On the morning of October 12, as part of the “Liepāja – European Capital of Culture 2027” programme, artist Kristīne Brīniņa held a closing event at the Priekule Day Centre, bringing together centre visitors, employees and family members to mark the conclusion of her residency.
The event was part of an inclusive art residency led by director and movement artist Kristīne Brīniņa, which took place over several months in Priekule. During the residency, the artist, together with visitors to the Priekule Day Center, created a movement ritual based on imagination and play – a simple, repeatable sequence of exercises in which both the movements suggested by the participants themselves and their mutual interaction play a significant role. The goal of the project was to create a regular movement practice that could be organically integrated into the center’s daily routine and that the center’s staff could continue to lead even after the residency concluded.
The methodology of the residency is inspired by Zenta Mauriņa’s humanistic view of people. In her work, people are not defined by their limitations, but rather by their inner world, their relationships, and their ability to create meaning. In this project, too, the focus is not on what a person cannot do, but on what they notice, how they inhabit space, how they form relationships with others, and what kind of world they create around themselves. At the end of the event, the artist shared an excerpt from Mauriņa’s book “Sirds mozaīka” (The Mosaic of the Heart): “You cannot demand closeness the way you demand the repayment of a debt. You can force someone to share a space with you, but never force them to share their heart with you”.
Text in simple language
“We can’t force someone else to be our friend.
We can be together in the same room. But that doesn’t mean we’re close.
Closeness happens when people trust each other and want to be together.
You can’t demand trust. It takes time.”
Kristīne Brīniņa is an independent choreographer, director, and performer whose artistic practice focuses on documentary theater, exploring how to translate human experiences, stories, and everyday observations into the language of the stage. She has developed her own method of documentary dance, in which movement becomes a tool for exploring and revealing human experience. Central to her work is a direct and empathetic encounter between documentary material, the performer, and the audience, as well as the inclusion of the experiences of various social groups in the artistic process.
Kristīne graduated from the Latvian Academy of Culture with a degree in contemporary dance choreography, earned a master’s degree in writing from the RTU Liepāja Academy, and studied New Media Art at the University of Liepāja. She has received the Spēlmaņu nakts Award, the Liepāja Culture Award, and the dance.lv Editorial Award for her work.
The “Zenta Mauriņa Summer School” project, in which artists Anda Lāce, Kristīne Brīniņa, and Eva Vēvere are conducting inclusive residencies together with communities of people with disabilities in the South Kurzeme region, is being implemented by the foundation – the creative foundation “COLORIZE” as part of the “Liepāja – European Capital of Culture 2027” programme, using funding allocated by the City of Liepāja, the South Kurzeme and Kuldīga regions, and the Ministry of Culture. The project curators are Māra Žeikare and Lība Bērziņa.
The project “Liepāja – European Capital of Culture 2027” is implemented by the foundation “Nodibinājums Liepāja 2027”, the Liepāja City Municipality, and official partners – the South Kurzeme Municipality and the Kuldīga Municipality. Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture. The Liepāja 2027 programme is supported by its main partner in environmental education and sustainability, AS “CleanR Grupa”, main partner in air mobility and international communications, AS “Air Baltic Corporation”, partner in financial literacy and business growth, AS “SEB banka”; land mobility partner, SIA “Lux Express Latvia”, partner in legal matters, SIA “Sorainen ZAB”, maritime mobility and international communication partner, SIA “Stena Line” and car rental partner, “SIXT”. Media partners – VSIA “Latvijas Sabiedriskais medijs”, SIA “Žurnāls Santa”, SIA “Tvnet grupa”, AS “Kurzemes Radio”.
Lība Bērziņa
Representative of the foundation “Colorize”
Phone: +371 28 649 014
E-mail: berzina.liba@gmail.com
As part of the “Liepāja – European Capital of Culture 2027” program, world-renowned Canadian-American singer and composer Rufus Wainwright will perform at Liepāja Concert Hall “Great Amber” on January 30, 2027, at 6:00 PM.
Registration opens on 26 October 2026 for EUROPA CANTAT 2027, one of Europe’s major choral music events, which will take place in Liepāja, Latvia, from 9 to 15 August 2027.
This week, on 22–23 October, the RIXC Art Science Festival 2026 “Climate Imagination” will take place at the National Library of Latvia (NLL), 3 Mūkusalas Street, Riga, and online.