MOSCOW.- Cosmoscow, Russia’s international contemporary art fair, and Swiss banking group Credit Suisse, announced the bank has become a strategic partner to Cosmoscow and will help to fund its ground-breaking exhibition programme.

Cosmoscow, the only art fair of its kind in Russia, will bring together a selection of leading international and national galleries from September 11-13, 2015, to exhibit new and recent works by international artists. The event will be held in the Gostiny Dvor (Merchant Court), one of the most historically significant cultural venues in Moscow.

The fair, which is held on an annual basis, brings together key partners including Russia’s Garage Museum, Children’s charity the Naked Heart Foundation and Artsy, the web-based art resource, as part of its effort to open up access to the burgeoning Russian contemporary art scene.

Margarita Pushkina and Sandra Nedvetskaia, Co-Directors of Cosmoscow, commented: “We are delighted to partner with Credit Suisse, a financial institution which has continually demonstrated its strong support of the arts and in particular the young generation of artists, making them a natural choice for Cosmoscow. This partnership also reinforces Cosmoscow and Credit Suisse’s shared commitment to Russia, a country whose role within the international contemporary art market is growing steadily”.

Dmitri Kushaev, CEO Private Banking Russia, said: “Contemporary art is becoming increasingly popular with our clients in Russia. Cosmoscow provides a unique opportunity to bring the contemporary art world together in Moscow and we are very pleased to be associated with it in this way. This partnership also fits very well with Credit Suisse’s long-standing commitment to cultural sponsoring engagements.”

Credit Suisse has a tradition of supporting the arts, working with leading cultural institutions to encourage innovative projects and wider access to theatre, dance, music and the visual arts. Credit Suisse’s recent sponsorship commitments include, for example, the Bolshoi Theatre, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Shanghai Museum, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the Kunsthaus in Zurich.