Last month the russian billionaire and one of the top art collectors, Roman Abramovich, won a bid to run an island in the center of St. Petersburg (Russia) through a new venture called New Holland Development.
An 18th century former military base which belonged to the Russian admiralty, the New Holland island was created through the construction of two canals and ows its name for its resemblance to areas of Amsterdam.
According to news, Abramovich has plans to plans to transform the 18th century warehouses into a cultural and commercial centre that will eventually include galleries, offices, retail business, hotels, a museum and quite possible a permanent home for his own art collection.
Plans to open a satellite of the Garage Center are also predicted.
His better half Dasha Zhukova has played a decisive role on Abramovich's acquisitions of contemporary art and will certainly contribute with her expertise to this new art project of the Chealsea owner.
Zhukova, who graduated with honors in Slavic Studies and Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara, is a philantropist, entrepeuneur, and magazine editor. In 2008 she founded the IRIS Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting contemporary culture.
Through IRIS, Zhukova and International Coordinator Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst launched The Garage Center for Contemporary Culture in Moscow, housed in one of Russia’s architectural masterpieces, the former Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage, designed in 1926 by the Constructivist architect, Konstanin Melnikov.
The development of this project is expected to take near six years to be completed.
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