“Bacteria Battery
Biotricity – exhibition & performances
Dates: September 7 – September 8, 2013
Location: Riga, Latvia
The second part of the event – exhibition & performances – was an opportunity to see the “Bacteria Battery” in action, enjoying the unique result of the interaction of bio-technology and sound art as well as, to enjoy 5 dvisualisations.
The unique “Bacteria Battery”/Biotricity tent. One of the audio-visual performances.
All photos by Andrejs Strokins
All together the exhibition, performances and workshop were attended by 3000 local people of different age groups (starting from families with kids during the day in the framework of workshop programme till students and elderly people in the evening performance programme.
FIELDS exhibition
Date: May 15 – August 3, 2014
Location: Riga, Latvia
Arsenals Exhibition Hall of the Latvian National Arts Museum (LNAM)
Exhibition theme
Fields – patterns of social, scientific, and technological transformations.
The changing role of art in society is one where it does not just create a new aesthetics but gets involved in patterns of social, scientific, and technological transformations. The exhibition Fields presented a lively landscape of art that challenges existing viewpoints, deconstructed social issues, and proposed positive visions for the future. Artists in the Fields exhibition made new combinations of existing fields-as-in-disciplines – fusing and navigating between the social and the natural, the scientific and the emotional, the sensible with the actual in imaginative ways.
In preparation for the Fields exhibition, a widespread survey was undertaken, that did not just look at art in the narrow sense but all kinds of creative practices that bring together new thinking, scientific knowledge, aesthetics, technologies and social practices. A year in advance, a public call was launched that was met by over 200 proposals. The curators of Fields could draw on international networks such as Baltic-Nordic Renewable Network and the European collaboration Soft-Control. The artist-in-residency series Fieldwork on measurement ship Eleonore, Linz 2013, aimed at creating ideas and projects for Fields. Workshops and panels at Transmediale 2013 – Berlin, Pixelache 2013 – Helsinki, and the Media Art Histories conference Renew – Riga, October 2013 were used to discuss work and taxonomies for Fields.
From the 200 proposals received through the public call, the curators have chosen 40 works from all over the world, but with a special focus on Central, Eastern and Northern Europe. Fields was exhibited between May 15th and August 3rd 2014, at the Arsenals exhibition space of Latvian National Arts Museum, the largest and most important exhibition space for contemporary art in Riga, as a part of Riga – European Culture Capital 2014. The exhibition was accompanied by public lectures, Renewable Futures conference as well as artist performances and concerts.
The curators selected works that are considered to be contextual seedbeds for social change. The changing role of art in society is one where it does not just create a new aesthetics but gets involved in patterns of social, scientific, and technological transformations.
The exhibition showed 40 artworks by artists from all over the world, but with a special focus on Central, Eastern and Northern Europe. The exhibition was accompanied by a festival Art+Communication programme with public lectures, live performances, as well as a Renewable Futures conference, and Museum’s Night programme.
Curators: Raitis Smits, Rasa Smite (Latvia) and Armin Medosch (Austria).
Exhibition artists: Robert ADRIAN (AT), Ieva AUZINA (LV/SI), Cecile BABIOLE (FR), Erich BERGER (AT/FI), Mattew BIEDERMAN (CA), Janis BORGS (LV), Bureau d’Etudes (FR), Class Wargames (UK, LV, RU, AU), Shu Lea CHEANG (FR), Markus DECKER (AT), Ines DOUJAK (AT), Ernest EDMONDS (UK/AU), Darko FRITZ (HR), Gints GABRANS (LV), Martin HOWSE (UK), Hanna HAASLAHTI (FI), HeHe (FR), Janis JANKEVICS (LV), Karl Heinz JERON (DE), Lisa JEVBRATT (USA), Voldemars JOHANSONS (LV), Michal KINDERNAY (CZ), Anja KRAUTGASSER (AT), Francz XAVER (AT), Manu LUKSCH (AT/UK), Annemie MAES / Okno (BE), Pamela NEUWIRTH (AT), Hayley NEWMAN (UK), OHO (SI), Andrea PALASTI (RS), Marko PELJHAN (SI), Esther POLAK (NL), Radix / David STRANG (UK), Deborah ROBINSON (UK), Simon RUNDLE (UK), Bronac FERRAN (UK), Martins RATNIKS (LV) Oliver RESSLER (AT), Natacha ROUSSEL (BE), Maja SMREKAR (SI), Brian SPRINGER (US), Superflex (DK), Hans SCHEIRL (AT), Rasa SMITE, Raitis SMITS / RIXC (LV), Ondrej VAVRECKA (CZ), Milos VOJTECHOVSKY (CZ), YoHa (UK).
Total exhibition visitors reached 11000 local and international audience.
VIRTUOSO exhibition
Date: April 16 –May 17
Location: Riga
The idea of the exhibition had been inspired by 17th century play “Virtuoso” by Thomas Shadwell about scientific experiments. “Virtuoso – multiscience art platform” reflects ideals of today’s virtuoso – it is a place for interaction of art and different sciences by using research methods from various fields and in the result creating unique art works.
Virtuoso presented the ideals of contemporary virtuosi, created through interaction between art and various sciences, using research methods from different sectors. Works displayed at the exhibition are subjective researches on themes important to the artists, including on various natural phenomena, energy and sustainability, physical and acoustic properties of sound, electricity and communications.
Artists – Rihards Vitols, Maija Demitere, Krista Dintere, Kristaps Biters, Andris Vetra, Laura Katkevica, Paula Vitola
Curated by Rasa Smite and Ainars Kamolins.