On 9 August, a new chapter was added to Grobiņa’s landscape, as the environmental art trail “Face to Face with Natural”, created by the Liepāja 2027 Foundation, opened to the public along the banks of the Ālande River. Winding across 1.5 kilometres, this trail brings together three newly commissioned contemporary artworks by Ieva Viese, Krista Dintere, and Rihards Vītols, offering a sensory and reflective journey through time, sound, and speculative futures.
The trail invites not only walking shoes, but also open minds, offering a moment to pause, listen, and consider nature not simply as scenery, but as a living dialogue partner, shaped by history and now meeting the digital age head-on.
“Today we cheer not only for new additions to the Ālande’s banks, and this isn’t just about adding art to a nature trail – it’s about opening a space where we can stop for a moment, tune in to our surroundings, and really listen. Nature is always shifting, and so are we. With Liepāja 2027, we’re exploring how change doesn’t have to feel like a crisis – it can be a chance to learn new ways of living, thinking, being. I hope this trail becomes a place people return to again and again – not just for the view, but for the quiet conversations it starts within”, said Baiba Bartkeviča, Artistic Director of Liepāja 2027, during the opening.
To experience the full richness of the trail, visitors are encouraged to set aside around 40 minutes to explore all three artworks – to activate the augmented reality in Rihards Vītols’ installation using their smartphones, to join the rhythmic play in Krista Dintere’s interactive sound work, and to linger with the meditative stillness of Ieva Viese’s sculptural piece. A map of the art installations is available here.
Ieva Viese’s multimedia installation “Triality” is a clear symbol of the melding of the ancient and the contemporary. Cast iron trilobites, ancient sea creatures, are used to symbolically represent this fusion. The work boldly reflects on movement, layers of time and a third plane of perception – as a connection between humans, the environment and the unknown.
Krista Dintere’s interactive sound sculpture “Parkšķi” immerses visitors in the soundscape of Kurzeme’s wetlands. With specially designed instruments mimicking the call of the protected eastern tree frog, visitors are invited to join this rarely met amphibian chorus in a playful dialogue. The installation becomes a rhythm-based game of interspecies communication, where sound, participation and environmental awareness intertwine.
Rihards Vītols’ work “Plastiverss” opens a window into a future speculative ecology, where nature and technology no longer clash, but co-create. Using augmented reality, the installation reveals hybrid trees and an evolving biosphere, imagining a future in which humans are no longer the only architects of evolution.
The art trail “Face to Face with Natural” is part of the Liepāja 2027 – European Capital of Culture programme, developed in close collaboration with the South Kurzeme Municipality and curated by Anna Priedola. The initiative was made possible with the support of the Liepāja City Council, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, and Lux Express – the largest intercity bus company in the Baltic region.
The trail begins at the Mētru Street’s car park by the Ālande River and will remain open to the public until the end of 2027.
For more information and a closer look at the artworks, please visit: www.liepaja2027.lv/en
Foundation “Liepāja 2027”
Public Relations and Marketing Department
Phone: +371 29 817 736
E-mail: komunikacija@liepaja2027.lv
The foundation “Liepāja 2027” invites cultural professionals, event organisers, institution managers, producers, and everyone interested to participate in the international conference “Cultural Renovation”, which will take place on 22 October 2025, at Liepāja Concert Hall “Lielais dzintars”.
Three works of art located on the banks of the Ālande River mark the constant changes in nature and invite trail visitors to get to know the meeting of the layers of the past, present and future in the coastal landscape during the hike.
