Residencies

ISSP Riga Residency

The applications are now open for the ISSP Riga photography residency 2025 (May - December)! 

Ongoing since 2018, the ISSP Riga Residency provides an opportunity for concentrated work on personal research or photography/art project informed by interaction with Riga and its residents, or much-needed time to rethink and complete ongoing work. We welcome photographers and artists interested in researching and exploring the local social and cultural context and connecting to ISSP platform of activities and other contemporary art and culture actors in Latvia. 

We encourage knowledge exchange and are happy to support any topical interactions with local photographic/artistic community, our students, teenagers, or other local inhabitants.  

In 2025, the residency programme is run in collaboration with two Latvian contemporary culture organisations - kuš! komikss and TUR telpa. The residency apartment will thus be shared with other comics artists or visual artists. The residency is supported by the State Culture Capital Programme.
image: Emma Backlund

Who can apply?
ISSP residency programme is open for photographers and artists working with photography or any type of image - based art. There are no limitations regarding age, background or photographic style of the participants. The residents will be accepted based on the strength of their portfolio, residency calendar, and possibilities for local engagement.   

NB! We will offer a fully funded 1 to 2 month residency to one Ukranian photographer - please see Residency for Ukrainian Artists for more information and applications.

Duration and timing 
1 to 2 months. The programme is planned in full month slots, from 1st to last day of the month. Longer stays are recommended if you plan to develop locally-based work. 

Expences
The stay in the residency apartment is free of charge. The residents will receive up to 200 EUR compensation of travel costs and other expenditures. The participants are responsible for other costs of their stay in Riga. 

What we offer: 
- stay in a beautiful centrally-located residency apartment in Riga,
- access to the ISSP local network and introduction to Riga art and contemporary culture scene,
- support in your research and project implementation,
- regular contact with a friendly local coordinator, 
- a possibility to use library, printer, and extra equipment at the ISSP premises,
- a possibility to meet with the local community at an artist talk, to organise a pop-up exhibition, a small workshop, or other events as mutually agreed.
- an official invitation letter that you can use to apply for public funding. 

What we expect from the residents:
- to work on their artistic project in Riga / Latvia for the period of the residency,
- to be open to interact with the local audience in the form of an artist talk or other public event,
- within one month upon the completion of the residency, to send us a selection of images produced for publicity purposes. 

Accommodation and facilities
The artists-in-residence will reside in a fully equipped, spacious residency apartment close to the city centre (Brīvības Street 190, Riga), shared with 3 other residents. Each artist will have a private bedroom with a working table, and have access to a shared living room, fully equipped kitchen and 2 bathrooms. 
Other facilities: wi-fi, scanner, bicycle.
Accessibility: The apartment is located on the 3rd floor, there is no elevator in the building. 


TO APPLY 
Fill in this APPLICATION FORM attaching a link to your portfolio and the idea of a project you would like to work on during the residency. Application deadline: 9 March 2025. 
Let us know if you have any questions!

Organisers  
The Riga Residency is curated by ISSP – a platform for contemporary photography, art and education. More information about our activities here: www.issp.lv/en/about. In 2025, the residency programme is run in collaboration with two Latvian contemporary culture organisations - kuš! komikss and TUR telpa. 

Host town
Riga stands at a geographical and cultural crossroads between Eastern and Western Europe and has a multicultural history. The largest city in the Baltic States, Riga offers plenty of tradition and historical charm, while its urban neighbourhoods still bear witness to post-Soviet reality. There is an active art and culture scene with plenty to discover; the countryside with beautiful forests and beaches can be easily reached by public transport. 

Since the start of our Riga Residency in summer 2018, we hosted over 100 artists from different corners of Europe and some from further away in the world. You can get an insight into some of the work created in Riga in the galleries below.  



Contacts
In case of questions, contact us at residencies@issp.lv 

In the period July 2021 - December 2023 the Residency was supported by the Nordic Culture Point (project "United Riga Residency for photographers and illustrators").