Image: Taavi Suisalu (EE). Distant Self-Portrait, 2016.
Riga Photography Biennial and ISSP Gallery announce open call for the
Seeking the Latest in Photography! Award 2019
From 15 August until 1 October 2018 young artists from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are
invited to submit their work for the Riga Photography Biennial’s Award Seeking the Latest
in Photography! 2019. The award winner will be offered a solo exhibition at the ISSP
Gallery in April 2019. The gallery will also host the RPB award ceremony.
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. The Biennial is seeking the portfolios of artists who
stimulate discussion and offer diverse ideas. At the same time, we wish to provide a public
platform for young artists at the beginning of their creative journey in photography or a
medium associated with it, so that they can present themselves to a wider audience.
Who can apply?
Artists and photographers from the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) who are at
the beginning of their careers and aged between 18 and 35.
Selection process and jury
The winner of the prize will be determined by an international jury comprised of Paul Paper
(LT), artist and curator; Daiga Rudzāte (LV), editor-in-chief of ‘Arterritory’ culture portal and
director of INDIE culture project agency; Mitch Speed (CA/DE), artist and art critic; Michael
Biedowicz (DE), photo editor and owner of Pavlov’s Dog Gallery; Jonatan Habib Engqvist (SE),
curator; Sten Ojave (EE), curator at Center For Contemporary Arts, Estonia; Amelie Schuele (DE),
exhibition manager Unseen,; Diāna Tamane (LV), artist and RPB Award
2018 winner; Iveta Gabaliņa, programme director of the ISSP Gallery.
The award winner will be offered a solo exhibition in April 2019 at the ISSP Gallery (Berga
Bazārs, Riga). Several promotional and special prizes will also be awarded, including the
possibility for up to 10 applicants to participate in the portfolio review of Riga Photography
Biennial’s Off-year programme in 2019 free of charge. Gytis Skudžinskas un Vilma
Samulionyte (LT), founders of NoRoutine Books, will select one of the participants for their
own award – an opportunity to publish a photo book.
Application procedure
1. The applicant must fill in an application form (application closed), indicating their date and place of birth, and
where they are currently living (if it differs from their residential address); information about
the project and an outline of their creative biography, which must include their education
and creative experience.
2. 10 - 15 photographs must be submitted (artwork created in the past 3 years, or a project
which is still in progress). The parameters of the works to be submitted – JPG, the size of an
individual file may not exceed 1,000 px on the longest side. The size of an individual file may not exceed 1.5 MB. The images must be marked with: first name_ last name_number in
order, for example, “anna_straume_01.jpg”.
Dates for submission and further process
August 15 to October 1 2018 – acceptance of submissions;
October 15 2018 – 15 applicants will be notified for the second round;
November 15 2018 – the winners will be announced;
In case the project selected for the final is still in the process of being finalized, the finished
project needs to be submitted by January 15 2019.
Exhibition preparation
The organisers of Award will contact the winner to coordinate preparation and
transportation of the work to be exhibited. The author is responsible for packaging and
preparing the work to be transported. After the exhibition has closed, all exhibited work will
be returned to the address indicated by the author. Transportation costs to and from the
exhibition will be paid for by the organisers. If required, expenses relating to preparing the
work for the exhibition will also be reimbursed.
Copyright
In submitting their works to the competition, participants agree that the Riga Photography
Biennial and third persons will be allowed to use those works, without payment, to advertise the
Biennial and the Award, and the work may be used in publicity materials connected with the
Biennial and the Award. Copyright remains with the respective artists.
Riga Photography Biennial’s Off-year Programme dedicated to young artists will take place
in Spring 2019. Until now the Seeking the Latest in Photography! Award was part of the
main programme. From now on it will be awarded during the Off-year programme in
collaboration with the ISSP Gallery.
ISSP is a platform for contemporary photography, based in Latvia and acting internationally. Since its
establishment in 2006, ISSP has been fostering an active photography scene in Latvia,
educating the young generation of artists and promoting international exchange. With the
opening of the ISSP Gallery in Berga Bazārs, Riga, ISSP has made its mark on the cultural map
- as the only space dedicated to contemporary photography in Latvia.
The RPB 2016 Award winners were Vika Eksta (LV), Andrejs Strokins (LV) and Alissa Nirgi
(EE). In 2018 - Diāna Tamane (LV), Taavi Suisalu (EE) and Kristīne Madjare (LV). NoRoutine
Books award winners were Ieva Balode (LV) in 2016 and Madara Gritāne (LV) in 2018.