The Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art (LCCA), in collaboration with the Kai Art Centre and the Mo Museum, invites you to the event “Portable Landscapes: Reflections on Migration from the Baltic Region” on October 25 at the Pickle Bar, Berlin. The event will feature artists from the Baltic countries, addressing contemporary issues of migration, identity, and language through conversations, performative gestures, and screenings. The venue is Pickle Bar, located at Stephanstraße 11, 10559 Berlin. The event will be in English, lasting for two hours, with doors opening at 18:00 and the program starting at 18:30.
The event’s program is based on the LCCA project “Portable Landscapes”, which has explored the Latvian exile and diaspora in Paris, Gotland, Berlin, Montreal and New York through research and exhibitions. The project’s culmination is an upcoming publication – a book “Portable Landscapes. Latvian Exile Art histories” published by Berlin based publisher K. Verlag.
By inviting artists and institutions from Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, the iteration of the event at the Pickle Bar extends the research and representation to a Baltic dimension.
The event on October 25 will bring together artists Viktor Timofeev, Maria Kapajeva, Agnė Juodvalkytė and Artūrs Punte (text group Orbita). Their work uses a variety of media, including drawing, installation, photography and video and reflects on social processes in the context of belonging. It includes cultural references, emotional connotations and dislocations.
At the Pickle Bar, they will discuss migration and its connection to the history of the region and its impact on contemporary processes. Participating artists will also raise questions of language, both as part of the experience of moving between countries and as an imprint of Russian colonialism on the Baltic social and political landscape.
The hosts of the event – Pickle Bar – is a non-profit project space, that focuses on research, performances and discussions, launched in 2020 by artist collective Slavs and Tatars with Anastasia Marukhina and Patricia Couvet to extend the collective’s Eurasian platform (Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia) to a greater public.
The project is curated by Andra Silapētere and Inga Lāce and realized by the LCCA in cooperation with Kai Art Center in Tallin and Mo Museum in Vilnius. “Portable Landscapes. Reflections on migration form the Baltic region” is sponsored by Baltic Culture Fund.
About the Artists:
Agnė Juodvalkytė is a visual artist based in Berlin and Vilnius, focusing on abstract painting and textiles. She holds a BA in Painting from the Vilnius Academy of Arts and studied in Spain. Her recent solo exhibitions include “Tools for the Future” at Enter Art Space in Aarhus (2023) and Galerie Bernau in Germany (2022). She has also participated in group shows across Lithuania and Germany.
Maria Kapajeva is an artist working between the UK and Estonia, exploring micro-histories and feminist themes through various mediums. She has received numerous awards, including the Wiralt Fellowship and the Kraszna-Krausz Photo Book Award. Her work is held in collections such as Kiasma Museum and Tartu Art Museum. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD at the Estonian Academy of Arts and runs her studio “Circle in Cube” in Tallinn.
Artūrs Punte is a Latvian poet and artist known for his interdisciplinary work, including sound installations. He studied poetry at the Moscow Literature Institute and has published four books of poetry. Punte is a founding member of the “Orbita” association and curates projects such as “Riga Poetry Map.” His recent focus is on creating unconventional sound instruments and installations.
Viktor Timofeev is a multidisciplinary artist based in New York, blending personal experiences and speculative themes. He holds an MFA from the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam and co-founded No Moon, an event space in Brooklyn. His work spans exhibitions, sound installations, and releases on various music labels. Recent solo exhibitions include “Pedagogical Games 1” at 427 Gallery in Riga (2024) and “DOG” at Interstate Projects in New York (2021).