The media art and technology festival UPDATE: Blue Shift takes place in Liepaja from September 29 to October 4, bringing together artists, researchers, and students from across Europe. The festival explores cutting-edge developments in media art, sound and visual practices, and digital technologies, with a strong focus on the interplay between art, technology, and ecology.
The theme of the festival, “Blue Shift,” captures the sense of movement and transformation – a change of perspective that makes the unseen visible. It opens a space to experience the world around us in a new way: through art and technology, through the shifting ecosystems of the Baltic Sea, and through reflections on our connection with the environment.
This year, the program explores diverse artistic and research practices: a tea ceremony reflecting on temporality and presence; video, animation, and illustration workshops that bridge analogue and digital creation; multichannel sound art; experiments in AI companionship; and ecological research on microplastic pollution in the Baltic Sea.
Throughout the week, participants engage in workshops, masterclasses, and field trips, exploring instruments, techniques, and ideas. UPDATE becomes an incubator of creativity – a space for intensive learning and international networking that goes far beyond the academic education.
Friday, October 3, at 17:00 – presentations by participants at the Art Research Laboratory (MPLab, Kūrmājas pr. 13, basement, entrance from the yard).
Saturday, October 4, from 12:00 to 16:00 – a public exhibition of all works created during the festival at MPLab, with creative and technological activities for children and young people.
The Media Art and Technology Festival UPDATE: Blue Shift is implemented within the framework of the “Liepāja 2027” programme, with funding provided by the Ministry of Culture, the State City of Liepāja, and the municipalities of South Kurzeme and Kuldīga.
UPDATE is organised by the association of Liepaja media artists ASTE (https://aste.gallery) and RTU Liepaja Academy Art Research Laboratory (MPLab).
UPDATE is supported by the foundation “Liepāja 2027”, the Liepaja Municipality, and Liepaja Municipality institution “Culture Department”, Kurzeme planning region, the VKKF, RTU Liepaja Academy, and RIXC, a network for art, science, culture and innovation. The activities of the association ASTE in 2025 are supported by the VKKF for professional non-governmental cultural organisations.
UPDATE is organised by the association of Liepaja media artists ASTE (https://aste.gallery) and RTU Liepaja Academy Art Research Laboratory (MPLab).
The Media Art and Technology Festival UPDATE: Blue Shift is implemented within the framework of the “Liepāja 2027” programme, with funding provided by the Ministry of Culture, the State City of Liepāja, and the municipalities of South Kurzeme and Kuldīga.
UPDATE is supported by the foundation “Liepāja 2027”, the Liepaja Municipality, and Liepaja Municipality institution “Culture Department”, Kurzeme planning region, the VKKF, RTU Liepaja Academy, and RIXC, a network for art, science, culture and innovation. The activities of the association ASTE in 2025 are supported by the VKKF for professional non-governmental cultural organisations.
From October 19 to 21, actors from the Liepāja Theatre, the Liepāja Puppet Theatre, and the Latvia Puppet Theatre are participating in inspiring masterclasses led by choreographer and researcher Dalija Aćin Thelander.
The Skills Exchange Platform “Skill Market” goal is to promote the preservation, development, and mutual exchange of craft skills among masters from different generations, industries, and communities. Project activities will take place from October 2025 to May 2027.
On November 7 and 8 at 7:00 p.m., Liepāja Concert Hall “Great Amber” invites audiences to join the culmination of its 10th year anniversary celebrations, where a long-cherished dream will come true – the performance of Arnold Schoenberg’s romantic oratorio Gurre-Lieder.