STATEMENT
We, on behalf of the artistic community of Moscow, Russia and the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, express our extreme concern in connection with the information that has recently appeared in the press that on the site of the existing Central House of Artists, Inteko CJSC intends to implement the Orange project - in fact commercial residential complex.
We responsibly declare that no one has approached the management of the authorized owners of this building with any proposal for a possible reconstruction with the demolition of the Central House of Artists (CHA).
The Central House of Artists, built at the expense of artists and commissioned in 1979, annually holds about 300 different exhibitions of artists from Russia, the CIS and the Baltic states, world-famous masters of foreign fine arts, which are visited by about a million people a year. Thus, over the entire period of activity of this largest exhibition complex not only in Moscow, but throughout the CIS, at least 30 million people visited it, which is comparable to the population of several megacities on the scale of Moscow.
60% of the building is occupied by the permanent exhibition of the State Tretyakov Gallery, which includes the fine art of Russia of the twentieth century - a collection of the Russian avant-garde, containing the greatest artistic masterpieces.
40% of the building is occupied by the International Confederation of Unions of Artists (ICAU), which united after the collapse of the USSR the unions of artists of the countries - the former republics of the Soviet Union. The MKSH received its part of the building as the successor of the Union of Artists of the USSR
Over the past decades, the Central House of Artists has become a cult place for several generations of Muscovites, one of the symbols of cultural Moscow for numerous Russians and foreign guests of the Russian capital. In view of the fact that the property of the ICSH is the corporate property of all creative organizations that are part of the international confederation, the attempt on the Central House of Artists is a violation of the very foundations of international law, undermining the cultural and legal authority of Russia throughout the post-Soviet space.
The disappearance of this symbol of culture will cause irreparable damage to the reputation of Moscow and Russia as a whole as recognized centers of culture of world significance in the entire world community.
The Central House of Artists is a unique exhibition complex, equipped with the most modern equipment, which allows you to develop exhibitions of any trends and types of modern and classical fine arts. According to authoritative estimates of experts, the CHA building is in excellent condition, does not require reconstruction and major repairs and can be successfully operated for many decades. Over the past 10 years, the MKSH has invested hundreds of millions of rubles of its own funds in the repair and reconstruction of the CHA.
The International Confederation of Artists' Unions with Moskomzem signed a lease agreement for the land occupied by the Central House of Artists until 2025, the contract for the use of land at the Tretyakov Gallery is unlimited.
The administration of the State Tretyakov Gallery and the Executive Committee of the Moscow Union of Artists declare a strong protest against the outbreak of a PR campaign aimed at preparing public opinion for the possibility of an unprecedented action to eliminate one of the most beloved and visited centers of culture in Moscow.
The wide creative community of Russia and the Commonwealth countries is outraged by the next attack by businessmen on the rights of public and state cultural organizations that are successfully developing cultural interaction with the peoples of the CIS countries, linked with Russia by centuries-old ties.
We are ready to make every effort and use all available legal means in defending the interests of the State Tretyakov Gallery and the Central House of Artists - the centers of world culture.
General director
All-Russian Museum Association
"State Tretyakov Gallery" V. A. Rodionov
On behalf of the members of the ICSH, the Artists' Unions of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kiev.
The president
International Confederation of Artists' Unions, Chairman of the Union of Artists of Russia V. M. Sidorov
Chairman of the Executive Committee
International Confederation of Artists' Unions M. M. Fatkulin
