Futures Talents 2024: ISSP
Co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union, FUTURES is a Europe-based photography platform bringing together the global photography community to support the professional development of emerging and mid-career artists across the world. The platform currently has 18 active member organizations across Europe. Every year, each member nominates artists to join the platform, who then gain access to a wide network of professionals, markets and audiences increasing their commercial opportunities. Since joining the FUTURES platform in 2022, ISSP has been working towards offering the opportunities presented by the network to artists from the Baltic region.
We are happy to announce the five artists we invited to join the FUTURES platform this year – Agate Tūna (LV), Gedvile Tamosiunaite (LT), Katya Lesiv (UA), Klaus Leo Richter (AT/LT), Ruudu Ulas (EE). Their projects mirror the concerns and reflections of a context of wars and the rise of digital realities. We believe these five artists will contribute to the FUTURES artistic community with the diversity of their approaches, demonstrating the role of the artist in a changing and challenging world.
Agate Tūna's work "Techno-Spectre" challenges traditional photography by immersing viewers in a space where historical perspectives on capturing the unseen blend with the connections between photography, spirituality, and technology. By using an experimental photography technique called chemigrams, Agate metaphorically explores the digital traces people leave in the virtual world, ranging from subtle saved data to more noticeable elements like lasting social media posts. This enduring digital presence is compared to a haunting spectre that persists long after its creation. The artist draws inspiration from the concept of a "ghost," a recurring theme in her work, symbolising the ongoing effort to capture the elusive in photography.
With the photographic work “Kliudžia”, Gedvile Tamošiūnaitė refers to a Lithuanian language phonetic trope, its pronunciation reminiscent of cutting, hitting, a physical material encounter. Tamošiūnaite’s interest lies at the intersections of the physical and digital realms – various facets of these transitions and their manifestations in the social and emotional spheres of individuals. One focal point is the exploration of adolescence as a phase marked by physical and emotional transformations, where innocence and playful games may evolve into expressions of aggression or unwarranted violence. This theme is elucidated through visual and conceptual references to gaming and play, which have emerged as a significant issue during past decades.
Ruudu Ulas’s work "Difficult Objects" delves into the meeting point of the tangible and the psychological through a collection of photographic works. Each piece explores the territory between the familiar and the unknown, encouraging contemplation of our connection with everyday objects. In mirroring the fragmented nature of daily life across digital, urban, and domestic spaces, the project combines images ranging from staged scenes to documentary captures. It aims to outline the intersections and blendings of urban landscapes and domestic ones, inviting the imagination to interpret and understand the complex amalgamation of our experiences.
Klaus Leo Richter resides in the small village of Bajorai in northeast Lithuania. This place serves as a starting point of his photographic series dedicated to Kastute – a woman who lived in a slowly deteriorating wooden house nearby until her passing in 1990. The primary theme of Richter's series revolves around the act of an individual refusing to engage with an oppressive system and the subsequent consequences that follow. The work explores the motivations and circumstances that drive non-compliance. The series also delves into the theme of punishment, particularly the historical practice of punishing individuals by denying them access to the comforts of civilization, placing them within the sphere of "nature".
Katya Lesiv, a Ukrainian artist, presents a poignant reflection in her project, "I’m going home to eat mulberries from the tree," encapsulated by a gentle manifesto to the resolute embrace of choice, intricately woven with a delicate acknowledgement of its fleeting nature. The project transcends personal experiences, serving as a reflection on foundations and attachments during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since her childhood, the artist has cherished the act of eating berries from bushes. This simple yet profound act becomes a metaphor for emotional refuge.
In two previous years, artists Reinis Hofmanis (LV), Zane Priede (LV), Jurģis Peters (LV), Cloe Jancis (EE), Ieva Baltaduonytė (LT), Kristīne Krauze Slucka (LV), Kristina Õllek (EE), Konstantins Žukovs (LV), Sergey Melnitchenko (UA) and Vika Eksta (LV) joined the platform on behalf of ISSP
Human Baltic is the first-ever joint Baltic art project in Japan. It presents more than 200 photographs by 17 authors of the golden age humanist photography of 1960-1990 and The Baltic Way in one of the most prestigious galleries of Tokyo - Spiral Garden.
On April 21, 18.30 we start a series of lectures on art and activism with an online talk by the 'magician of rebellion', co-founder of Reclaim The Streets movement J. Jordan (FR) - "In-between Everything: art and activism, nature and culture, male and female – a non-binary guide to creative rebellion”.
21. aprīlī plkst. 18.30 aicinām uz 'dumpju burvja', Reclaim the Streets kustības līdzdibinātāja J. Jordana tiešsaistes lekciju “Visam pa vidu: māksla un aktīvisms, daba un kultūra, vīrišķais un sievišķais – radošas sacelšanās nebinārās vadlīnijas”.
PARALLEL call for new artists / new curators is now open! Apply now to be on PARALLEL's 3rd cycle and become part of a vast network of artists, curators and other art professionals that will help you through your creative process, from idea to exhibition. Application deadline - March 31st.
We are very excited to be a part of new European platform - PARALLEL, that brings together 18 European arts organisations, emerging artists and curators to promote a new quality standard for contemporary photography - the first of its kind co-funded by the European Platforms of Creative Europe.
Happy to present the work created by artist Vika Eksta during her residency at Townhouse Gallery, Cairo, September - October 2016, as part of the project Alternative Storytelling.
Vika's video piece speaks about past and contemporary ways of archiving, also including conversations with people engaged in the practice. For the artist this was also her first personal encounter with Egypt – a country with a rich history and a complicated present.
Last week we had the chance to present the results of Alternative Storytelling - our collaboration project with Townhouse Gallery - in Villa Méditeranée, Marseille. The programme was developed thanks to the generous support of the Tandem Shaml programme!
Aicinām uz pasākumu Putekļi un zelts - vakaru mūsdienu Ēģiptes atmosfērā, kas notiks 1. decembrī plkst. 19.30 Aleponijā. Septembra nogalē māksliniece Vika Eksta pavadīja trīs nedēļas mūsu organizētajā rezidencē Townhouse galerijā, Kairā, Ēģiptē, projekta Alternative Storytelling ietvaros. Šajā laikā tapa multimediāli darbi un vizuālas piezīmes par pavadīto laiku zemē ar bagātu pagātni, haotisku tagadni un neskaidru nākotni.
No 5.augusta līdz 18. septembrim aicinām apmeklēt ISSP Fotogrāfijas rezidences 2015 izstādi Kuldīgā! Izstādē piedalās fotogrāfi Adams Golfers (ASV) un Džemils Baturs Gekšērs (Turcija).
From August 5 - September 18, visit Kuldīga to see the ISSP Photography Residency 2015 exhibition, featuring new work by Adam Golfer (USA) and Cemil Batur Gökçeer (TR).
A selection of works by Alex F. Webb and Jonas Feige created during the the Flâneur Riga residency (April - May 2016).
Aicinām Pelču iedzīvotājus vecumā no 18 gadiem pieteikties radošai fotodarbnīcai "Pelču leģendas", kas notiks Starptautiskās fotogrāfijas vasaras skolas (ISSP) ietvaros no 2. - 3. jūlijam un no 6. - 14. augustam!
Ielūdzam uz Flâneur rezidences prezentāciju K.K.fon Stricka villā 25.maijā plkst 18:30 - savus Rīgā tapušos darbus vienreizējā instalācijā prezentēs mākslinieki Alekss F. Vebs un Jonass Feige. Notikums tapis sadarbībā ar radošo kolektīvu Orbīta.
We cordially invite you to the Flâneur residency presentation event featuring the works of Alex F. Webb and Jonas Feige created during their month long residency in Riga on 25 May at K.K.fon Stricka villa! The event is organised in collaboration with the Orbita collective.
We cordially invite you to talks by the Flâneur project resident artists in Riga - Alex F. Webb and Jonas Feige on Wednesday 11 May 6.30 pm at the ISSP Studio!
Aicinām uz Flâneur projekta rezidences mākslinieku Aleksa F. Veba un Jonasa Feiges autorvakaru trešdien, 11. maijā plkst. 18.30 ISSP Studijā!