Call for Applications: LCCA Summer School 2025 “Art, Agency and Institutional Transformation”
Location: Alūksne, Latvia
Dates: 6–11 August 2025
Application Deadline: 22 June 2025
The Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art (LCCA) is excited to announce the 12th edition of its Summer School, which will take place in Alūksne, Latvia, from 6–11 August 2025. This year’s programme, focusing on institutional critique and its complex contexts in both the recent past and the current landscape of Central and Eastern Europe, will be the first to be held in this historically and culturally rich city, located on Latvia’s Eastern border.
Who Should Apply?
The Summer School is open to early-career artists, art historians, humanities and social science scholars, curators, and cultural studies researchers. MA and PhD students are particularly encouraged to apply.
Application Process
To apply, please complete the application form and submit a motivation letter here. [1]
• Application Deadline: 22 June 2025
• Notification of Results: 26 June 2025
The programme will be conducted in English.
While participation is free of charge, participants will need to cover partial accommodation and catering costs (150 EUR).
Details on how to apply for the open lectures, which will be free of charge and open to the public for anyone interested in the topic, will be shared in July.
Programme Overview
The 2025 LCCA Summer School will be dedicated to institutional critique and its diverse, yet complex, contexts in the recent past and contemporary situation in Central and Eastern Europe. The programme will reflect on the historical, political, and social transformations of the region, particularly the legacy of Soviet rule, and the transition to liberal democracy and capitalism. Art practices in this context have addressed questions such as censorship, propaganda, the legacies of the Soviet past, national identity, memory, and the redefinition of cultural institutions in the post-Soviet era.
Together with the lecturers, participants will explore commonalities and local differences in institutional critique within the realms of art and culture in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). We will discuss how external factors have influenced processes in the region and what kinds of institutional practices have shaped the national-European dialectic in the development of CEE arts. The programme will rethink how institutional critique post-1989 has conceptualized the position and role of CEE on the global stage, and whether the dichotomies of the latter half of the twentieth century, such as East versus West, continue to influence these discussions.
The programme aims to rethink questions related to art criticism and cultural reflection, and how they influence and shape the cultural scene. Furthermore, our exploration extends to the concepts of inclusion and sustainability, and how to ensure they don’t merely become a policy or protocol for institutions and practitioners in the fields of art and culture. Conversely, we will also consider strategies to prevent the instrumentalization of culture and art for addressing issues such as education, healthcare, and sustainability, that often occurs through policies and grants.
Accessibility
We are committed to ensuring that the Summer School is accessible to all participants. Please reach out to us if you have specific accessibility requirements or need any assistance.
Contact Information
For any questions regarding the application process and accessibility please contact:
• Andris Freibergs: lccasummerschool@gmail.com
• Andra Silapētere: silapetere@lcca.lv
The LCCA Summer School is organised in cooperation with the Alūksne Municipality and supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation and Cewood.