Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art (RIBOCA) Announces Title, Participants and Venues for Third Edition

Evita Vasiļjeva, Collage, 2022. Digital sketch. Courtesy of the artist and the Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art.

RIBOCA3
Exercises in Respect
July 15, 2022 – October 2, 2022
Press and Professional Preview: July 13, 2022 – July 15, 2022
https://www.rigabiennial.com

The third edition of the Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art (RIBOCA3), running from 15 July – 2 October, led by Chief Curator René Block and titled Exercises in Respect, will feature 63 artists in the main exhibition located in Andrejsala. Working alongside René Block, Nico Anklam is acting as associate curator for RIBOCA3 and will also develop its public programme.

As a core element, RIBOCA3 will shift its focus from the curatorial back to the artistic. Eschewing a fixed curatorial premise, Exercises in Respect will instead allow guiding themes and narratives to unfold organically through the artworks themselves.

Participants in RIBOCA3’s main exhibition:

Nanna Abell* (b. 1985)
Nevin Aladağ (b. 1972)
Meriç Algün* (b. 1983)
Halil Altındere (b. 1971)
Béatrice Balcou (b. 1976)
Rosa Barba (b. 1972)
Mehtap Baydu* (b. 1972)
Ēriks Božis* (b. 1969)
Miriam Cahn (b. 1949)
Olga Chernysheva (b. 1962)
Evelīna Deičmane* (b. 1978)
Jason Dodge* (b. 1969)
Anne Katrine Dolven (b. 1953)
Dace Džeriņa* (b. 1971)
Krista and Reinis Dzudzilo* (b. 1989 and 1987)
Maria Eichhorn (b. 1962)
Ayşe Erkmen* (b. 1949)
VALIE EXPORT (b. 1940)
Ceal Floyer* (b. 1968)
Ingrid Furre* (b. 1987)
Noora Geagea (b. 1981)
Tamar Harpaz* (b. 1979)
Romuald Hazoumè* (b. 1962)
Karl Horst Hödicke (b. 1938)
Pravdoliub Ivanov (b. 1964)
Annika Kahrs (b. 1984)
Šejla Kamerić* (b. 1976)
Laura Kaminskaitė* (b. 1984)
Jarosław Kozłowski* (b. 1945)
Neeme Külm* (b. 1974)
Maija Kurševa* (b. 1981)
Alicja Kwade* (b. 1979)
Jeewi Lee (b. 1987)
Dainius Liškevičius* (b. 1970)
Inge Mahn* (b. 1943)
Olaf Metzel* (b. 1952)
Boris Mikhailov* (b. 1938)
Christiane Möbus (b. 1947)
Christine Moldrickx* (b. 1984)
Sirous Namazi* (b. 1970)
Bjørn Nørgaard (b. 1947)
Navid Nuur* (b. 1976)
Alexandra Paperno (b. 1978)
Dan Perjovschi* (b. 1961)
Ragna Róbertsdóttir (b. 1945)
Toni Schmale* (b. 1980)
Pia Sirén (b. 1982)
Anna Sokolova* (b. 1975)
Māris Subačs (b. 1963)
Superflex
Milica Tomić (b. 1960)
Nasan Tur* (b. 1974)
Maxim Tyminko (b. 1972)
Ken Unsworth* (b. 1931)
Anu Vahtra* (b. 1982)
Evita Vasiļjeva* (b. 1985)
Mariana Vassileva (b. 1964)
Richard Wentworth* (b. 1947)
Maaria Wirkkala* (b. 1954)
Sarkis (b. 1938)
Armands Zelčs* (b. 1978)
Ran Zhang* (b. 1981)
Amanda Ziemele* (b. 1990)

*An asterisk denotes a new commission

RIBOCA3 takes the artist’s vision as its conceptual starting point, positioning exhibition-making as a space for experimental expression that can be free of preconceived ideas. The biennial enables each artwork to operate on its own terms, with conversation sparked naturally rather than through the lens of a rigid curatorial theme. The title Exercises in Respect reflects the emphasis on appreciating what each artwork communicates individually while also operating within a biennial context. Chief Curator René Block elaborates:

With a long history of phenomena, gestures of respect often signify an attempt at understanding each other on an equal footing despite our differences. This edition embraces the variety of voices it presents across continents and generations, striking both in harmony and disharmony with each other as they come together.

Continuing the previous edition’s commitment to the development of the area, RIBOCA3 returns to Andrejsala (“Andrew’s Island”) as the primary venue for the biennial. Spanning over 15,0000 m2of a territory previously used as an industrial port on the bank of the Daugava river, Andrejsala is distinguished by its monumental industrial architecture, including an abandoned electric power station, ports, granaries, empty lots, hangars and a railway station, focalizing the exhibition. René Block explains how this landscape defined his selection of artists:

Filling this space demands a sense of musicality. Each artist becomes a voice, their artworks an instrument, and Andrejsala their atmospheric concert hall. Rather than following a score created by its conductors, RIBOCA3 acts as an orchestra that celebrates the sound it makes by itself.

Beyond Andrejsala, the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design – housed in the former St. George’s Church, the oldest surviving stone building in the city – will also host an exhibition of prints. The display features an array of 38 internationally renowned artists who have created works for biennials that René Block has previously curated in Hamburg (1985), Sydney (1990), Istanbul (1995), and Cetinje (2004). This presentation also includes works by some of the artists who will participate in the main exhibition. The artists whose works will be on display at the museum will be announced in spring.

Over half the work on view in the main exhibition will be new commissions created in response to Riga’s unique physical, social and historical terrain. Rooted in the significance of its geographic context, RIBOCA3 will present its largest showing of Latvian artists yet, while over half of the participating artists are from the wider Baltic region. Balancing regional perspectives with those of the global artistic landscape, the biennial continues to encourage the creative conversations of today with the city and its surroundings as an underlying framework.