The contemporary art scene in St Petersburg is characterised by vast amounts of energy but an enormous lack of money. Here the young galleries have huge problems running shows and exhibitions with interesting artists, while a lot of money is invested in bad taste. Dmitry Pilikin - Russian artist, curator and art critic - tells me about the art of survival. by ANNIKA HANSSON, Art Orbit

- We have a strange situation concerning art criticism and cultural debate in St Petersburg. Contemporary art and culture is only being discussed in one newspaper. It is a so called street newspaper which the homeless people sell in the streets of the city, Dmitry Pilikin explains.     The reason is that "On the Depths" * is the only magazine that is not supported by politicians or by a company and therefore it is free to discuss cultural issues. Dmitry is the editor of the art pages - a task that demands a lot of energy but generates no money.     Dmitry is also the curator of Gallery 21, one of the very few exhibition spaces in St Petersburg worth the name. Gallery 21 is situated on Pushkinskaya Street, in a big house which used to be a big squat. Now the house hosts The Centre of Contemporary Art, called the "Twenty-first Century Ark". Here there are about one hundred permanent studios for artists, musicians, actors and writers. "Rich people in Russia may support pop-stars but never young artists or a gallery like mine" The issue of exhibition spaces for contemporary art in St Petersburg is a peculiar story. There are many places which claim to be "galleries" in this city but most of them are actually referred to as "shops". To visit one of the commercial art shops is a hilarious experience. Here the very essence of bad taste seems to be displayed without any concern. Often the shop consists of one or two rooms crammed full with paintings, badly made and badly hung, which no person with a genuine interest in art would ever invest in. But here is where the real art business in St Petersburg is going on. Collectors who visit these shops form an important part of the black market which is taking place behind the curtains of some of these curious places.     Dmitry's "Gallery 21" never does any business even though it works like a cradle for many young interesting artists. Every day is a fight for money in order to run the place.     -Rich people in Russia may support pop-stars but never young artists or a gallery like mine, Dmitry explains.     Because of the lack of exhibition spaces for young artists in St Petersburg one has to visit the artists' homes or studios to see the most interesting art. In addition, many projects and happenings are carried out in other public environments, for instance in museums or in the streets. Not long ago an artist from Moscow, Aleksandr Brener, caused a scandal in St Petersburg by entering the chair of the Tsar in the Hermitage. The audience consisted of well-informed curators, art critics and artists. DMITRY PILKIN russian artist, curator and art critic "Gallery 21" focuses on conceptual art and projects which make use of the new technology, such as computer based art and the Internet. The first web-site in the St Petersburg area was set up in 1996. Dmitry explains that the virtual world appeals to him because he thinks that the political and historical changes of his own city have turned it into a virtual city.     -In St Petersburg we have a fantastic situation. I was born in Leningrad in the Soviet Union but now I live in St Petersburg in Russia - without moving. There's also the fact that "abroad" exists like a virtual space for us, we have a virtual imagination about another world.     So how has the new political situation in St Petersburg influenced the art scene? Dmitry has published a book called "Alone at home", which contains interviews with twenty Russian artists about how this political change has influenced their work. Dmitry found that some artists who knew about the conditions in Western Europe moved abroad to work in a western manner.     -They do no longer work in the spirit of Russian artists. We have lost them and that is not good for the situation in Russia. Our cultural community tends to be ignorant of the importance of the work inside the borders. "Go for more energy, do more crazy things!"     But the artists who stayed in St Petersburg seem to form a strong artist community - a close circle of friends and colleagues without fixed roles. Dmitry's situation is a good example of how one person can move freely between the positions of the artist, the curator and the art critic. And the reason is probably both his interest in different aspects of art but also the urgent need for money. At this moment Dmitry is drawing up plans for his next project - as a writer, artist and curator - called "The Manifest of True Feelings".     -The art after the post-modernism is a game with the empty form - sweet forms that constantly change. Now it is time to put something in that empty space. I also see a tendency of a new sensitivity towards everyday objects in the young Russian art. I plan to focus on that together with philosophers and writers.     As I recently visited St Petersburg and Dmitry now is visiting Stockholm for the first time I can not stop myself from ask about his impressions of the Stockholm art scene so far.     -Well, the Modern Museum is like the pop-hit of contemporary art. It is a good ABC for the most important art works.     Before we end our conversation I ask Dmitry what he would like to say to the artists in Stockholm?     -Go for more energy, do more crazy things! ~ * "On the Depths" is a pun