The talk program on December 14 (1 pm until 6 pm) for the exhibition "Unexpected Encounters" will take the visitor through different times, geographies, utopias, and catastrophes, in our common search for hints for new scenarios for the future. The talks will be moderated by the curators Solvita Krese, Inga Lāce and Andra Silapētere.
Talk program for the exhibition “Unexpected Encounters”:
13.00-14.30
Ieva Balode, Ylva Westerlund, Ann Lislegaard
Artists’ presentations followed by a discussion
In this section of the program, the artists will talk about her works shown at the exhibition, which deal with topical issues in feminism, ecology, and rapid technological development. Ieva Balode will discuss her work, which addresses the issue of whether or not we can imagine history that would be written from a woman’s point of view. What vision of the future would such history offer? Ylva Westerlund will meanwhile consider the imminent consequences of toxic pollution on the shores of the Baltic Sea by settling hybrid creatures and hallucinations in the familiar landscape. Do fantastic dystopic visions offer solutions to the ecological crisis we are facing?
Already nowadays, the world and people are so intimately involved with technologies – a part of our memory is located in different gadgets, implying that cyborg, a creature that is part live being, part gadget is no longer just a matter of sci-fi utopian visions of the near future but, in a way, reality. Ann Lislegaard will talk about her work with a cyborg as a protagonist. Would imagining such hybrid beings help us to get rid of such inveterate dichotomies as nature-human, woman-man? What would the construction of society and the planet be like if there were no such dualities?
14.30-15.30 Break
15.30-16.00
Viktor Timofeyev, Kaspars Groševs (“Zolitūde”) – musical performance.
16.00-18.00
Anton Vidokle, Bahar Noorizadeh, Driant Zeneli, Kristaps Epners
Artists’ presentations followed by a discussion
The author Philip K. Dick introduced his 1978 speech with a question – how to develop a world that would not crash two days later? This question was based both on people’s undying wish to create alternative worlds in literature, cinematography, and, by upturning political systems, in reality and on the difficulties this process entails. In this section of the program, the artists will turn to past utopias and their legacy. Anton Vidokle will turn to Russian cosmism, Bahar Noorizade will revisit proposals for a communist sprawl in the 1929 or Soviet Disurbanism, tracing these blueprints to the contemporary global city, Driant Zeneli will look at the possible futures of the post-industrial city Elbasan in Albania, and Kristaps Epners will talk about the legacy of Guntis “Gunnar” Tannis, who had a dream to build a spectacular futuristic city in the middle of nowhere in Canada. Can we say that a utopia has failed if it has not been realized? Can science fiction provide us with tools for not only imagine utopias but also to carry them out?
The LLMC exhibition "Unexpected Encounters" will focus on the impact of science fiction in Latvian culture in the second half of the last century, with reference to the exhibition series "Science and Science Fiction" that ran from 1975 to 1982. It will include works by contemporary artists highlighting current issues such as feminism, ecology and politics, all imagining alternative futures. The title of the project, "Unexpected Encounters", is taken from the Strugatsky brothers’ short story collection of the same name, published in Riga in 1987. The exhibition will run from 13 December until 23 February 2020.
The participating artists of the "Unexpected Encounters” exhibition are: Māris Ārgalis, Ieva Balode, Auseklis Baušķenieks, Maija Dragūne, Aleksandrs Dembo, Kristaps Epners, Dzidra Ezergaile, Pēteris Džigurs, Nash Glynn, Alberts Goltjakovs, Inārs Helmūts, Ann Lislegaard, Zenta Logina, Malda Muižule, Deimantas Narkevičius, Bahar Noorizadeh, Artūrs Ņikitins, Pakui Hardware, Ivars Poikāns, Māra Rikmane, Artūrs Riņķis, Vladislav Shapovalov, Genādijs Suhanovs, Kirils Šmeļkovs, Viktor Timofeev, Anton Vidokle, Artūrs Virtmanis, Sif Itona Westerberg, Ylva Westerlund, Driant Zeneli, Zheng Bo.
The "Unexpected Encounters" project is supported by: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, Riga City Council, State Culture Capital Foundation, Embassy of Canada in Latvia, Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Latvia, Goethe-Institut Riga, Danish Cultural Institute, Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Latvia, Latvian Artists' Union, Konstnärsnämnden, ĒTER, Latvian National Botanical Garden, DAW Baltica Ltd. ("CAPAROL"), "Priekuļu bloks", "Copy Pro "Neiburgs Hotel", "4 metri ”, "Kates Plates" Ltd., "Tenapors" Ltd., "Malduguns, "Contra ", "Walters & Grapa”, ”ŌBDO”, "Tālavas sidrs ”, Valmiermuiža Brewery, Kokmuiža Brewery, and "Gardu muti" taste movement.
The exhibition forms part of the celebratory events marking Latvia’s centenary. Latvia’s centenary celebrations are taking place from 2017 to 2021. The central message of the centenary celebrations is “I am Latvia”, emphasizing how Latvia's main asset is its people, who make the country what it is today through their daily work and lay the foundations for the future with the new generation.
Media support of the exhibition: "Delfi", Arterritory.com, "Pastaiga", Latvijas Radio 1 "Kultūras Rondo" and "Punctum".