This special project was organized by Open Collections in collaboration with the State Tretyakov Gallery and the History Department of Lomonosov Moscow State University as part of the joint educational program "Introduction."

The contradiction inherent in the exhibition's title highlights the dual nature of progress. On the one hand, progress is always a step forward; on the other, any progress pushes the "present" into the realm of the past; every new achievement renders the previous one obsolete.

The Polytechnic's Open Collections are a cartography of the traces of technological progress. Countless exhibits showcase technologies that were once innovative but are now hopelessly obsolete.

What is progress? How does contemporary art perceive it? Is progress inherent to art itself? By inviting viewers into an imaginary scenario, the artists pose questions that allow each person to make their own personal discovery.

Artists: Vladimir Abikh, Emma Bayer, Ksenia Bashmakova, Evgenia Voronova, Asya Dobrovolskaya, Ivan Yegelsky, Egor Kraft, Anastasia Krokhaleva and Denis Perevalov, Valeria Mordashova, Onda, Anastasia Sukhareva-Morozova, Denis Uranov, Irina and Stanislav Shminke.