Festival Riga Photomonth announces 2017 programm

RIGA - From 8 – 31 May the international Riga Photomonth 2017 festival will offer exhibitions and lectures, artist talks, film screening and other events under the common theme of Facts and Clarifications. Riga Photomonth is an international photography festival presenting contemporary Northern and Eastern European photography that takes place in Riga, Latvia every May since 2014.

“Various contemporary developments have permanently loosened our faith in photography as a representation of reality.  Documentary and fiction overlap also in the work of the artists selected for the festival. Freely and intuitively, they create new and re-interpret existing images, finding themes for their work in historical and political events as well as everyday banalities,” comments Alnis Stakle, one of festival curators.

The festival’s central exhibition, featuring artists Peter Puklus (Hungary), Lucia Nimcova (Slovakia), Pavel Maria Smejkal (Slovakia) and Roman Korovin (Latvia) will be unveiled on 10 May in the Exhibition Hall of the National Library of Latvia. In their work, the selected artists focus on complex, paradoxical, tragic, as well as comic situations and their interpretations in Eastern Europe.

From 21 May – 2 June the kim? Contemporary Art Centre will host an exhibition by famous Ukrainian artist collective Synchrodogs. Their surreal photographs balance between the real and imagined, drawing the viewer into an unconscious, wild and dream-like world.

From 11 to 14 May Self Publish Riga, a series of events dedicated to photobooks and self-publishing organized by ISSP will be held at K. K. Fon Stricka villa. It will feature an extensive exhibition of books, an installation created especially for the event by Swedish artists Klara Källström and Thobias Fäldt, as well as lectures by industry experts, presentations, and activities for young people.

The festival program also includes two solo exhibitions – Leaving Paradise by Ilze Vanaga (Latvia), opening on 12 May at Kaņepes Culture Centre, and Sparks by Wiktoria Wojciechowska (Poland) on the war in Ukraine, opening on 11 May at the Latvian Museum of Photography.

In addition, during Riga Photomonth 2017 the FK Prize will be presented to the best emerging Latvian photographer by an international jury, the Latvian Photography 2017 yearbook will be launched, as well as a series of lectures, artist talks, film screenings and other events. For a detailed program please see rigaphotomonth.com

Riga Photomonthis an international photography festival presenting contemporary Northern and Eastern European photography. The festival takes place since 2014 and is organized by the Riga Photomonth association, ISSP and FK Magazine in collaboration with the Latvian Museum of Photography, kim? Contemporary Art Centre, the Riga Film Museum, the National Library of Latvia. The festival is supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia, Riga City Council and other partners.