On Saturday, 3 September, the Contemporary Culture Forum – White Night – will be held in Riga for the 17th time. During the forum, there will be more than 20 concert programmes, performances, and installations, and also theatrical performances, exhibitions, and festival special offers available in the centre of the capital, Old Town, Pārdaugava, Pļavnieki, Čiekurkalns and elsewhere.
Installation Par mieru! (For Peace!) at Bastejkalns and Dārzs, kur saule riet (Garden Where The Sun Sets) at Ziedoņdārzs
Some of the White Night works will be on display in the city already on 1 September. Bastejkalns will host the installation Par mieru! (For Peace!) on the evening of the Day of Knowledge, i.e. the first day of the new school year. The 100-metre-long light installation is made up of 50 running silhouettes, two metres high, simulating movement as a form of manifesto. The author of the installation is a Slovak light artist and light designer known by the pseudonym sedemminut. His installation was featured in Bratislava’s White Night programme in 2020, but it gave a deeper and more socially relevant message in Košice where a concert event was held in March 2022, expressing condemnation of the Slovak nation towards the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, an audiovisual urban installation will be on display at Ziedoņdārzs from 1 September during hours of darkness, with an environmental object – the sunset – in the centre. As each visitor approaches the artificial sun, the object detects human presence and thus activates audio files recording various poems about the sun by Latvian poets and also the sounds of Latvian nature.
Biopoetics in the city canal and the audiovisual installation Matērija. Telpa (Matter. Space) at Tallinas Street
On Saturday, from 21:00 to 03:00, an optical light projection on a fan-shaped water screen will be on display in the city canal near the building of the Freeport of Riga Authority. The language of the images in this magnificent and expressive projection will tell a story of the origin of the water, memory and the primeval forces that stand against the surrounding civilisation.
Meanwhile, from 19:00 to 02:00, an audiovisual installation Matērija. Telpa (Matter. Space) will be displayed at the concert hall Tu jau zini Kur. The installation is a search for primordial sound and image in academic, electronic music and video art.
A special musical sound and light event Glāss. Einšteins. Locītavas (Glass. Einstein. Joints) with elements of contemporary dance and circus will be on show at Āgenskalns Market.
Poetry disco at Viesturdārzs, festival Homo Novus, Survival Kit and Skaņu mežs programmes and events in the neighbourhoods
Visitors are also invited to enjoy the White Night events at Tallinn Street Quarter, the dance, photo, and video installation Re Vera at Skolas iela 2, the poetry disco at Viesturdārzs, the Architects’ Night exhibitions and disco at Torņa Street, and the event Videography XVII – Space Textures XVI at Vagonu iela 21, an interaction between video art and music.
Several contemporary art events will also be offered during the White Night by the festivals Survival Kit 13 and the international new theatre festival Homo Novus in the Old Town Riga, and also the untamed music and film art festival Skaņu mežs at St. Saviour’s Anglican Church in Riga.
There will also be a concert Balta nakte, zaļa zāle (White Night, Green Grass) at the Small Guild Garden, a performance by Kristīne Prauliņa at Ēbelmuižas Park, a concert programme Momentary at the National Library of Latvia and a concert by alejas at the Culture Palace Ziemeļblāzma. In the meantime, everyone is invited to the magic tricks performance Baltās nakts maģija (White Night Magic) at the cultural space Strops in the birch grove of Pļavnieki.
About White Night
The White Night is a contemporary cultural forum organised and funded by the Riga City Council in collaboration with Latvian cultural organisations, involving Latvian and international artists. For more information about the White Night programme, visit www.baltanakts.lv and Facebook page Rīgā notiek.
The White Night in Riga is part of the international European White Nights project that was launched by five European capitals – Brussels, Madrid, Paris, Riga, and Rome – and now joined by cities around the world. The idea behind the White Night is to make contemporary art more accessible to the public by engaging people in a wide range of art events one night a year.
In line with the European Year of Youth announced by the EU, this year’s White Night cultural activities and events focus on such themes as participation, equality, and inclusion, sustainability, well-being, a greener and digital Europe, and young people’s physical and mental health.
Further information: Dace Otomere, Project Coordinator at Culture Projects and Public Events Division of Riga City Council Culture Department, e-mail: Dace.Otomere@riga.lv.
Author: Raimonds Grants – Project Coordinator at External Communication Division of Riga City Council Communication Department, e-mail: Raimonds.Grants@riga.lv.