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Events

The Riga Photography Biennial (RPB)

The Riga Photography Biennial (RPB) is an international contemporary art event, focusing on the analysis of visual culture and artistic representation. The term ‘photography’ in the title of the biennial is used as an all-embracing concept encompassing a mixed range of artistic image-making practices that have continued to transform the lexicon of contemporary art in the 21 st century.

PROGRAMME:
Michalina Kacperak’s solo exhibition ‘Soft Spot’s
Getting out of the house. An ordinary activity, like going out to do some shopping or to take a walk? Or getting out metaphorically – separating yourself from your family home? Such separation is not easy when you are leaving a home full of contradictions – a place that is both a shelter and a prison, a place that is both cosy and uncomfortable.
Riga Art Space | April 28 – June 18

Adele Bea Cipste’s solo exhibition ‘On Transitions: Impressions of Abu Dhabi’
The exhibition On Transitions: Impressions of Abu Dhabi is a reflection on what shapes a sense of place and how an individual’s attachment to a place changes in time and as new layers of memory and experience are formed in the context of continuously living “inbetween” Riga and Abu Dhabi.
LOOK Gallery | April 29 – May 20

NEXT 2023 ‘Emerging Curator!’ Award winner Laima Daberte’s exhibition ‘Time Found’
To promote understanding of curators' contri¬bution and develop the profession of curator in Latvia, the Riga Photography Biennial – NEXT in cooperation with the Curatorial Course of the Art Academy of Latvia has launched pro¬gramme – a competition offering Latvia's emerg¬ing curators the opportunity to show their abilities.
Pilot. Experimental Art Space of the Art Academy of Latvia| May 8 – July 15

Solo exhibition of the winner of NEXT 2023 Award ‘Seeking the Latest in Photography!’ Ieva Baltaduonyte ‘Uprooted’
In 2023 the Riga Photography Biennial Seeking the Latest in Photography! Award is presented for the fifth time. The goal of the award is to discover and appraise the creative efforts of young artists who demonstrate the power of the image in their works, offering an original point of view and conceptual depth, suited to the times. It highlights emerging Baltic artists whose works are already dominated by these qualities. Since 2019, the award has been presented within the Biennial's programme NEXT in cooperation with the ISSP Gallery.
| ISSP Gallery | May 12 – June 29

Diāna Tamane’s solo exhibition ‘Half-Love’
Diāna Tamane’s work Half-Love follows her half-sister Elīna, her father's daughter from his second marriage, growing up. The pictures were taken while spending time together at their family home in Kursīši, where Diana visits every summer. The passage of time in the series is revealed both visually and metaphorically, as motifs repeat. Their greenhouse becomes an improvised photo studio, where Tamane takes a portrait of her sister every year. Another recurring subject is the nearby forest, visible from their terrace, which gradually regrows after being cut down. The process of taking photos is an opportunity for Tamane to spend time with her younger half-sister, as well as a chance to re-enact her own childhood experiences against the background of a seemingly idyllic seaside village. Thus, Half-Love is both an observation of her sister’s life and their relationship as well as a love letter to her, and Elīna's continuous eagerness to cooperate and participate in the project reveals the close bond between the two half-sisters, which they managed to create despite the fact that they grew up in different families.
Latvian Museum of Photography | May 19 – July 23

Exhibition ‘Language of Flowers’
The exhibition features reflections by four young artists, or four different quests after the true essence of things, with the artists withdrawing into themselves and carefully questioning the language of their creative medium of choice, i.e., photography. The artists, representing Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Norway, not only share an introspective drive, characteristic of all young people, as well as a desire to understand their position in the global landscape at large, but are also similar in the way they pursue it.
Gallery of the Artists' Union of Latvia | May 26 – July 2

Outdoor project – Elena Subach’s solo exhibition ‘Grandmothers on the Edge of Heaven’
The photo series Grandmothers on the Edge of Heaven is dedicated to an ever-topical theme that takes on a special resonance in this time and situation. Its protagonists are an important social group – the older generation, or, particularly, old women in Western Ukraine. The Ukrainian artist Elena Subach was first surprised, then enchanted and then plunged into existential contemplation by the vitality these women possess.
Riga public transport stops | May 29 – June 11

more at www.rpbiennial.com