Riga Photography Biennial and ISSP Gallery announce open call for the Seeking the Latest in Photography! Award 2019

August 23, 2018
Author Echo Gone Wrong
Published in Calls from Latvia

3_taavi_suisaluTill 1st 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.

Artists and photographers from the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) who are at the beginning their careers and aged between 18 and 35 are invited to submit works for the competition.

The winning artist will be selected by an international jury: 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 Schule (DE), ‘Unseen’ project manager and co-curator; 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.

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. 

The Riga Photography Biennial (RPB) is an international contemporary art event, focusing on the analysis of visual culture and artistic representation. The term ‘photography’ in the title of the biennial is used as an all-embracing concept encompassing a mixed range of artistic image-making practices that have continued to transform the lexicon of contemporary art in the 21st century.

Riga Photography Biennial is a member of the International Biennial Association and one of the founding organisations of the Association of Latvian Contemporary Art Festivals.

The 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.

Further information about applying: http://www.rpbiennial.com