Access Moscow The Art Life of a City Revealed Edited by Kate Fowle, Ruth Addison. Introduction by Kate Fowle. Text by Valentin Diaconov, Andrei Kovalev, Sasha Obukhova, Elena Selina, et al. (Garage Museum of contempory Art ) (IBRArt Books)

In 1986 the Soviet government created a statute enabling citizens to form associations and clubs for the first time since the 1920s. This gave rise to the first official organizations created by unofficial artists, as well as the beginning of a vibrant gallery scene. Run by artists, curators and cultural entrepreneurs, these spaces unleashed the creative energy that now characterizes early post-Soviet Russia. Access Moscow examines the key role the first independent galleries played in the emergence of Moscow’s art scene in the 1990s. Through historical texts from leading practitioners of the time, as well as new essays, the book provides a first-hand account of an art community in formation, accompanied by a chronology of key events that defined the era and a gallery-by-gallery list of important exhibitions.