On 30 August please be invited to the opening of the last exhibition at the Cube Nr.4 this season presented by the international group of artists of the Nomadic residency hosted by Savvaļa for the second time.
A day before, on 29 August at 19:00, you’ll have the chance to meet the artists of the nomadic residency, see the exhibition created during their stay, and enjoy a wild soup prepared by the artists together with bread baked on the campfire!
The exhibition will feature sculptures, drawings, and a sound installation, forming a single work both inside and outside the cube. Outdoor sculptures will shape the overall landscape of the exhibition, made from various materials found in the surrounding area – using soil, plant pigments, and fabric structures.
Participating artists: Paula Zvane (LV), Viktoria Björk (IS), Kamile Pikelite(LT), Enea Toldo (CH) , Marta Luna Valpiana (IT) , Vilhjálmur Yngvi Hjálmarsson (IS), Alexis Brancaz(FR), Eetu Vekki (FI), Albertina Tevajärvi (FI/UK), Pui-Yan Fong(MO/DE).
Supported by State Culture Capital foundation (VKKF)
On Friday, September 5, at 20:00, the closing open reading of the Savvaļa Writing Camp will take place. Throughout the week, a group of authors – Emīlija Karetņikova, Evelīna Andžāne, Betija Zvejniece, Roberts Vilsons, Linda Šterna, Katrīna Levāne, Lena Sme, Megija Mīlberga, and Aivars Šaicāns – have been working with texts in various forms, following Audre Lorde’s essay “Poetry is Not a Luxury.”
The reading will feature text fragments created both during this week and beyond, including subtitles written for the landscapes of Savvaļa. The event will be held in Latvian.
The residency takes place within the framework of the Savvaļa Skiti Residency Program, supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation (VKKF).
Photo: Pēteris Vīksna, 2021
Kristīne Upīte’s solo exhibition “Gentle Primality” in Andris Eglītis’ “Cube No. 4” as part of Savvaļa’s 6th season visual arts program. The premise of the Cube No. 4 exhibitions is to collaborate with the artworks and artefacts from previous shows. “Gentle Primality” took place alongside works by Ieva Putniņa, Laimdota Malle, and Aleksejs Beļeckis.
Photo: Kristīne Upīte
Savvaļa’s 6th season visual arts program is financially supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation (VKKF).
On August 23, the sculpture “Seed” by artist Liene Mackus was unveiled at Savvaļa. The new work was created as part of Savvaļa’s open-air exhibition and was developed on-site during the artist’s residency in Savvaļa’s 6th season.
The work was created with the financial support of the State Culture Capital Foundation (VKKF). The artist extends her gratitude to Artūrs Arnis and Andris Eglītis for their support in the making of the work.
On August 23, at Savvaļa, the contemporary folk music group Nielslens Lielsliens will premiere their latest music in the concert “Jauni darbi” (New Works), while artist Kristīne Upīte will open her solo exhibition “Maigā pirmatnība” (Gentle Primality), and artist Liene Mackus will present a new work for Savvaļa’s open-air exhibition.
Savvaļa’s sixth season visual arts programme, supported this year by the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia (VKKF), will feature two new events — Kristīne Upīte’s solo exhibition “Maigā pirmatnība” inside Andris Eglītis’ installation “Cube No.4”, and Liene Mackus’ new work “Seed” as part of Savvaļa’s open-air exhibition. Upīte’s exhibition will be a special short-term event, on view for only one week, before being replaced on August 29 by an exhibition by Paula Zvane.
At 8:00 PM, the concert “Jauni darbi” by contemporary folk music group Nielslens Lielsliens will take place, featuring the premiere of their newest songs. Admission is free. The group — Vija Moore, Mareks Kaminskis, and Klāvs Kalnačs — will perform at least six brand new songs in a roughly 40-minute programme. Since much of the new music is danceable, dancer and choreographer Oskars Moore will join the performance to teach the audience some dance steps.
“Latvians never cease to surprise us,” says the band’s co-songwriter and vocalist Klāvs Kalnačs. “For about two years now, in rehearsals, we’ve been playing around with notable events of our time — ones we haven’t yet commented on — and with our own take on them. If in our previous programme ‘Unexpected Heroes’ we focused on surprising encounters between wild animals and the human world, this time, as it turns out, we’re discussing animal-like manoeuvres in human behaviour. What surprises and delights me most is that we ourselves have become more animalistic in the group. Unexpected shades of voices and character, expressive mischief with our unique instrument set — the balafon, ‘Kilimanjaro’ percussion, and guembri — sound to me both exciting, solid, and dangerous. Like the fuse of a New Year’s firework I’ve just lit.”
Premiering new work at Savvaļa has become a tradition. The songs from “Unexpected Heroes” were also first performed here, in 2023, at this contemporary art sanctuary in Drusti parish. Only later did the album recording follow, in collaboration with “Domenique Dumont” composer Artūrs Liepiņš, along with concerts at Ģertrūdes ielas teātris, the Latgale Embassy Gors, and at festivals in Mežaparks and Valmiermuiža. The album went on to win a Zelta Mikrofons award for Best Experimental, Indie, or Alternative Music Album of the Year. Creative and performance momentum was also fuelled by Nielslens Lielsliens being included in the list of Europe’s most promising independent artists for 2025, compiled by IMPALA — the European Independent Music Companies Association — in collaboration with YouTube.
Online sources:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lielsliens/
Website: https://nielslenslielsliens.lv/
Instagram: @nielslenslielsliens
Album “Negaidīti varoņi”: Bandcamp link
On August 17, we invite you to a special day-long event created in collaboration with the conversation series SALONS and the Estonian residency centre Maajaam. Starting at 2:00 PM, visitors can join a group walk and discussion with the participants and mentors of the RuralArtConnect residency program. At 4:00 PM, the 8th episode of SALONS’ summer season will take place, featuring Estonian architect Maria Helena Luiga and artist Andris Eglītis. Following the SALONS talk, from 5:30 PM, audiences can enjoy two musical performances — by Latvian group Kalnejas and Estonian musician Tõnis Koppel.
The jointly developed residency series RuralArtConnect by Savvaļa and Maajaam consists of four thematically focused skill-development residencies for professionals from various disciplines. The workshops held at Savvaļa explored interpretations of ancient techniques in contemporary architecture, art, and crafts, focusing on sustainable and experimental methods using earth or clay. In the first part of the event, visitors will have the opportunity to meet the participants of these workshops and see a one-day exhibition of works created with the pit-firing ceramics technique during the RuralArtConnect residency at Savvaļa.
The conversation in SALONS’ 8th episode will focus on experimental construction methods and the work of the Tallinn-based studio kuidas.works, which led the other RuralArtConnect workshop at Savvaļa on rammed-earth construction. The talk will offer insights into the workshop process and present its outcome — possibly the first free-standing rammed earth structure in the Baltics. Considering the international nature of the participants, the discussions will be held in English.
In the second part of the event, starting at 5:30 PM, the Latvian acoustic trio Kalnejas will perform, blending the imagery of Latvian folk songs, the free spirit of jazz, and the intimacy of the singer-songwriter tradition. The day’s program will conclude at 6:00 PM with a sound performance by Estonian artist Tõnis Koppel, who creates immersive ambient electronic music.
DAY’S SCHEDULE
14:00 – Viewing of RuralArtConnect residency works and discussion with participants and mentors
16:00 – SALONS talk with Maria Helena Luiga (EE) and Andris Eglītis
17:30 – Concert by Kalnejas
18:00 – Sound performance by Tõnis Koppel (EE)
We also recommend turning this into a full weekend experience by visiting the nearby music and arts festival Veidenfests in Kalāči on August 16.
SALONS’ guest Maria Helena Luiga is an Estonian architect and designer. She holds a degree from the Royal Danish Academy and works across disciplines as a project-based architect, educator at the Estonian Academy of Arts, and collaborator with the Estonian Centre for Architecture. Her practice focuses on place-specific design, sustainable materials, and bioregional approaches to architecture. Through a recent residency at the LUMA Arles biolab research centre, she has been exploring the development of bioregional material alternatives to conventional construction methods. Maria is also co-founder of kuidas.works – a research-led design and architecture studio based in Tallinn, founded in 2021. Specializing in site-specific, earth-based building solutions, the studio explores how excavated, left-over earth can be transformed into sustainable materials – from rammed earth and compressed earth blocks to plasters and paints. Maria is a 2024/2025 season European Architecture Platform LINA Fellow, and her participation in SALONS is thanks to the partnership between the Art Academy of Latvia and LINA community.
Andris Eglītis is one of Latvia’s most prominent contemporary artists, working in painting, construction, installation, scenography, and interdisciplinary projects. A graduate of the Art Academy of Latvia, he furthered his studies at Manchester Metropolitan University, the I. E. Repin St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Fine Arts, and the Higher Institute for Fine Arts (HISK) in Ghent. From 2008 to 2017, he taught in the Painting Department of the Art Academy of Latvia, serving as its head for the following two years. He lives and works in Riga and at “Savvaļa.” Since 2008, he has held more than 20 solo exhibitions and participated in over 30 significant group shows in Latvia and internationally. In 2024, he presented an expansive solo exhibition in the Great Hall of the Latvian National Museum of Art; in 2015, he represented Latvia at the 56th Venice Art Biennale. He has created scenography for theatre productions and operas, as well as commissioned paintings for the ceiling of the Festivity Hall of Riga Castle, the residence of the President of Latvia, and for the fire safety curtain of the Latvian National Opera and Ballet stage. In 2013, he received the Purvītis Prize for his series “Earthworks.” In 2020, together with a group of like-minded collaborators, he founded the open-air art space “Savvaļa” on the grounds of his workshop in Drusti parish and remains one of its co-directors.
SALONS is a gathering, lecture and informal conversation event series planned intending to contribute to the local architectural scene, highlighting the diverse culture of contemporary architecture, engaging and conversing with researchers, thinkers, designers, creative professionals, stakeholders and the general public. SALONS is organised by the Institute of Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture (LMDA) of the Art Academy of Latvia and ĒTER architecture studio. The eighth episode of SALON is produced in collaboration with the open-air art space "Savvaļa" and is also part of the European Architecture Platform LINA annual programme (@lina.community). Curators: architects Dagnija Smilga (ĒTER) and Dina Suhanova (LMDA).
Kalnejas is a Latvian acoustic trio whose music blends the imagery of Latvian folk songs, the free spirit of jazz, and the intimacy of the singer-songwriter tradition. The group features Marija Valmiera (vocals), Toms Valmiers (double bass, guitar), and Spāre Vītola (violin). Their repertoire includes both original compositions with self-written lyrics and arranged folk songs. In 2025, Kalnejas released two new EPs, Lejas II and Lejas III, completing a trilogy that began with the internationally acclaimed Lejas I – an album included in the world music compilation Native Music 17, presented at the WOMEX forum.
Tõnis Kristian Koppel is a musician, composer, and artist from Tartu, Estonia. He studied jazz upright bass with prominent Estonian and Danish musicians at Heino Eller Music College and the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark, where he earned a Bachelor’s in Rhythmic Music (Bass) and a Master’s in Rhythmic Music Composition. Over the years, Tõnis has taken part in a wide range of musical projects, including Beatriz Gijon (ONBEAT), Rasmus Dahl Nielsen’s Band of Music, and the Jana Kütt Group. More recently, he has been creating immersive ambient electronic music under the name Büromaan. In addition to his musical pursuits, Tõnis has a background in computer science, which he draws on to create projects in multichannel audio, sound spatialization, interactive sound and light installations, and multidisciplinary performance.
RuralArtConnect is a program initiated by the technology art farm Maajaam and the art space Savvaļa to foster rural art communities through skill-development residency camps for interdisciplinary artists and by building an art network for artists from Southern Estonia and Latvia’s Vidzeme/Kurzeme regions. In 2025, a total of four residency camps and workshops with different themes takes place in both Latvia and Estonia. The project is carried out within the framework of Estonia–Latvia cross-border regional cooperation and is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (Interreg) with co-financing from the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia (VKKF).
This event is part of the RuralArtConnect project, funded by the Interreg VI-A Estonia–Latvia Programme 2021–2027 (EST-LAT) and co-financed by the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia (VKKF).
Fans of unusual musical experiences are invited to Savvaļa on July 25 to witness an electromechanical concert by Edgars Rubenis and Iļja Krūmiņš.
If you’re planning to attend the regional festival “Ezera Skaņas” (which we highly recommend), this will be the perfect stop along the way.
The musicians will perform a three-part composition for electric guitar, experimental high-voltage drum machines, an electromotor synthesizer, and an open-reel tape system. The event will be visually documented by cinematographer Uģis Olte.
The event is free of charge, but visitors will have the opportunity to support the artists with a donation.
Visitors are kindly asked to bring their own fastening tools and equipment.
Technical support: Gamechanger Audio, HAF Audio
Poster design: Marija Luīze Meļķe
Alongside the musical performance, visitors will also be able to view new visual art installations at Savvaļa — including the exhibition “Like a Jellyfish in the Sun” by Aleksejs Beļeckis, Laimdota Malle, and Sarma Gabrēna; “Glass in the Cube” by Ieva Putniņa inside Andris Eglītis’ installation “Cube No. 4”; new works by Zane Zelmene and Oto Holgers Ozoliņš in Savvaļa’s open-air exhibition; as well as the recently constructed rammed earth structure built during the “Rammed Earth” workshop.
Savvaļa’s visual arts program is supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia (VKKF) and the European Union’s Creative Europe program. The Rammed Earth workshop was supported by Interreg Estonia–Latvia.
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The concert as photographed by Aleksejs Beļeckis
On July 13, the first work week of the workshop dedicated to a specific pit-firing ceramics technique came to a close. The upcoming work week will take place from August 10 and will conclude with the RuralArtConnect project presentation day on August 17. We’ll announce the day’s program soon!
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Photos from participant's personal archieves.
RuralArtConnect is a program initiated by technological art farm Maajaam and Latvian art space Savvaļa to develop art communities in rural areas through skills development residency camps, interdisciplinary artists and an art network for artists in Southern Estonia and Vidzeme/Kurzeme region in Latvia. This project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (Interreg) through the Interreg VI-A Estonia-Latvia Programme 2021-2027 (EST-LAT). The project falls under the priority ‘More cooperating cross-border regions and development of joint services,’ with a specific focus on ‘Building up mutual trust, in particular by encouraging people-to-people actions’. Additional co-funder of the project is Estonian Cultural Endowment and State Culture Capital Foundation (VKKF).
More on those financing: https://savvala.lv/en/supporters
From June 25 to July 8, a rammed earth workshop took place at Savvaļa as part of the RuralArtConnect project. The workshop was led by experienced rammed earth practitioners Kaarel Kuusk and Maria Luiga (kuidas.works) from Estonia, with the process coordinated by artist Andris Eglītis, who also oversaw the construction. The project’s curator and producer is Kitija Vasiļjeva.
Participants included architects, designers, builders, artists, and other practitioners: Niklāvs Krievs, Ernests Damroze, Reinis Leo Miķelsons, Jānis Aufmanis, Gabriele Šimkute, Anna Underowicz, Alexander Petrounine, Hanna Samoson, Trevor Kinna, Marco Manfredino, Ola Lewczyk, Elmārs Grigorovičs, and Aleksejs Beļeckis.
As a result of the workshop, the first free-standing rammed earth structure in the Baltics was built!
A glimpse into the workshop photographed by Aleksejs Beļeckis:
RuralArtConnect is a program initiated by technological art farm Maajaam and Latvian art space Savvaļa to develop art communities in rural areas through skills development residency camps, interdisciplinary artists and an art network for artists in Southern Estonia and Vidzeme/Kurzeme region in Latvia. This project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (Interreg) through the Interreg VI-A Estonia-Latvia Programme 2021-2027 (EST-LAT). The project falls under the priority ‘More cooperating cross-border regions and development of joint services,’ with a specific focus on ‘Building up mutual trust, in particular by encouraging people-to-people actions’. Additional co-funder of the project is Estonian Cultural Endowment and State Culture Capital Foundation (VKKF).
More on those financing: https://savvala.lv/en/supporters
“The ritual involves bringing someone I loved — and thus my grief — out into the light of day. […] They say sunlight is the best disinfectant.”
Caitlin Doughty, From Here to Eternity
Light seeps in. It begins to move before anything appears. Time here is not stretched forward or backward, but rather laid out like a vessel, filling with what would not otherwise be preserved in nature. It is a liminal threshold between death and the dissolution of consciousness — filled with threat, anticipation, and the potential for transformation — a moment when the previous order has already been revoked, but the new one has not yet emerged. A breath before renewal. The sun rises — a flowing warmth as the source of life and an inevitable exposure. It signifies revelation, joy, childlike clarity, healing, and the illumination of truth. Under the light, everything becomes visible: transparency, glossy greasiness, the impossibility of hiding. It dries out dreams, fades memories, reveals forms and causes them to shatter. This is the final phase to go through — not to become more clearly seen, but to learn how to remain visible even as you become the light yourself.
As part of exhibition series in the Andris Eglītis’ Cube No. 4, on Saturday, July 5, Aleksejs Beļeckis and Laimdota Malle will open their exhibition Like a Jellyfish in the Sun, created in collaboration with sound artist Sarma Gabrēna. This exhibition concludes a two-week artist residency at Savvaļa, during which the artists developed new works that continue themes from their previous collaborative exhibition Horrify Me, Soothe Me, Horrify Me at the Museum of Anatomy — exploring the presence of death and the significance of collective grief.
Their new exhibition presents a site-specific spatial installation at the intersection of various materialities, created especially for the Cube No. 4 space and shown exclusively during the exhibition period at Savvaļa. The exhibition will be on view until August 10 and is curated by Antra Priede.
On the opening day, visitors are invited to meet the artists and curator for tea and an unhurried conversation about the exhibition, its making, the residency process, and its discoveries. Visitors will also be able to see other works featured in Savvaļa’s outdoor exhibition — this year presenting new works by Zane Zelmene and Oto Holgers Ozoliņš. Cube No. 4 itself is the latest installation by Andris Eglītis, which hosts exhibitions by other artists. It was created in collaboration with Tilis Zigmunds Ozoliņš, Oto Holgers Ozoliņš, Pauls Jēgers, Toms Musts, and others. A key principle of the Cube No. 4 exhibition cycle is that each new exhibition must engage with elements of the preceding one. Works from Ieva Putniņa’s Glass in the Cube have become an integral part of the new show, and the entire exhibition cycle will continue to be accessible.
The Cube No. 4 exhibition series and the Savvaļa Skiti residency program, as well as the artists’ creative work, are supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia (VKKF).
Photos: Aleksejs Beļeckis
Laimdota Malle is a visual artist who works across various media, including sculpture, image, sound, and space, to create installations that investigate and question both collective and personal experiences. She holds an MA from Manchester Metropolitan University (UK) and the Art Academy of Latvia, and has gained international recognition for her innovative and research-driven artistic approach. In 2023, she was nominated for the Purvītis Prize for her installation OOZE.
Sarma Gabrēna is a sound artist and performer whose practice merges experimental sound, corporeality, and spatial tension. A graduate of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, she works both solo and in collaborative formats. With her performative project GRAB, she has performed at the Process Festival and opened for Xiu Xiu. In collaboration with BUTO, she created the performance sometimes a wild god, presented at the Exosystemic Festival and Zuzeum’s performance festival. Alongside Jana Zariņa (organ) and Ilze Bloka (contemporary dance), she co-created the performance don’t bother, child in the Old St. Gertrude’s Church. Gabrēna’s works are explorations of the intensity of sonic presence, where noise, body, and space interweave into a form-defying experience.
Aleksejs Beļeckis is an interdisciplinary artist working with space, image, and curation across various media. His practice is rooted in collective creativity, spatial thinking, and experimental exhibition formats, exploring the relationship between contemporary art and the environment. His projects often involve ecological awareness, care practices, and alternative forms of coexistence. He has developed projects such as the art and science exhibition Field Studies, the sound installation Touch of Light in Riga’s Arkādija Park for Latvia’s Independence Day, and was project director for the Latvian Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale. He curated and designed the exhibition space for Andris Eglītis’ solo show at the Latvian National Museum of Art and is one of the co-founders of the open-air art space Savvaļa. His work also spans interdisciplinary residencies and community-based initiatives.
This year, the open-air art space SAVVAĻA invites you to a performative art action titled “A Sheltered Space” at the festival LAMPA to explore this year's central theme—forms of dialogue—together with representatives of contemporary art.
In our work, we often observe how space transforms interpersonal communication. That’s why we have created a spatial installation which LAMPA visitors are invited to use both for individual conversations and collective events. This action is a form of inquiry that encourages us to ask: “How can we create an environment where we can feel free, safe, and sometimes even silly—an environment where we can truly be open?”
The stage-installation-structure “A Sheltered Space” is designed to foster empathetic and equal human experiences. Outside of scheduled events, the installation will be accessible for individual use at any time. This is the fourth transformation of this installation—it has previously served as a reading room at the Latvian National Museum of Art, a scenographic element in an opera at the Valmiera Theatre Festival, and a carousel in a public art installation in Berlin. Its various iterations have been developed with contributions from Andris Eglītis, Tils Zigmunds Ozoliņš, Mārtiņš Sarvuts, Katrīna Neiburga, Jānis Noviks, among others. The seating elements were designed by artist Liene Pavlovska.
This event is created in collaboration with the technological art residency center "Wild Bits / Maajaam" in Estonia, the cultural organization "Ascendum" (Latvia), and the creative agency "Kemmler Kemmler" (Germany).
PROGRAMME
Stage 45
20 June 2025
13:00–15:00 – Lament Bar
15:30–17:30 – Claystation
18:00–19:30 – Lament Bar
19:30–21:00 – Shameless Fall Into Shame – a performative conversation
21 June 2025
10:00–11:00 – Conversations in Sound – acoustic concert
11:30–15:30 – SKANOTNE
14:00–16:00 – Thinking Bodies
16:30–19:30 – Meet SATORI Authors
Lament Bar
Sometimes, saying something out loud helps you let it go. Have you ever found yourself telling a bartender too much while ordering a drink? Maybe they gave better advice than a priest—not because they’re wiser, but because they were your silent mirror. They simply listened without judgment. Just for the time it took to make the drink.
At the Lament Bar, you can pull out any thorn from your heart—whether personal or global—because here, any pain that pierces the heart is the most important and beyond comparison. A quick, perhaps unpleasant confession after a small strong drink, or a longer lament while waiting for your cocktail. Here, your lament is both the recipe and the payment for the drink, and the drink is the bartender’s offering in return. These bartenders may be the least professional in the world—but they’ll do their best. At the very least, they’ll listen and serve your drink.
P.S. All drinks are plant-based and alcohol-free.
Speakers of the event are the visitors of Lament bar; listeners include Aleksejs Beļeckis, Zane Sērmaukša, and Antonija Skopa.
Claystation
Claystation is a performative, drop-in workshop where opinions take shape through clay — a material that remains eternally malleable if left unfired. Claystation workshop is created by Maajaam (in Estonian “Earth station”) and led by artists Laura Ruuder, Timo Toots and Mari-Liis Rebane.
Participants are invited to give physical shape to their thoughts and add their piece of clay to an evolving collective sculpture, joining others in a tactile, open-ended dialogue. This is both a poll and a sculpture in progress: a living terrain of concerns, desires, and perspectives, sculpted by many hands. Some voices gather in clusters, others stand alone. Patterns emerge. Tensions settle into curves. Agreements crumble and reform. Drop in and shape your thoughts.
Conversations in Sound – acoustic concert
Sound as language – On Solstice Saturday morning at LAMPA, we invite you to begin your day with a conversation in sound. Two jazz musicians, Elīna Silova and Kaspars Kurdeko, will converse through improvisation. Just like a free-flowing dialogue where we listen and share without knowing the outcome—this will be a sonic journey shaped by their musical exchange.
SKANOTNE
The idea of a universal language of the universe has captivated humanity for centuries, and various cultures have offered their contributions. In ancient India, the life force prāṇa united the living and non-living. In the Far East, gongs, bells, and singing bowls became instruments of divine dialogue. The ancient Greeks gave us the ever-flowing electrons. In the Enlightenment era, Franz Anton Mesmer introduced “animal magnetism,” later known as hypnotism. In the 20th century, Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose discovered bioelectricity, calling it “the power of feeling.” The 21st century brought the Internet of Living Things (IOLT) and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO), the cosmic echoes of the universe’s birth.
Can we tune in to these frequencies by quieting down and listening deeply? Can we reverberate, echo, and resonate in the cosmos—without words?
In this 15-minute deep listening session, we invite you to form relationships without words, eye contact, or touch.
– Listen inwardly by observing your breath
– Listen through the resonance of singing bowls
– Listen to the sonification of biopotentials by controlling an electroacoustic instrument
Facilitated by Maksims Šenteļevs and Santa Krastiņa
Thinking Bodies
Through a guided series of simple exercises, we aim to explore the body not only as a recipient of our thoughts and experiences, but also as a producer of knowledge, consciousness, and utopia. We will seek to think from and through the body, raising awareness of how it can be a powerful tool to connect and converse with our surroundings—ultimately, a political space. The workshop is based on a back-and-forth between collective exercises inspired by various theatre and dance techniques, introspections, and feedback moments. It is accessible to everyone; no particular skills are required to participate.
Led by Lily Matras, a French curator and producer.
Meet the SATORI Authors
In today’s climate of geopolitical tension, the words “shelter,” “escape,” and “safety” are on everyone’s lips. In response, SAVVAĻA and SATORI invite you to one-on-one meetings with contributors from the SATORI journal to discuss the mechanisms that help us take refuge—inviting conversations about presence, well-being, and safety, as well as sharing the small, beautiful things in the world.
Participants include Andrejs Vīksna, Lolita Tomsone, Santa Remere, Vilis Kasims, Anna Griķe and Mailo Mēness.
Shameless Fall Into Shame – performative conversation
Shameless Fall Into Shame is a performative conversation exploring shame as a physical, personal, and social experience. Where do we go when we "fall into shame"—and can we meet one another there? What lies between shame and shamelessness? Participants will approach shame through personal experiences, writing, and psychotherapy, weaving in fragments of public speeches on shame and shaming.
The conversation is created and led by curator Zane Zajančkauska and dramaturg Evarts Melnaksnis.
This event is part of the Creative Europe-cofunded project "SPACE: Sustainable Production for Artistic Communities in Europe."
The project is developed in collaboration with the technology arts residency center Wild Bits / Maajaam (Estonia), the cultural organization Ascendum, and the creative agency Kemmler Kemmler (Germany).
It is funded by the European Union, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, and the State Culture Capital Foundation. The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
On June 7, as part of the opening event for Savvaļa’s sixth season, Andris Eglītis’ latest installation “Cube No. 4” and Ieva Putniņa’s solo exhibition “Glass in the Cube” were unveiled. Cube No. 4 is part of Eglītis’ self-initiated visual art program “A Sheltered Space”. Within this program, various artists are invited to create inhabitable artworks. Reflecting on the many possible relationships between the viewer and the artwork, these pieces are meant to be experienced over time—perhaps even overnight.
At the same time, A Sheltered Space responds to Savvaļa’s character as an inspiring residency site. These artworks are created within the framework of artist residencies and also serve as temporary shelters for visitors and residents, encouraging a more transcendent experience. The Cube is a yearly installation/construction by Andris Eglītis that changes its form, function, and meaning each season. This year, it has transformed into a space where other artists can reside and use it as both a residency studio and an exhibition venue.
The first resident of the Cube was artist Ieva Putniņa, who created a new series of works—working with glass for the first time. The result is a set of new pieces forming her solo exhibition “Glass in the Cube”.
The installation Cube No. 4 and Putniņa’s exhibition were created in collaboration with Tils Zigmunds Ozoliņš, Oto Holgers Ozoliņš, Mārtiņš Sarvuts, Toms Musts, and Pauls Jēgers.
Photographed by Aleksejs Beļeckis
The creation of new works and Savvaļa’s visual arts program in its sixth season are supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme and the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia (VKKF).
The new works by Ieva Putniņa and Andris Eglītis are part of the project SPACE: Sustainable Production for Artistic Communities in Europe, and the events included in the project are funded by the European Union.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible for them.
When? 14.06. (Saturday), from 16:00 till 18:30
From June 12th to 17th, a group of artists and thinkers from the wider performing arts field will take part in a residency focused on the theme of collectivity. Throughout the week, they’ll be exploring different ways of working together—both in theory and in practice.
On June 14th, we’re hosting an open event where anyone interested in cooperative ways of creating and thinking is welcome to join one of the residency sessions. The session, facilitated by Anna Majewska and Sylwia Mieczkowska, will start with a somatic practice, followed by a short talk and a group conversation about feedback and how we give and receive it.
The event will be held in English. Participation is free of charge.
If you’re planning to join us for the open session, please let us know by filling out the application form: https://forms.gle/YSdYLHqP51aouLc3A
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Anna Majewska is a performing arts researcher, cultural anthropologist, facilitator, and curator of artistic research projects. She is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Warsaw. Her research focuses on speculative studies, the performativity of body and matter in the context of the ecological crisis, and collaborative practices of knowledge creation at the intersection of art and science. She is currently curating the project “Współmyślenia” and the feminist educational initiative “Schools of Care”. She’s the co-author of “Look Around” (Theatre Institute, 2023).
Sylwia Mieczkowska is a PhD candidate at the Doctoral School in the Humanities at Jagiellonian University. She has published her work in “Theatrical Memoir”, “Culture & Society”, and “Tekstualia”. She has collaborated with artists and researchers in Poland. Her research interests include (eco)posthumanism, feminist new materialisms, speculative realism, and collective methods of knowledge co-production.
This event is part of the residency program "Savvaļas Skiti", supported by State Culture Capital Foundation (VKKF)
With a rich cultural program, the sixth season of the open-air art space SAVVAĻA will be celebrated on June 7th, 2025. Art lovers are invited to spend Saturday afternoon in the scenic fields of Vidzeme, where they will be welcomed with the opening of new works by Latvian artists, poetry readings, a concert, and, as the sun sets, dancing to a soundtrack curated by DJs.
Photo: Filips Šmits
A central part of Savvaļa is its art installation and exhibition pavilion, which undergoes a physical transformation each year. “As the transformation of the Grey Cube continues, last year’s Wind Cube has once again evolved into an exhibition pavilion—and simultaneously, a participant in the exhibitions themselves. Over the season, several exhibitions will overlap and unfold within it,” says Cube No. 4 author Andris Eglītis. The first participant in this upcoming cycle is artist Ieva Putniņa with her solo exhibition Glass in the Cube.
Alongside Putniņa’s exhibition and Cube No. 4, new works by Oto Holgers Ozoliņš and Zane Zelmene will also be unveiled on June 7th. “This art installation brings together the power of nature, ancient traditions, and contemporary design. At its center is a pyramid-shaped sculpture made of clay rods connected by 3D-printed joints that glow in the dark. The object symbolizes an altar to nature—to earth, to light, and to time,” explains Zelmene, author of the work Earth Altar.
All new visual artworks, along with pieces from previous years, will be available to view along Savvaļa’s forest paths starting from 2:00 PM. Visitors may also join the official opening hike with the artists themselves at 6:00 PM. At 4:00 PM, Marija Luīze Meļķe will present her performance Individual Poetry Readings, offering the chance to hear texts from several authors in an intimate, personal format.
As twilight settles in around 8:00 PM, a concert will take place, featuring violist Pēteris Trasuns performing music from various periods and styles. The evening will also include a performance of Anna Fišere’s Power Song for the End of the World, in which the composer joins the violist in singing empowering words. The night at Savvaļa will conclude with DJ-led dancing and the shared joy of summer’s arrival.
Thanks to a partnership with bar “Auss,” various drinks will be available for purchase during the opening event. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own food for a picnic—so that hunger doesn’t get in the way of enjoying art. It’s also recommended to bring mosquito repellent and, for those wishing to explore Savvaļa more thoroughly, rubber boots. Information on how to get there and where to stay can be found in the “How to visit info” section on the website.
Savvaļa’s sixth season is made possible thanks to the financial support provided this year by the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia (VKKF), the "Vidzeme Culture Programme 2025" implemented by the Vidzeme Planning Region and funded through the VKKF’s targeted program “Development Programme for the Historical Lands of Latvia,” Smiltene Municipality, the European Union's “Creative Europe” programme, and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia.
The artworks by Oto Holgers Ozoliņš and Andris Eglītis are part of the project SPACE: Sustainable Production for Artistic Communities in Europe, and are funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Savvaļa annoces multiple open calls in the frame of its residency program!
Please find all the information here: OPEN CALL
Internet journal Satori, in collaboration with SAVVAĻA, invited to join the tour to the exhibition Wild Bits created by the Art and Technology farm “Maajaam” and meet its creators. The bus had two stops – in Riga and Valmiera!
This open-air exhibition is held in South Estonia and is part of the Tartu 2024-European capital of Culture program. This is the closing weekend of the exhibition, and it will be supplemented by a performance programme, more info click here
The exhibition's artworks can be found on a walk - through meadows, past pony pens, lush forests and the mysterious swamp. The exhibition will be able to listen to wind radio, get to know forest perfumery, listen to the sounds over pastures, transport pine cones on the conveyor belt, or go in the middle of the forest lake and explore its biodiversity. “Wild bits” invites you to disappear into the South Estonia landscape for a couple of hours and reflect on how nature, man and man-made technology affect each other.
Exhibit artists: Agnes Meyer-Brandis (DE), Marco Barotti (IT), Julijonas Urbonas (LT), Uģis Albiņš (LV), Anna Tamm & Vinzenz Leutenegger (EE/CH), Varvara & Mar (EE/SP), Jeanne Harignordoquy (FR), Janis Polar (CH), Greg Orrom Swan (UK), Andreas Zißler, Fabian Lanzmaier & Klemens Kohlweis (AT), Mohar Kalra (US), Claudia O’Steen & Aly Ogasian (US), heidundgriess (DE), Studio Watershore (TW), Johan Kirsimäe & Markus Varki (EE).
More information about the exhibition:
During the bus trip there was an opportunity to meet the Savvaļa team and talk about plans for the future, get to know each other with the help of Satori cards, or just watch the passing landscape.
Cover photo: Pēteris Vīksna, design Aleksejs Beļeckis
Photos: Aleksejs Beļeckis
This event is part of program SPACE co-funded by the European Union program Creative Europe. Additionally co-funded by The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and State Culture Capital Foundation (VKKF).
Project "SPACE: Sustainable Production for Artistic Communities in Europe" is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Celebrating Andris Eglītis's “Exhibition”, where part of Savvaļa has moved, celebrating the end of some phase and the beginning of something new - music will be played in the wild on Saturday night:
Ilja Krumins
Elīna Silova and Evija Vēbere + Kārlis Auziņš
Luīze Lote Nežberte and Kirils Ēcis
Antra Priede
The “Auss” bar will be on site.
Photo: Pēteris Vīksna
About the Andris Eglītis's Exhibition: Exhibition. Some instances of encounters between imagination and matter - LNMA
Exactly 300 km from Savvaļa, in the forest lies a boat just like the one in Savvaļa, entangled in trees, surrounded by grass and small bushes. It is not clear how it ended up here. The nearest coast is more than 100 kilometers away. The size of the boat and the inscription “Mazirbe” indicate that it was used for sea fishing. Since the deck boards have partially disappeared, the frame of the boat is visible. It resembles the rotting, long-dead body of a forest beast. But this is not the end. The wreck of the boat has become a place to spend the night. It is possible to understand how this boat ended up here in your sleep. I have heard stories about incredible rainstorms that washed the boat here, and there are also stories about a fisherman who could not leave his boat, so he dragged it with him until he lost strength and had to leave it in the thick of the forest.
Oto's work was created as one of the artwork series co-produced between Savvaļa and Wild Bits as part of program SPACE - Sustainable Production for Artistic Communities in Europe co-funded by the European Union program Creative Europe. Savvaļa's fifth season resident artist sculptor Oto Holgers Ozoliņš created the work "Mazirbe - Savvaļa 300 km" in the frame of the visual art program "Shelter", initiated and curated by Andris Eglītis. Several authors were invited to create various inhabitable works of art. Thinking about the various possible relationships between the viewer and the artwork, these works invite you to experience them for a long time, perhaps even to the afterlife. At the same time, "Shelter" responds to Savvaļa's characteristic of being an inspiring place for residencies, which is why these works of art are created within the framework of artist residencies and also serve as accommodations for visitors and residents, encouraging a more transcendental experience.
ARTWORK PRODUCTION PROCESS
The first step in creating an artwork in Savvaļa is to find a location for it. It is a vast territory of land filled with forests, meadows, ponds and swamps - artworks are usually located on trails, in easily accessible meadows or nearby base camp (where lodgings are located). In this case the artist wanted to find a more secluded place but still near the base so that this artwork could be used for staying overnight and would not be too remote. It is located just by the entrance in the forest and a new entrance path was created to make it visible and accessible.
The artist created an on-site construction workshop in order to be able to build the artwork there making it entirely site-specific - building it into the surrounding forest and adjusting it to the natural setting. Artworks in Savvaļa stay for several seasons and integrate in the surrounding landscape - weather and live through various seasons, continuously changing and evolving. The division between nature-made and human-made intertwines and grows into one another.
The material choices are often influenced by the location - wood, metal, clay, soil, upcycled plastic or fabric are the materials most often used in artwork productions. In this case the artist used wood that has been cut in a nearby wood workshop (from locally sourced trees, after forest cleaning in the winter) at the beginning of the season by Savvaļa technical team (April/May 2024). The wood was then covered in tar in order to ensure longevity of this work. The roof was an upcycled sail from a boat.
In artwork production in Savvaļa an important part is an experience for the artist to work in this wild natural setting and create an artwork within it to see how it differs from their usual practice when working in a workshop (usually in a well equipped setting). Oto also reported that this has been the most valuable part of the process which allowed him to re-evaluate his practice.
Photo: Aleksejs Beļeckis
This event is part of program SPACE co-funded by the European Union program Creative Europe. Additionally co-funded by The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and State Culture Capital Foundation (VKKF).
Project "SPACE: Sustainable Production for Artistic Communities in Europe" is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Savvaļa is hosting two musicians for a residency at the moment. At the end of their residency this Sunday there is going to happen n intimate and unique concert.
"Our, Elīna’s and Jakob’s, residency deals with communication. Communication between ancient and contemporary music. Communication between composed melodies and free flow. We’ll be trying to figure out how to communicate our ideas best with the audience. Trying to become aware of what souls that aren’t phisically reachable want to tell us, and how they can communicate through our artform."
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Elīna Viļuma-Helling is a Latvian singer who lives in Vienna, Austria. After growing up in the Lativian choir music scene and at Riga Dome Choir School, she studied jazz vocals in Graz, yet now for several years her focus has been contemporary and early music. Elīna performes regularly at Salzburger Festpiele and has sung in concert halls such as Concertgebow Amsterdam, Wiener Konzerthaus or Konzerthaus Dortmund. She has been a permanent member of the vocal ensemble Cantando Admont since 2017 and does solo performances in the contemporary and early music field.
Jakob Helling grew up with church music in northern Germany. While becoming interested in jazz music he was also singing and playing keyboards and trumpet in several rock and pop bands. After being mainly a trumpet player for several years his focus shifted to composition – mostly since he studied jazz composition in Graz. He wrote comissioned works for ensembles such as Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and WDR Big Band Cologne. Today he lives and works with his family in Vienna, Austria.
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The activities of the season 5 of Savvaļa and the events included therein are co-funded by the European Union programme “Creative Europe”, the State Culture Capital Foundation (VKKF), the programme of the VKKF “Latvian historic lands Development Programme” and Vidzeme planning Region, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and Valmiera Municipality Council.
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
On Sunday, July 7, at 6:00 p.m., Savvaļā will host a literary and sonorous performance "Donbass Apricots in Savvaļa" by Ukrainian poet Lyuba Yakimchuk, musician Latvīte Cirse, and translator Māra Poļakova, which will be complemented by a performance by musician and poet Aleksandrs Barons.
Although several significant translations have been published in recent years, Latvia still has a fragmentary understanding of Ukrainian literature, including poetry. Ukrainian writers themselves rarely find their way to Latvia, which is understandable during the war. However, interest in Ukrainian literature has grown tremendously in many parts of the world, and a large number of readers have also discovered Ukrainian culture in Latvia. Currently, Ukrainian literature is the most relevant and contemporary for us – especially the active and talented authors of the younger generation.
Ukrainian poet Lyuba Yakimchuk will come to Latvia to meet with readers – those interested in poetry and Ukrainian literature. Yakimchuk's most notable collection of poetry is "Абрикоси Донбаса", (Apricots of Donbass). It has been translated into several languages, including English, French and Estonian. Forbes magazine has included it in the top 10 most important Ukrainian books about the war. Yakimchuk's fate was also severely affected by Russian aggression in 2014, when she was forced to leave her home in the occupied Luhansk region. This experience is present in her creative work.
Kokle player Latvīte Cirse and currently the most active translator from Ukrainian Māra Polyakova will participate in the event. Lyuba Yakimchuk and Latvīte Cirse will create a joint literary and sonorous performance, fusing the Ukrainian language with the sounds of the Latvian kokle.
In the second part of the concert, musician and poet Aleksandrs Barons will perform. In Savvala, we will hear his contemporary folk music genre songs – both from his 2022 debut “tīra vārdītā” (Pure Truth) and from his second album “Gaidot snegu”, which is planned to be released this year. “If every summer your pale skin curses the sun, then these sad songs will remind you of those pleasant days when a fat and gray cloud looms ahead,” says Aleksandrs Barons.
The event was created in collaboration with the Valmiermuiža Ethnomusic Festival and the support of the Valmiermuiža Brewery.
Savvaļa announces Open Call for UNDOING 01 by artist Agnese Krivade
Think participatory performance, immersive theatre, rest research, nature residency, recovery bootcamp… We do our own form here. We are looking for people for collective research of rest, as essential part of creative practice. If you are an artist or work in arts or culture, are over 18, and fed up with the constant over-functioning, and not afraid of wild nature, maybe this is for you?
To apply please send us short motivation: why do you think you could benefit from this, and why are you reacting to this invitation, and biography/ CV with your contact information. Please apply by 26.05. We will reply by 29.05. In case of selection, you will be asked to confirm your place by 3.06. We can host around around 12 participants, our criteria will be - gender, geography and represented field balance. We will give preference to applications from Eastern and Northern Europe. You can find a detailed information about UNDOING 01 and open call by downloading this PDF file.
Design: Monika Grūzīte
This event is part of program SPACE co-funded by the European Union program Creative Europe. Additionally co-funded by The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and State Culture Capital Foundation (VKKF).
Project "SPACE: Sustainable Production for Artistic Communities in Europe" is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
In the middle of summer, on Friday, June 21, the open-air cultural space “Savvaļa” will host a Summer Solstice event with concerts by the experimental ethnomusic band “Līgas pH3” and cellist Sarma Gabrēna at sunset.
The Solstice welcoming event in Savvaļa will begin at 8:00 p.m. with a concert by cellist Sarma Gabrēna, followed by a concert by the experimental ethnomusic band “Līgas pH3” at 9:00 p.m., which will premiere the group’s new album “Ne tā gaida Jāņa bērnus.” To this day, 1,155 Midsummer song melodies – līgotnes, which are not always joyful and happy, have survived in the records. The new album is designed as an introverted Midsummer song program, based on slow, calm, introverted, introverted līgotnes. “That’s Not How Midsummer’s Children Are Waiting” is based on the idea that sometimes the introverted nature is so strong that, although the need to celebrate and experience the miracle of the summer solstice is felt, it is not enough to get you ready for a proper mass event with loud, brisk singing and playing. In the new program, the musicians look deeper into the available materials, selecting the calmest, most contemplative and meditative lullabies, which were brought to life in the new album of the group “Līgas pH3”.
Sarma Gabrēna is a musician who creates an experimental, nature-inspired and improvisation-based sound world. She uses the cello as an extension and translator of her voice, playing with feelings that we often try to suppress in everyday life. Sarma enjoys her own blurring of boundaries, experiments, all kinds of successes and failures, and is happy for everyone to whom her sound world has given a place to get lost, breathe, feel and forget for a moment.
The core line-up of the association “Līgas pH3” consists of Līga Kriķe, Līga Eglīte, Līga Kalniņa, Amanda Zaeska, Anita Laime, Laura Grīnberga and Inese Tone. The new program features guest artists such as flutist Ieva Rūtentāle Krolle and Guntis Kursišs, who complements the sound with baritone, didgeridoo and throat singing. The recording is by the musical producer – Kārlis Tone. The author of the visual design is artist Andris Kaļiņins.
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Supported by the European Union program Creative Europe
We are opening Savvaļa. On May 18, the festival “Gunars Saliņš and Elles ķēkis” will visit Drusti with a special program to take part in the opening of the 2024 season of the open-air art space SAVVAĻA with the participation of contemporary Latvian poets and young artists.
Poet Semjons Haņins will present the event “Walk in New York” (starting at 12:30), presenting stories about Hell's Kitchen and readings of texts by contemporary Latvian poets, which will take place on the Savvaļas nature trails, where objects created by students of the Latvian Academy of Arts’ “POST” master’s program will also be on display, complementing the Savvaļas open-air exhibition. At 3:30 p.m. Kārlis Vērdiņš will introduce Saliņš’s new poetry collection “Let’s Forest New York” (“Neputns”, 2024), which includes 101 of his most brilliant lyrical and lyric-epic poems written from 1945 to 2003.
With poetry readings in the Wind Cube at At 16:00, festival visitors will be entertained by poets Marija Luīze Meļķe, Kārlis Vērdiņš, Semjons Haņins, Arvis Viguls and Aivars Madris, while at around 17:00 the event will be concluded at Savvaļas Bāzē with a concert featuring the Saliņi family and guitarist Edgars Rubeņš. After 20:00 - Savvaļas dances.
The program stops are indicated according to Savvaļa time, there may be delays from the specified ones.
Event participants are offered the opportunity to go to the festival by bus, which on May 18 at 10:00 will depart from the Latvian National Library (from Valguma Street) and at 20:00 will depart from Drusti to bring everyone back to Riga.
Photo documentation from the event:
Photo: Aleksejs Beļeckis
This event is part of program SPACE co-funded by the European Union program Creative Europe. Additionally co-funded by The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and State Culture Capital Foundation (VKKF).
Project "SPACE: Sustainable Production for Artistic Communities in Europe" is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
This summer Estonian art project “Wild Bits” is joining forces with the art space “Savvaļa”, located in the northern part of Latvia, taking the “Wild Bits” satellite exhibition to the Latvian wilderness.
“Wild Bits” is a technological art residency and exhibition programme that will culminate with a large outdoor exhibition in summer of 2024 in the hilly landscape of South Estonia.
“Wild Bits” with three installations by artists Anna Tamm & Vinzenz Leutenegger (EE/CH), Jeanne Harignordoquy (FR) and Uģis Albiņš (LV) will arrive to “Savvaļa” in the middle of July and stay there until the end of the season.
On Sunday, 6th of August, “Savvaļa” and “Wild Bits” are inviting you to an excursion – it will include a curatorial tour, a public conversation led by the “Curatorial Summer School” of the Art Academy of Latvia, common cooking and a sauna. Guests can take their time for non-curated wandering and maybe allow themselves a few refreshing dips in the ponds and forest lake. Everybody's welcome to contribute something to the table (snacks, veggies etc.) and bring their own drinks.
Practical info:
Bring your rain boots/outdoor shoes, mosquito repellent, sun protection and towel with you.
“Wild Bits” is organised by an art and tech farm “Maajaam” and is part of the main programme of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024.
“Wild Bits” satellite exhibition in “Savvaļa” is supported by the European Capital on Culture 2024, French Institute, State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia and Vidzeme Planning Region of Latvia.
16. jūlijā, svētdienā, "Savvaļā" uzstāsies somu dzejniece Heli Lāksonena, viņas atdzejotājs Guntars Godiņš un dziesminieks Siensliens, tāpat todien tiks atklāta Ingas Melderes un Miko Hinca kopīgā izstāde, kas veidota radošās darbnīcas formā.
Inga Meldere un Miko Hincs izstādē nodarbosies ar krāsu pigmentu iegūšanu no dabas materiāliem, laika gaitā atvērtas darbnīcas formātā tos izmantojot “Baltā kuba” audekla gleznojumiem. Hincs ir Vācijā dzimis somu mākslinieks, kurš dzīvo un strādā Helsinkos, viņa miniatūru formātā veidotie darbi izstādīti gan daudzviet Somijā, gan Baltijas valstīs. Arī latviešu māksliniece Inga Meldere rezidē Helsinkos, savos darbos detalizēti un smalkjūtīgi pētot dažādas glezniecības prakses un metodes.
Heli Lāksonena ir somu dzejniece, kas raksta dienvidrietumu somu valodas dialektā. Latviski līdz šim iznākušas grāmatas "Kad gos smei", "Piec ait kalns", "Soul. Burkans. Undens" un "Paņēmi manu sirdi no plaukta". Tās visas latviski atdzejojis Guntars Godiņš, izmantojot Vidzemes piekrastes lībisko izloksni – lasījumā abi uzstāsies kopā. Tam sekos Siensliena jeb Klāva Kalnača koncerts – viņš zināms arī kā grupu “Nielslens Lielsliens” un “Židrūns” solists, kurš dažādu muzikālu ansambļu ietvaros rakstījis dziesmas gan ar Lāksonenas, gan Godiņa tekstiem.
Lasījuma un koncerta sākums paredzēts 17:00, izstāde apskatāma visas dienas garumā.
On June 21, the Solstice Day, Savvaļa invites you to a joint celebration – the opening event of the fourth season. The program includes: the opening of Andris Eglītis's installation Baltais kubs, the exhibition of Harijs Brants, poetry and music by Pēteris Draguns, Kirilas Ēčas, Henrijs Laķa (the exhibition is open all day, performances start at 19:00). The next day: Slavic chants by Anšas bētiņš and Artūrs Čukuras.
Brant's exhibition will be on view for 5 days – until June 25.
Photo: Filips Šmits and Aleksejs Beļeckis
Baltais kubs
Harijs Brants exhibition
Concert by ansis Bētiņš and Artūrs Čukurs
Solo show by Dāvis Ozols "Zāle" ["In The Grass"] at the Grey Cube is opened until April 2023.
The series of works by Dāvis Ozols was created in traditional painting techniques, using oil and watercolor. "The color used in the paintings creates a metaphor for a romantic perspective. Living in an era where culture is consumed quickly, I try to represent the oppositional side of culture, the slow processes, in this case painting," says Ozols; the focus of the works is the landscape of plants from the perspective of the earth.
Photo: Aleksejs Beļeckis
Supported by the State Cultural Capital Fundation.
On the evening of August 27, the last summer event of Savvaļa's third season took place. Its curators were Savvaļa Skit resident Henrijs Laķis and musician Andrejs Poikāns.
The program included live electronic music, interacting with analog video projections.
The concert featured five foreign electronic music performers: Wilf Amis (England), Riccardo Ancona (Italy), Dima Ibrahims (Cologne), Valentins Kelleins (Berlin), Amos Peleds (Israel).
Sintija Andersone (Baltic Analog Lab) and Henrijs Laķis took care of the analog projections. After the concert, there was a night of music played by Henrijs Laķis and Kirils Ēcis.
Wilf Amis – a London-born composer, improviser, synthesizer designer and writer who lives in The Hague.
Ricardo Ancona – Italian-born composer, improviser, creative programmer and music writer, lives and works in the Netherlands.
“World Experience Center” is a post-club industrial noise music project created by Dima Ibrahims, Valentins Kelleins and Amos Peleds. The project focuses on playing live club music, challenging its concepts.
Kirils Ēcis works in various artistic disciplines. Since 2016, he has published several poetry publications and articles in both digital and printed formats. In 2019, he co-authored the dramaturgical material for director Krista Burāne’s play “The Immoral”.
Henrijs Laķis lives between Berlin and Riga. He works with photography and cinema, and simultaneously organizes music and performance events. He plays music from all over the world, focusing on combinations of voices and rhythms from different parts of the world with electronic music.
Sintija Andersone works with analog film and photography. She has made several short films and extended film performances. Her works, in collaboration with “Baltic Analog Lab”, have been shown at experimental film festivals in Lithuania, Spain and Canada.
The Latvian premiere of American minimalist composer Michael Gordon's composition "8" at Savvaļa. The concert is curated by Miks Magone.
In 2022, the "Gordoniāde" began - a concert cycle by American composer Michael Gordon, jointly cherished by Savvaļa, the festival Zemlika and Miks Magone. The first of them was performed in early January - the installation-adventure "Biežņa" created by Katrīna Neiburga and Andris Eglītis, concluded with five performances in two days of Michael Gordon's composition "Timber" for six percussions in the Ventspils concert hall "Latvija". As a continuation of the “Gordoniāde”, several performances of the piece for four electric guitars “Amplified” took place in the concert hall “Latvija”, and on August 13, the Latvian premiere of the work for cello octet entitled “8” took place in Savvaļa.
Miks Magone: “According to the original idea of the composer Michael Gordon, the work is performed in concert conditions with the musicians in a closed circle and the audience (sitting, lying down) both inside and outside the circle. As a result, the sound moves between the musicians (individual parts) and in the space/environment, evoking associations of it as a tangible object or sculpture. The compositional peculiarity of the piece is that the sound travels around the circle in both directions at the same time. Namely, each musician simultaneously performs both the bass and melody parts, and the listener, being inside the circle, hears how the melody moves around him, but upon listening more carefully, the bass moves in the opposite direction and independently of it. About 12 years ago, Michael Gordon, one of the founders of the collective “Bang On A Can”, most likely did not plan or imagine that over time, four compositions for chamber ensembles of one instrument, following one another, would become a peculiar cycle. Gordon had devoted a lot of energy to several large-format scores and after the orchestral works “Decasia” and “Dystopia” he felt tired of tonality and orchestrations. He wanted something pure, liberating, ritual – with the intention of using one instrument in a chamber ensemble setting. Thus was born the composition “Timber” – music for six identical wooden percussion instruments or “simantras”. Gordon imagined this piece as a journey through the desert, where the feeling of the need to survive in harsh conditions clears the mind and arouses visions. Over time, three other pieces followed – “Rushes” for seven bassoons (2012), “Amplified” for four electric guitars (2015) and this summer’s “Savvaļā” Latvian premiere, “8” for eight cellos (2018). Each of the pieces is like a journey, a sonic, physical and mental experience, which is just one. One “Gordoniāde”.
Foto: Aleksejs Beļeckis
"Savvaļa Octet"
On Thursday, July 14, Matīss Čudars, Evija Vēbere, Elīna Silova and Ivars Arutjunjans – four musicians, friends, who in recent years have been seen in various jazz and contemporary experimental music ensembles as some of the strongest Latvian composers, songwriters and performers – performed at Savvaļa's Grey Cube.
The concert was the result of the quartet's residency at "Savvaļas Skiti", during which the musicians created new works in the unique acoustics of the Grey Cube.
On July 23, the Grey Cube exhibition pavilion, which was built this summer in Savvaļas, hosted a concert by 12 Latvian Radio Choir soloists and percussionist Mika Čavarts, conducted by Sigvards Kļava.
The program, specially adapted to the unique acoustics of the Grey Cube, includes compositions by Andrejs Selicks, John Cage, Santa Ratniece, and Arvo Pärt.
The event is supported by the VV Foundation.
On July 8, Savvaļa hosted a concert by the contemporary folk music group "Nielslens Lielsliens" and balafonist Vija Anna Moore, which premiered the song cycle "Unexpected Heroes", jointly composed by the musicians.
The songs are based on texts heard in the media from news heroes or eyewitnesses to their heroism. They tell about events in 2021 and the beginning of 2022. For example, here is a story from Vijciems about bears that bark in the garden and won't leave. Here are excerpts from what an Antarctic marathon runner said. Here are the words that a visitor to a water aerobics class said about what she experienced. The musician's reflections on the possibility of retraining as a programmer in the "Python" language at a time when concerts could not be held due to the virus are also included. The songs in the cycle are passionate, danceable, more joyful than sad and just as beautiful as NL's previous works.
Free admission to the concert, starting at 9:00 PM.
This is a new musical program for the "Nielslens Lielsliens", which has been characterized by "good old days melancholy" and acoustically gloomy moods in its three EPs and albums so far. The first musical collaboration outside the group's usual lineup in the past 12 years of activity has also been formed. One member of "Nielslens Lielsliens" is from Drusti parish, lives next door to Savvaļa.
Vija Anna Moore studies world music at the Sibelius Academy of the Helsinki University of the Arts, with an emphasis on playing the balafon, has composed music for the Dirty Deal theater play "Mushroom Championship 2021", plays the balafon and other instruments in various music projects in Latvia and Finland. One of the organizers of the art festival "Optižūns".
Photo: Aleksejs Beļeckis
On June 11, along with the group exhibition “Skits”, the Grey Cube was opened – a new exhibition pavilion dedicated to painting – and the third season of Savvaļas events in general. The exhibition will be on view until July 23.
The Grey Cube is the first open-air exhibition pavilion in Latvia. Just like an art museum, it is a building specifically designed for art and, like galleries, it is a place for traditional, experimental and contemporary art. However, moving away from the elitism and arrogance of the white cube, it becomes a grey cube also in a symbolic sense, as it postulates itself not as a building served by art, but as a building that serves art.
The idea arose during the previous seasons of Savvaļa; Andris Eglītis, Austris Mailītis, Oskars Poikāns and other Savvaļa friends and participants worked on the design of the Grey Cube, while the main supporter is “Latvijas Mobilais Telefons”.
The first exhibition at the Grey Cube was created by Aleksejs Beļeckis, inviting Sabīne Vernere, Andris Eglītis, Elīna Silova, Alīse Vorobeja to collaborate. The exhibition was opened with the sound performance by Elīna Silova and Kaspars Kurdeko.
Saints did not become saints because they did something extraordinary, but because they did something ordinary extraordinarily well. In a short explanation the ancient Greek word “amerimnos” (ἀμέριμνος) means liberation from anxiety, worries, freedom from worldly cares. In Christian asceticism “amerimnos” is associated with the practice of silence and is connected with Desert tradition and with sketes – a monastic communities in Eastern Christianity that allows relative isolation for monks, but also allows for communal services and the safety of shared resources and protection. But this silence and withdrawal from the world are not necessarily connected with physical or geographical location, but rather – a state of mind. According to the tradition of East Syrian mystics, this state is achieved when the mind localizes in the heart. A necessary step as neither the practice of silence nor hermitism has any meaning if they are cultivated without love. Through it, a state of inner silence, liberation from noise, is achieved. It is the listening of pure sound. Catholic theologian Josemaría Escrivá considered the main function of such silence to be the protection of a person’s inner life from the world’s empty talk.
Savvaļa, separated from the world by forests and mental distance, is a modern scete – a territory of filled silence, where many sounds coexist, but not the noise. Savvaļa’s first indoor exhibition in the Gray Cube is about silence or at least an attempt to be silent and to hear. A space organized for a moment, in which, when encountering a work of art, one not only looks, but also sees.
