AWARD 2021

The Riga Photography Biennial’s - NEXT and ISSP Gallery’s Award for the competition ‘Seeking the Latest in Photography!’ has been presented to Visvaldas Morkevičius (Lithuania) for his series ‘Looking forward to meet Me’. The special prize – opportunity to publish a photography book with the NoRoutine Books publishing house was presented to Kristīne Krauze Slucka and her series ‘Vibrations of a material universe. Thirst of gold.’. The winning series by Visvaldas Morkevičius will be exhibited during his solo exhibition at the ISSP Gallery as part of the Riga Photography Biennial – NEXT 2021 Programme. The exhibition will launch on April 2021.

This is the fourth year the Riga Photography Biennial’s - NEXT Award for young Baltic photographers has been presented. 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.

The Riga Photography Biennial - NEXT received 45 applications from photographers from the three Baltic States. 15 artists were selected during the first round. The jury nominated 10 finalists who will be invited to participate free of charge in the Riga Photography Biennial – NEXT 2021 Portfolio Review: from Lithuania – Visvaldas Morkevičius, Audrius Kriaučiūnas, Jurgis Gečys; from Estonia – Cloe Jancis, Johanna Rannula, Tanja Muravskaja; from Latvia – Vinita Vilcāne Krilova, Zanda Puče, Adelīna Kalniņa, Ieva Vīksne un Līga Vēliņa. Five finalists will present their projects at Riga Photography Biennial – NEXT 2021 Programme - Visvaldas Morkevičius (LT), Vinita Vilcāne Krilova (LV), Zanda Puče (LV), Adelīna Kalniņa (LV), Audrius Kriaučiūnas (LT).

The award was presented by an internationally renowned jury – Saara Hacklin (FI), curator at the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art; Valentinas Klimašauskas (LT), curator, writer and curator of the 14th Baltic Triennial; Adam Mazur (PL), art critic, art historian and curator; Elena Vaninetti (IT), curator and editor at YET Magazine; Audrey Hoareau (FR), artistic director of Photo Basel; Laura Toots (EE), Curator and project manager of Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia (EKKM) and Evita Goze (LV), artist, curator, journalist and ISSP Gallery representative.

The jury commented on the award-winning series ‘Looking forward to meet Me’: "Visvaldas Morkevičius' work is a playful interpretation of self-analysis, built with great creativity. His practice moves on the borderline with photography using a brilliant mixed media approach. Through which Morkevičius creates a multi-layered visual scenario where the viewer is invited not just to read an author portrait, but also to be looking for its own. The project, conceived in recent months, is a mirror of contemporary social and cultural issues, talking about self-knowledge, introspection and self-acceptance."

The Riga Photography Biennial 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). In 2019 – Annija Muižule (LV). NoRoutine Books award winners were Ieva Balode (LV) in 2016, Madara Gritāne (LV) in 2018 and Reinis Lismanis (LV) in 2019.

Supported by State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia, Riga City Council, ISSP Gallery, NoRoutine Books, Hibnerstudio
Image: Visvaldas Morkevičius. From series ‘Looking forward to meet Me’, 2020