6 April |11:30-17:00, ISSP Gallery,Berga bazārs, Marijas Street 13 k. 3, Riga.
Language: English, free entrance. www.issp.lv

Contemporary art not only mirrors the values, transformations and conflicts of its time, but also encourages and fosters change. And yet, in many parts of the world, including the Baltics, strategic and purposeful social activism in art is rather rare. In the twentieth century, as in our current moment, politically oriented art has been much more common in so-called Western countries than in the Baltics, where it is difficult to talk about consistent traditions of activism in society in general, let alone in art. To a very large extent this is of course linked to the historical political conditions of the three Baltic States. But still, even here, art has proven itself as a platform for raising awareness of socio-political issues, allowing greater degrees of openness and challenging power structures in ways that are rarely seen (and are often unacceptable) in other contexts within our cultural space.

Historically, activism has usually been associated with public action that attracts immediate attention and resonance, and thus art activism is also often first associated with challenging, expressive performances, socially engaged street art actions, etc. However, assuming that the purpose of politically active art is to initiate dialogue, with the aim of contributing to socio-political change in the long-term, more moderate expressions of activism in the visual arts and the work of curators are also worthy of the definition. And it seems that it is exactly this type of activism – moderate, maybe even a bit shy – that can be identified in the latest Baltic art, even when keeping in mind that reflection on socio-political issues and activism are not one and the same.

During the Soviet occupation, from the 1970s till the early 90s in particular, politically oriented art in the Baltics (painting, performance, photography, etc.) focused on issues such as the restriction of various human freedoms and the restoration of state independence. Today, on a global level, the most topical issues for activism include migration policy, environmental change and climate protection, the politics of global security, the ambiguous effects of modern technologies on cognitive processes and privacy, decolonization, the struggle for women’s and minority groups’ rights, etc. Worldwide, many artists, curators, and art organizations focus on these problems in their creative practices. But to what extent are such issues important to young Baltic artists? How actively do they respond to developments in their local community, country, and region, and the world?

The purpose of this symposium is to explore the existence (or absence) of political and social activism in Baltic contemporary art, to pay attention to any peculiarities of its manifestation, and to identify any issues that are currently being addressed, focusing particularly on the youngest generation of Baltic artists and on the use of photography and image. Although the symposium is focused on the Baltic States, in order to gain a wider sense of context and to take advantage of an opportunity to get acquainted with current developments in neighbouring cultural spaces, representatives from fellow Baltic Sea countries – namely, Poland and Germany – will also take part in the symposium.

Program, April 6th

11.20 Opening
11.30 Airi Triisberg - Making Art Politically: Case Studies from the Baltics
12.00 Kaisa Maasik - Your Love Hurts. Interference and Non-interference
12.20 Jana Kukaine - Out of Date, Out of Place: (Mis)interpretations of Feminist Curating
12.40 Mētra Saberova - Art and Social Activism: Scale, Impact and Getting out of Bed
13.00 Šarūnas Kvietkus - Conflicting Values in Contemporary Global Migration
13.30 Dalia Mikonyte - Archive of Activism 1993-2013 and Now
14.00 - 15.00 Lunch Break
15.00 Pauline Doutreluingne - Curatorial Activism for Tentacular Imaginaries
15.30 Claudia Bühler - Talking About an Explosive Theme
15.50 Rafal Milach - Civic Resistance
16.10 Yulia Krivich - Fluid Identity (and how to deal with it)
16.30 Closing Discussion

Participants: Claudia Bühler (DE), Pauline Doutreluingne (BE/DE), Yulia Krivich (UA/PL), Jana Kukaine (LV), Šarūnas Kvietkus (LT), Kaisa Maasik (EE), Dalia Mikonyte (LT), Rafal Milach (PL), Mētra Saberova (LV), Airi Triisberg (EE)
Curator: Elīna Ķempele (LV)
Organizer: Riga Photography Biennial in cooperation with ISSP, Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Goethe-Institut Riga and Embassy of Estonia in Riga
Image: Mētra Saberova. ‘Pimpin' Yo Mama Crib’. 2017.View from the performance. Photo: Valdis Jansons