From September 28th to October 5th, the annual media art and technology festival UPDATE will take place in Liepāja

The annual UPDATE festival combines technology and innovation with art and creativity. The festival program includes workshops for registered participants and public events for everyone – masterclasses, a Family Day with workshops for families and children, a science symposium, an exhibition, and performances by various sound artists and musicians.

Part of the festival program is for registered participants, while another part is open to the public. Registration is required to join the workshops, but other festival activities are available without pre-registration. Since the festival is organized in cooperation with international partners, some parts of the program will be in English. All festival activities are free of charge.

As part of the festival, the “Liepāja 2027 Foundation” (“Nodibinājums Liepāja 2027”) organizes an artist residency. This September, two artists will arrive in Liepāja—Carlos Munnoz from Spain and Iryna Loskot from Ukraine. During the residency, the two artists will collaborate with Liepāja-based artists to create and exhibit new artworks as part of the UPDATE festival exhibition in November. Carlos Munnoz will share his experience of working with artificial intelligence during the festival's workshops, while Iryna Loskot will present a performance exploring the sense of belonging and ecology in the The Printing House Creative Quarter on September 28, during the Afternoon for Art and Science

Festival Program

Afternoon for Art and Sciences in The Printing House Creative Quarter on September 28

The afternoon at the The Printing House Creative Quarter (Andreja Pumpura iela 10, Liepaja) will start with presentations of researchers working in interdisciplinary fields, combining work methods from different scientific fields, and creating hybrid and brand new, innovative approaches to discover new knowledge. Presentation will take place from 13:00 to 15:00.

The program will continue with a performance by Iryna Loskot, where visitors are invited to actively participate. During the performance, participants will reflect on contemporary crises and discuss care for each other and for the planet we all share.

The day will end with a concert featuring various artists. A detailed programme and further descriptions are available on the festival website.

Masterclasses (Online)

Sound Art. Tuesday, 1 October, from 18:00 to 20:00

Germany-based media artist and musician Heinrich Lenz will present his philosophical and technical approach to a unique sound art composition technique that uses self-similarity – a property where parts of an object's structure resemble the whole object at different scales. Examples from nature include the shape of a cauliflower, where each small part resembles the entire cauliflower, or the veins of a tree leaf, which resemble the tree's structure.

AI and Animation. Wednesday, 2 October, from 18:00 to 20:00

French artist and researcher Stéphanie Cadoret will present the results of her research and observations on the use of artificial intelligence tools in 3D and 2D animation.

Exhibition and Family Day on Saturday, 5 October, from 12:00 to 16:00

At the Art Research Laboratory (MPLab, Liepāja, Kūrmājas prospekts 13, basement – entrance from the rear), activities for children and young people will be available during Family Day. The exhibition will showcase artworks and projects created during the festival.

Workshops

The festival offers an educational program for registered participants – week-long workshops where everyone can learn a technological tool or software, participate in conceptual arts practice-led research, or explore different aspects of art and technology. Workshops are free of charge. Some workshops require prior experience with digital technologies, but most are accessible to people with no previous knowledge. Spaces are limited, and participants are admitted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Registered workshop participants will learn motion capture (MOCAP) technologies, create interactive and spatial audiovisual installations and performances, experiment with artificial intelligence systems, and explore new cinematographic techniques using laser scanning. In two conceptual workshops, participants will discover how people, accustomed to being constantly connected to mobile devices, can gain new inspiration by spending time outdoors and off-grid. They will also explore the philosophical potential of the “blue humanities” – the relationship between humans and the sea.

Workshops will take place from September 30 to October 4, every day from 11:00 to 15:00. Workshops are led by international and local artists and researchers, including Zil Lilas (DE/LT), Vytautas Michelkevicius (LT), Tata Frenkel (LT), pETER Purg (SI), Oleksandr Sirous (UA), Heinrich Lenz (DE), Gustavs Lociks (LV), Carlos Munnoz (ES), Anis Haron (MY).

UPDATE is organised by the association of Liepaja media artists ASTE (https://aste.gallery) and RTU Liepaja Academy Art Research Laboratory (MPLab, https://mplab.lv). The activities of the association ASTE in 2024 are supported by the VKKF for professional non-governmental cultural organisations. UPDATE is supported by the Liepaja Municipality institution “Culture Department”, the VKKF, RTU Liepaja Academy and RIXC, a network for art, science, culture and innovation. The event is co-organised by the foundation “Liepāja 2027 Foundation” and the European Union Creative Europe Programme project “CreArt 3.0 #STRINGING_TOGETHER”. The workshop “Soundscapes” is realised in the framework of the Artillery 35 project “Soundfields”, supported by Nordplus Horizontal.

For more information and to apply for workshops, please visit the festival website: www.updatefestival.lv  

Maija Demitere (maija.demitere@gmail.com, +371 29948430)