WIN-WIN fair brings new participants and tactile works to Winzavod

The 13th WIN-WIN fair is taking place at Moscow's Winzavod on October 10–11. Organisers list more than 120 participants and retain a rule that at least half the artists must be first-time participants in the event.

The fair allows artists to sell directly and visitors to meet their work's creators. Curator Daria Kuznetsova told an Izvestia correspondent that selection has two stages, with applications followed by decisions from a rotating panel of three industry professionals.

A first appearance at WIN-WIN does not necessarily mean an artist is starting a career. Some newcomers to the event have years of experience and established styles. This edition gives prominence to handmade techniques, complex objects and tactile materials such as metal, wood and clay.

Anna Stavinozhenko brought her Iznutri series, combining wood and ceramics and contrasting fragile and rigid materials. Ruslana Mirzaalieva described a work featuring fish and cat imagery, for which she assembled about 40–50 metaphors before selecting some to incorporate.

Several participants explore memory and familiar urban environments. Viktoria Shmygovskaya uses lace doilies to connect with childhood recollections, while Dmitry Khlebnikov examines the aesthetic of the residential districts where he grew up.

Sergey Agrov considers whether a stable human identity exists in the age of neural networks. Dina Borovik suggests first responding to contemporary art emotionally and then understanding its underlying concept. The report presents these approaches through conversations with their creators.

Winzavod's official programme confirms the two-day event in its Red and White workshops. Channel Five published the report on participating artists on October 10.