From 27 to 29 September, the city of Liepāja hosted the tenth edition of the Liepāja Art Forum, a contemporary art festival that explored the theme of Continuity in its many forms. Over the course of the weekend, seven engaging contemporary art events invited festivalgoers to embark on a profound journey inward – whether through meditative reflections in a “Rothko Chapel” inspired concert, imagining the afterlife, take another perspective of the daily routines at the popular Liepāja Peter’s Market, or exploring the limits of visual art and contemporary dance in an exhibition of emerging talent.
“This year, as we celebrate our tenth anniversary, it's a moment to reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re heading,” remarked Baiba Bartkeviča, the festival’s artistic director, during the opening. “That’s why we chose “Continuity” as the thematic backbone of the festival. It’s an invitation to pause and consider what we carry forward in our work, our attitudes, and our legacy. The festival’s program is built to encourage deep thought on these essential themes, with the featured artists addressing profound topics such as consciousness, life’s fulfilment, and our connection with the universe.”
The festival kicked off with the curator Inese Rozentāle’s exhibition "Growth Stories: 15 Years of the SEB Scholarship in Painting", which highlights the artistic growth of 15 past scholarship winners. These artists, working in both classical and experimental styles, delve into themes ranging from social and religious to philosophical. The exhibition, housed in the "Civita Nova" art space of the Great Amber Concert Hall, runs until 3 November. Featured artists include Neonilla Medvedeva, Atis Jākobsons, Zane Tuča, Elza Sīle, Laimdota Malle, Klāvs Loris, Madara Neikena, Zīle Ziemele, Sandra Strēle, Kristaps Priede, Anna Pommere, Krišjānis Elviks, Madara Kvēpa, Alise Builevica, and Katrīna Biksone.
The opening day continued with a captivating audiovisual experience—an ethereal meditation through sound. Evija Vēbere, singing in the ancient Buddhist Pali language, and the Art-i-Shock trio performed a mono-opera titled “Awareness”, composed by Krists Auznieks. This performance, rooted in the Satipatthana Sutta, symbolically guides listeners along a spiritual path of awareness. Accompanying video projections by Katrīna Neiburga enhanced the meditative atmosphere, while the evening’s energy transitioned into the “Pulse” opening party, where Evija Vēbere and Elīna Silova invited everyone to lose themselves in a fusion of improvised beats and transcendent soundscapes.
As every year, the festival expanded beyond the walls of the Great Amber, and this time, Liepāja's beloved Peter's Market became an unconventional stage for contemporary dance. What existed in Peter's Market 100,000 years ago? How many kilograms of potatoes are delivered here each week? How many tiles cover the central pavilion? These intriguing questions became part of the performance as Norwegian and Japanese choreographers Heine Avdal and Yukiko Shinozaki, along with Latvian artists “IevaKrish”, Kristīne Brīniņa, and other local dancers, transformed the space with their contemporary dance piece "Borrowed Landscape." It surprised everyday shoppers while offering an engaging, thought-provoking experience for those curious enough to explore answers through the voices heard in their headphones, drawing them deeper into the story of the market's space and history.
On the second day of the festival, the Great Hall of the Great Amber Concert Hall transformed into a space akin to the Rothko Chapel, inviting the audience to draw strength, find comfort, and reflect on our shared humanity. Under the direction of conductor Kaspars Putniņš, the programme featured the Latvian Radio Choir alongside an ensemble of exceptional local instrumentalists, including Ineta Abakuka (viola), Sanita Glazenburga (celesta), Juris Žvikovs (piano), Juris Āzers (percussion), and Guntars Freibergs (percussion). Their performance wove together vocal and instrumental works by Caroline Shaw, John Cage, Steve Reich, and Toshio Hosokawa, teasing the audience’s senses with a harmonious blend of sound. The concert culminated in a performance of Morton Feldman's masterpiece, Rothko Chapel, capturing the profound psychological tension reflected in Mark Rothko's deep purple paintings.
For families, Sunday morning offered the playful yet sensory performance "Seasons" by the Cēsis Small Theatre. Actresses Rūta Dišlere and Ilze Bloka led children and parents alike through a hands-on exploration of the changing seasons, using music, movement, and play to forge connections between emotions and nature’s cycles.
Closing the festival on a bold note, pianists Robert Fleitz, Rihards Plešanovs, and poet Madara Gruntmane unveiled their newly created collaborative piece, “Requiem for the Afterlife”, in the Chamber Hall of the Great Amber. This evocative work, crafted specifically for the festival, explored themes of self-acceptance and blurred the lines between life and death. In the afterlife-inspired world imagined by the creators, the audience was invited to confront fear, ignorance, and reflect deeply on their life values. This poetic and musical journey into the chthonic realm was rooted in Madara Gruntmane's poetry collection “Aizmīlestība”(AfterLove), with piano music carefully selected from both Latvian and international composers to match its tone. The performance was further enriched by improvisations from the artists, adding a unique and spontaneous dimension to the experience
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