Young artists from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia are invited to submit their work for the Riga Photography Biennial – NEXT 2023 Award “Seeking the Latest in Photography!”. 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 reflecting the current times.
The biennial’s Off-year Programme - NEXT focuses on young and promising artists from the Baltics, Nordic countries and Europe who are still in the early stages of their careers. By introducing young and promising artists, the NEXT Programme offers visibility and provides a platform for artists to announce themselves to a wider context.
The award winner will have an opportunity to hold a solo exhibition at the ISSP Gallery within the framework of the Riga Photography Biennial – NEXT 2023 program held in May 2023, where the awarding of other laureates will also take place.
The jury members will nominate five finalists (including the winner) who will present their work at the exhibition launch and ten finalists who will be granted the opportunity to participate free of charge in the NEXT 2023 programme portfolio review. For the second time, the foundation VV Foundationwill choose a laureate for a 1000 euro monetary prize and an opportunity to spend a month working at their residency PAiR in Pāvilosta, Latvia. The founders of the independent publishing initiaive NoRoutine Books, Gytis Skudžinskas and Vilma Samulionyte (LT), will select one of the participants for their own award – the opportunity to publish a photo book.
Applicants must submit 10 to 15 photographs (artwork created in the past three years, or a project still in progress). Deadline for submitting is 2 October. Find more information here.
ISSP is a platform for contemporary photography, based in Latvia and acting internationally. ISSP offers highest-quality education and networking programmes for photographers, organises exhibition and events, and creates new ways to promote the cross-border exchange of ideas in the art of photography.
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.
VV Foundation was founded in 2018 by art enthusiasts: lawyer and art patroness Vita Liberte, architect Vilnis Štrams and art historian Jānis Borgs. The foundation’s mission – to promote contemporary art and art education in Latvia. The foundation aims to promote cooperation between the creative scene in Latvia and foreign artists, theoreticians, curators, musicians and other representatives of creative industries.
NoRoutine Books is an independent publishing initiative dedicated to designing and printing unique fine arts books. All publications are strictly limited to 99 copies (+AP) with some unique elements included. Post‐printing processes are finalized in the NoRoutine Books studio.
