For Nizhni Novgorod 90th years were happy and staring time. It was marked by opening of the city that before was a closed secret object, called Gorky, by returning a historical name Nizhni Novgorod and by revival of the Nizhni Novgorod Fair closed by bolsheviks. The self-proclaimed third capital of Russia during a decade awarded itself with various titles: "range of reforms ", "a pocket of Russia ", " the native land of new reformers", "edge frightened journalists ", "a building site of Russia".

The ambitious self-determination was so fascinating and convincing that many political scientists and analytics believed in it and the others followed t||heir example and started talking about "Gorky Miracle", about "capital of Russian architecture", about "the Nizhni Novgorod way". The woken up population has unexpectedly seen and has realized, that Nizhni - "it is the city regally put above all east of Russia" and has learned to use favorably even such disgraceful pages of the history, as Andrey Saharov's exile.

The society has gone through almost revolutionary process of changing of self-identification, it has given up the past finally and irrevocably, it was released from historical complexes and has addressed to the interesting present. Opportunities of independent development of region which have opened in the beginning of 90th were successfully used by the Nizhni Novgorod policies and businessmen. During a decade the face of city was promptly changed. On the deserted waste grounds gaping in the center the Nizhni Novgorod architectural school thrived, paradoxically adapting Jenkins`s book postmodernism to mad realities of a country town and new Russian capitalism. Emptiness and homelessness of the postSoviet city were filled with thousand round the clock working stalls and wild parking places for old foreign cars, but soon they was quickly superseded by banks and shopping centers, boutiques and restaurants, coffee houses and new cinemas. Ranks of the parked Jeeps, Mercedes, Audi, etc lined the narrow streets of old city. This time had heroes - governor Boris Nemtsov, main architect Alexander Haritonov and the chapter of Fair Vladimir Bessarab.

Together with end of a romantic epoch of early Russian capitalism and boundless federalism the fermentation of the Nizhni Novgorod geopolitic claims has settled down also. Though the city officially became a capital - it's a capital of Privolzhski federal district now, about this status people speak here with feeling of awkwardness. Both new and old has equally become familiar. Development was broken and Illusions have dissipated. Sociologists have started talking about attributes of apathy and loss of uniting prospects.

Policies start to forget, where they, what for and what is a base for image of region. What can the photograpgy and contemporary art do in this situation? To make a visual supervision and research of a context, to carry out an objective estimation and to participate in creation of new mythology.

Lubov Saprykina

The topic of the plain-air was a recomprehending of tourist "icons" of Nizhni Novgorod in the matter to represent a "fresh" view on traditional sights. The goal is formation of the positive perception of Nizhny Novgorod as a modern dynamically developing European city, involving Russian and foreign photographers into the process of promoting the attractive image of the region. In the period of September,6 - 12 2002 there were photosessions in the various areas of the city and suburb: industrial enterprises, schools, theatres, museums, markets, clubs, etc. Photos made by all participants were daily selected in the process of public discussions. And the exhibition by the results of plain-air were organized in the Museum of Sciences "Nizhni Novgorod Radiolab" in Semtember 13- 30, 2003.
Organizers:
National Centre for contemporary Arts, Nizhni Novgorod Branch
Nizhni Novgorod Centre for Contemporary Arts "Caryatid"
Nizhni Novgorod City Administration, Deepartment of International relations
Support:
Ford Fond
Conception:
Lubov Saprykina
Curators:
Vladimir Levashov, Julia Abramova
International Coordinator:Nataliya Arbuzova