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Programme

Kommunalka-Community 


The public programme of Survival Kit 11 took place both as a series of events at the festival, and outside of it, as a series of broadcasts on Radio Naba. 

The programme’s title, Kommunalka-Community, points to the questions and problems we in Latvia face in developing an inclusive society. In our reluctance to accept people belonging to ethnic, racial, or sexual minority groups—it is as if some of us still feel that living together is once again being forced upon us, as it was in the kommunalka or communal flat, where very different people found themselves sharing living space during the Soviet era. At the same time, the English word community seems to invite us to think about forms of shared life based on positive and inclusive interactions. What is and what could be the model of Latvian society? In this space, we tried to explore problems, encourage discussions and seek solutions for developing a more inclusive future society.

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INTRODUCTORY COURSE IN SELF-DEFENSE with artist Evitu Goze


A picnic with artist Evita Goze.

Although no one plans to get into dangerous situations, it is valuable to know how to handle them properly. At the picnic with artist Evita Goze, visitors were invited to participate in a self-defense workshop led by professionals, where they learned basic skills on how to defend themselves in case of physical danger.

Before the workshop, the artist introduced her work "Fingerlocks," based on photo illustrations from self-defense manuals from the 1950s-60s. Restaging and recording these scenes, the artist emphasizes the equally oppressive and fulfilling potential of intimate partner relationships and asked the question - is home always the safest place?


Evita Goze (1984) is an artist, journalist, and curator who lives and works in Riga. She is interested in the changing boundaries between reality and fiction, the personal and the political, focusing on issues of identity, bodily and power relations between individuals and the state. Her main medium of expression is photography, but she also uses text, found images, and objects in her works. Goze holds a bachelor's degree in photography from the University of Brighton in the UK and a master's degree in visual communication from the Latvian Academy of Arts. Her works have been exhibited and published in Latvia and abroad. In 2019, her solo exhibition Sardze was on view at the ISSP Gallery in Riga.