fashion and Style in Photography" biennale (since 1999), and the "Art for the Future" international biennale (since 2021).She curated Russian pavilions at the 52nd and 53rd Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art in 2007 and 2009, respectively, which were highly successful among critics and audiences. In 2014, she co-curated Ilya and Emilia Kabakov's "Strange City" project at the Monumenta exhibition in the Grand Palais, Paris. In 2016, she initiated and curated the "COLLECTION!" project at the Centre Pompidou.Her awards include the State Prize in Contemporary Art "Innovation" and The Art Newspaper Russia Award. She has received several honors, including the Golden Medal of Paris (1999), Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" II degree (2000), Knight of the Order of Academic Palms for her contribution to French culture (2002), Order of Friendship for her contributions to culture and arts (2007), Vittorio De Sica Award for cultural contribution (Italy, 2011), Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Commander grade (2012), the National Order of the Legion of Honour, Officer grade (France, 2017), and the Knight's Cross of Hungary (2020).