The increased presence of Eastern European art in international public and private collections has generated a multitude of responses in the forms of exhibitions, symposia, research programs, publications, as well as endowed positions for curators, professors, and graduate students. From Catherine the Great, the Tret’yakov brothers, and George Costakis to Norton Dodge, Peter Ludwig, and Dasha Zhukova, collectors along with the curators who work with their collections have framed and reframed narratives of Eastern European art for both local and global consumption. Artists, too, have participated through self-institutionalizing initiatives, including collective practices and the founding of archives and independent art spaces.

This panel seeks to engage questions regarding the institutionalization of Eastern European art both inside and outside the region. What have been some of the challenges, triumphs, and failures in the pursuit of both private and public collections? What roles have curators, collectors, dealers, critics, and artists played in this process? What strategies have been most effective in establishing and sustaining critical and constructive dialogues within and beyond this network of individuals? What legacies and lessons have more historical examples, such as Imperial and Soviet collections, left for us today? In what ways does museum programming affect scholarship and pedagogy and vice versa? This panel aims to create a space for debate around the presence and presentation of Eastern European art that will brainstorm ways for further advancing our field through institutional relationships.

This panel invites papers that address both practical and theoretical issues from scholars, curators, critics, collectors, dealers, and artists. Papers can examine specific case studies or address larger methodological or terminological problems. While this panel is not strictly focused on the art market, papers addressing auctions, art fairs, biennials, and other commercial ventures will be considered. Submissions from all chronological periods are welcome.

Please, submit abstracts of 300 words or less and a current CV to Ksenia Nouril, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Submissions must be received by Friday, June 5, 2015.

This panel is a 1.5-hour special session affiliated with SHERA (The Society of Historians of East European, Eurasian, and Russian Art and Architecture). All are encouraged to apply; however, membership to SHERA will be required if accepted.