From 14 through 16 September 2006 an International Symposium on Contemporary Art entitled The Museum and the Art Market was held in the Hermitage Theatre. The event was organized by the State Hermitage together with the Institute Pro-Arte (St Petersburg) and the Club of British Friends of the Hermitage with sponsorship support from Christie's and assistance from the General Consulate of the USA in St Petersburg, the Institut Francais in St Petersburg, CEC ArtsLink (USA and the Lauder Travel Fund of MoMA's International Council (USA).

This is the first time that the State Hermitage has been the venue for a major international symposium devoted to topical issues of contemporary art aimed at strengthening contacts between modern Russian culture and the world art community. Over the course of three days leading international critics, museum representatives, art historians, dealers, gallery owners and artists took part in numerous discussions devoted to the most important issues of contemporary art.

One of the main problems at the center of attention during the symposium was the influence that policies of museums, art market institutions, independent curators, dealers and the mass media have on the official recognition of artists. Discussions on the second working day dealt with the recent success of young artists from Eastern Europe in prestigious international exhibitions and fairs. The third day was spent acquainting the participants with the contemporary art scene in St Petersburg.

In the opinion of Director of the State Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky, "This symposium should underscore the special interest the Hermitage has in modern art with respect to plans for creating its own collection of modern art for display in the General Staff building complex following the completion of reconstruction work in 2014. This collection, in which we hope to have works by outstanding masters, will give the Hermitage an opportunity to play a leading role in the process of integrating Russia into the international art community."

In the course of the symposium there was an examination of Russian and foreign experience with interaction between museums and international biennales, on the one hand, and artists and curators of exhibitions, on the other. There was also discussion of the tactics and strategy deployed by contemporary art galleries and the issue of the way auction prices influence the reputation of an artist and his recognition. One of the topical questions dealt with in the symposium was the way an artist defines himself creatively.

Leading personalities from the international museum community took part in the symposium: Thomas Krens (Director of the Solomon R.Guggenheim Foundation (New York, USA) and Norman Rosenthal (Director of the Royal Academy of Arts, London). The symposium program included talks by well-known curators of modern art exhibitions: Robert Storr, curator of the Venice Biennale-2007 and professor of Yale University (USA), Hans Ulrich Obrist (Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Serpentine Gallery, London), Klaus Biesenbach (curator of the MoMA, New York, USA), Harry Liebke (Galerie Eigen+Art , Berlin and Leipzig), Anda Rottenberg (Program Director of the Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw) and Michal Wolinsky (editor of Piktogram Magazine, Warsaw).

The international art market was represented at the symposium by specialists from the major auction house Christie's - Katherine Burton (London, U.K.) and Amy Capellazzo (New York, USA), as well as by leading dealers on the world art market - Daniella Luxembourg. (London, U.K.) and Jeffrey Deutsch (New York, USA). Jean-Jacques Aillagon, former Minister of Culture, France and presently the director of the Francois Pinault Collection in the Palazzo Grassi (Venice) took part in the symposium. Among the other speakers in the symposium were well-known Russian critics, curators and art historians including Andrei Erofeev (director of the department of new art currents, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), Iosif Bakshtein (director of the Moscow Biennale-2005), Olesya Turkina (curator, State Russian Museum, St Petersburg), Vladimir Ovcharenko and Aidan Salakhova (gallery owners, Moscow), Viktor Miziano (curator, publisher of the Art Journal, Moscow), Nikolai Molok (editor of the magazine Art Khronika, Moscow) and Vasily Bychkov, director of the Art Fair (Moscow). Director of the State Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky opened the symposium and led the concluding Round Table discussion.

The first day of the symposium ended with an unusual reception in the attic of the Winter Palace where a special exhibition of Hermitage artist and photographer Yuri Molodkovets entitled New Hermitage opened. Design was by the architectural group Vitruvii & Sons; music was by Igor Vdovin, with sponsorship assistance provided by Kodak, Moscow.

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At the press conference

Prof. Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage

Elena Kolovskaya, Executive Director of Pro Arte Institute

Dr. Sophia Kudriavtseva, Head of the Youth Education Centre of the State Hermitage Museum

Amy Capellazzo, International Co-Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art, Christie's, New York

Dr. Andrei Erofeev, Chief Curator of Contemporary Art, Tretiakov Gallery, Moscow

Norman Rosenthal, Exhibitions Secretary, Royal Academy of Arts, London

Joseph Bakstein, Director, Moscow Biennale-2005

Dr. Thomas Krens, Director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York

At the exhibition in the attic of the Winter Palace