The Riga Photography Biennial (RPB) is an international contemporary art
event, focusing on the
analysis of visual culture and artistic representation. The rapid
development of modern technology
has led us to reassess the meaning of images and the messages they
convey. The internet and social
networks have made photography one of our primary means of
communication, while the
dominance of the virtual environment has significantly changed the way
we perceive and use
images. 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
continue to transform the
lexicon of contemporary art in the 21st century.
RPB covers issues ranging from cultural theory to current
socio-political processes in the Baltics and
wider European region. Using the format of an art festival, RPB attempts
to record changes taking
place all over the world, inviting us to interpret them collectively. We
must not only see, but also
imagine, whilst translating the complicated and oversaturated
contemporary visual language into
meaningful relationships between our daily reality, the camera lens,
history, contemporary art,
technologies and the future.
The Biennial’s Off-year Program—NEXT focuses on early career artists.
The word ‘next’ embodies the
idea of movement. ‘Next’ is a transition—never safe, predictable or
known in advance, it has a direct
and irrevocable presence that constantly poses the question: Is whatever
comes next linked to what
was before? The Off-year Program provides a platform for emerging
artists to announce themselves
in a wider context. The Education Program provides opportunities for
artists and the general public
to learn more about current trends in image culture.
The program of RPB—NEXT 2025 examines various aspects of the main theme
‘invisible but present’.
The central events of NEXT 2025 are two Awards—‘Seeking the latest in
photography!’ and
‘Emerging Curator!’—which young artists and curators of all three Baltic
countries are invited to
enter.