At the opening it was possible to meet all the schoolchildren involved in the residencies – the co-authors of the artworks, as well as the artists from Latvia and Norway who participated in the implementation of the project in Latvia. On the opening day, there was a performance "Caterpillar Crawling" (“Kur kāpurs rāpo”), led by Anda Lāce and pupils of Antūži Primary School, where everyone had the opportunity to get acquainted with the caterpillar created in Anda's residency and to activate it in a joint performative event, and a choreography masterclass "The Unshakeable Mountain" (“Nesatricināmais kalns”), led by Kristīne Brīniņa and pupils of Liepāja Catholic Primary School.
Artists Kristīne Brīniņa, Vika Eksta, Gundega Evelone, Anda Lāce, Eva Vēvere, Artūrs Punte and Maksims Šenteļevs held residencies at 6 Latvian schools – Aglona Secondary School, Antūži Primary School, Bolderāja Primary School, Jelgava Spīdolas State Gymnasium, Liepāja Catholic Primary School and Strenči Primary School, introducing schoolchildren to contemporary art and developing ideas by way of research and mutual collaboration. This resulted in 6 collective pieces of contemporary art that revealed themes that are relevant to young people in the regions of Latvia.
More information about the project The Artist is Present can be found here.
The project “The Artist is Present – Contemporary Art Residencies in Schools” (No.EEZ/2022/2/27) was started in the framework of the Local Development, Poverty Reduction and Cultural Cooperation program of the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism for the 2014-2021 period as part of the open call “Support for the Creation of Professional Art and Cultural Products for Children and Youth”. The project is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through EEA Grants. The total eligible costs of the project is 228 713.36 EUR, of which the EEA covers 194 406.36 EUR while the national co-financing is 34 307.00 EUR. The project aims to promote the participation of Latvian children and youth into processes of contemporary art.
