From April 21 to July 10, the Riga Photography Biennale 2022 (RPB) will take place in the art galleries and urban environment of Riga. The main focus of this year’s programme is the state of isolation and its various manifestations and effects. The programme of the biennale includes several exhibitions, an educational programme and an international conference dedicated to photo books.
In eight international exhibitions and an extensive programme of educational events, the artists and curators of the Riga Photography Biennale 2022 will invite visitors to see the essence of isolation in as many different ways as possible and to re–learn to read the information provided by the image.
«Over the past two years, living in isolation has become our new reality. In addition to the pandemic, it is also facilitated by the rapid development of technology, as the state of isolation allows a person to break away from everything and everywhere, creating a circle of friends and imaginative characters in a self–created environment. What does the state of isolation takes from us or , on the contrary, what does it give us?» Inga Brūvere, the director of the Riga Photography Biennale and one of the curators of the exhibitions, explains the topic.
The central exhibition of the biennale Screen Age III: Still Life will continue the cycle of exhibitions on the impact of technology on the development of modern man and society started in 2018. Eleven artists from Latvia, the Nordic countries, Europe and South Africa will take part in the group’s exhibition, which will take place in the Riga Art Space from April 22 to June 12. «With the development of technology, photography as an art medium has entered a new phase, and the understanding of photography as an image has changed. We have to learn to read the information contained in the image again and again,» says Inga Brūvere about the focus on the development of informative coding of the image.
In April, exhibitions will also be opened in the Intro hall of the Riga Art Space and in the cultural space Smilga. In May and June, the Latvian Museum of Photography, the gallery Look! and the ISSP Gallery, as well as another exhibition in the Intro hall of the Riga Art Space will open its doors to the visitors of the biennale. As usual, one of the most visible events of the biennale will be the urban intervention — an exhibition that takes place at public transport stops in Riga. During the period from 6 to 19 June, the artist Kristīne Krauze Slucka will encourage the residents and guests of the city to rethink their literacy and study the impact of the digital environment at ten transport stops.
The exhibitions will be supplemented by an educational programme that analyses the nature of isolation and looks for ways to overcome it in order to create a more inclusive society. The programme will include extensive discussions and talks on various topics, as well as meetings with the artists of the biennale’s exhibitions. Artist Līga Spunde and curator Agnese Zviedre will organise special workshops for children, in which they will create the still life of their time by creating the world of their individual screens. In cooperation with the Autism Society of Latvia, the workshops have been adapted and will be available to children with autism spectrum disorders.
Professionals of photography are invited to participate in the international conference of the Riga Photography Biennale 2022 on April 30 at the Riga Art Space. Expanding on the main theme of the biennale, isolation, European photography experts will look at the phenomenon of photobooks in the 21st century and the state of research in Eastern Europe.
More information about upcoming events — on the website of the Riga Photography Biennale.
Viedokļi