Exhibition of Posters by Artemiy Lebedev Figachu
On 14 August, exhibition of posters by Artemiy Lebedev Figachu (Fooling Around) was opened on Andrejsala. Two days before the opening of the exhibition, the artist himself was Andrejsala’s guest. The exhibition was organized by the society Kultūras sabiedrība, and it was on display until 5 September.
Rozā māja (The Pink House) on the Market Place of Andrejsala
Between the 17 and 20 August, Andrejsala’s Market Place hosted the project supported financially by SIA Jaunrīgas attīstības uzņēmums Rozā māja (The Pink House) by the artists Aigars Bikše and Kristaps Gulbis. In 2005, the project was on display during the 51st International Venice biennial, and in 2006, it has visited Birmingham and Budapest. After Riga, Rozā māja (The Pink House) headed for Bremen, and in October 2006, it took part in the Art Biennial in Lodz, Poland.
On 17 August, there was a chance to see the EU folk costumes produced by Kristaps Gulbis as well as to watch the presentation of the current progress of the project Rozā māja, as well as to familiarise with the idea of the new interdisciplinary art centre CITI (The Other).
On 18 & 19 August, within the framework of the international video and contemporary art festival Ūdensgabali, Rozā māja hosted movie, video and music performances. There was a chance to watch the documentaries produced by Ināra Kolmane and Dainis Kļava, a selection of Latvian video films as well as to watch the films of the international Russian video festival Izolenta and to meet the Izolenta organiser Anna Kolosova.
Rozā māja is a multidisciplinary art project implemented within the international cooperation programme Generation Europe. Each of the project participant countries, in cooperation with the Latvian Art management and information centre, produces its own independent program in the mobile inflatable building “erected” according to the classical Greek architectural style.
Night of House Music
On 18 August, the house music night was held on Andrejsala as a part of the Riga City festival events. The event was organized taking into account the experience of other house music events in the world, and powerful sound equipment was used. The performance was made more attractive by the participation of a VJ (a video artist) as thanks to the specially exposed screen, which fitted well the style of the event, the audience was offered a video show based on the rhythms of music played by DJ’s. The stage of the DJ’s themselves was equipped with a special lighting equipment and was decorated accordingly.
The event hosted the Portuguese DJ duo formed in 1998 – Stressless Project (Jack Malipan & Tiago Dias), the Latvian DJ Bogdan Taran (Dance Box/Amber Muse), DJ Rise (Nautilus/Capital FM), DJ Vanity (Saint) and VJ F-1 from Berlin.
Gallery Biezpiens Opened on Andrejsala
On 25 August, the gallery Biezpiens was officially opened in the Hull Shop of Andrejsala, where one can purchase works by young artists and craftsmen.
Opening of Orbit’s Poetry Lab
On 26 August, Andrejsala’s Power Shop opened the doors of the Orbit’s Poetry Lab. During the event, there were demonstrated several fields and forms of operation that poets intend to develop in cooperation with musicians and new media artists. The program included a video show of works by foreign video artists and poets, the Orbit’s poetry concert together with the group Saules Sound and the poetry installation exhibition.
During the poetry video performance, one could get acquainted with quests related to video art and poetry text interaction opportunities. The poetry video genre has already become an original brand of the Orbit. During the poetry lab opening event, Orbit has also offered the common works by German and Russian video artists.
During the one-hour long poetry concert, the Orbit’s poets read their poems accompanied by live music, which was provided by the group Saules Sound with keyboard instruments, the saxophone and percussion instruments. The music and text synthesis was being created in the presence of the audience. A special atmosphere of the concert was supplemented with an especially prepared video backgrounds.
During the opening of the lab, there were demonstrated the poetry installations the Best Poets. The series of interactive objects and performances was the following stage of the project The Reading Room (In 2005, it was presented during the festival Homo Novus and continued this year during the Cēsis City Festival).
At the end of the event, the Orbit’s premises saw Poetry Radio show – recordings of poetry readings by Latvian and foreign poets.
Press Conference for Latvia’s Exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennial
On 29 August, the Hull Shop on Andrejsala hosted the first press conference devoted to the Venice biennial’s 10th International Architecture exhibition. The press conference was held by the Latvian exhibition organizers.
It was an opportunity to acquire more detailed information on the idea and layout of Latvia’s exhibition as well as the latest news on the Venice biennial’s 10th international architecture exhibition and the Latvia’s participation in it. The theme of the exhibition was: Cities. Architecture and Society. The Latvian exhibition Dice In the City is a story about a transformable, mobile home shaped like a die adaptable for various uses.
