Topic: Annual award in visual arts - why and what?
These giants have but one last chance
They have to fight each other in battle
It will be broadcast on the radio,
shown on TV
The whole world will be there to see
The one single winner of this battle of
giants
Will be invited to take part in a banquet
He will be applauded and cheered at
At the sight of him people will cheer
and shout
Battle of giants, battle of giants
Giving any awards for excellence in something is a landscape of values and evaluations where the best details - mountains and giants - are highlighted, but that is only possible in context: how do we tell who is a giant if we do not see what is next to him? If we do not see the whole picture, how do we tell which one is the highest mountain? Besides, by evaluating the big picture, we find not only what we have, but also what we lack - without knowledge of that we cannot survive in the battle of competition, we do not see where to climb to stand out or to keep ourselves above water.
At the moment the battle of competition or, rather, fight for survival has reached white heat in its intensity also in the circles of culture. Many organisations and groups are trying to find and offer their suggestions for survival: Centre for Contemporary Art is working on „Survival kit” project, there is a festival for new theatre „Homo Novus” as well as other culture activities, and the discussion “Battle of giants” will be aligned to all the abovementioned in space and time to contribute to the common search for a solution.
That is why several institutions and organisations closely involved in the development of visual arts in Latvia and of the opinion that there is a definite need for regular, comprehensive and professional evaluation of the whole range of arts in the contemporary context of art in Latvia, int. al. the restoration of the annual award in visual arts as an essential and competitive event in the culture environment of Latvia, will participate in this discussion and try to establish the following arguments: why it is needed, what are its chief aims and what it should be like to come as close to these aims as possible.
Participants of the discussion: Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art, New Media Centre RIXC, culture and art project NOASS, the interdisciplinary art group SERDE, Centre for Arts Management and Information (MMIC), Riga City Council Culture Department, Riga Art Space and guests.
Organized by: MMIC
Moderator: Vilnis Vējš
Curator: Inga Brūvere
* Quotation from Milžu cīņa (Battle of Giants) by Hardijs Lediņš.