RIBOCA2: and suddenly it all blossoms

The Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art announces its venues for its second edition: and suddenly it all blossoms

RIBOCA2 district, Andrejostas iela 17/k-6
The territory of the former industrial port of Riga, Andrejsala
RIBOCA2 will take place in an entire district of Riga, Andrejsala (“Andrew’s Island”), spanning over 15 hectares of a territory previously used as an industrial port on the bank of the Daugava river. The exhibition, happening both outdoors and indoors, invites the visitor for a few hours’ wander. Bearing the traces of yesterday’s industrial desires while waiting for its potential rebirth, Andrejsala is a metaphor for our current challenges: to reimagine ways of inhabiting the world when all signs call for a new epoch. The path has been imagined as a stroll and an experience, starting in the blossoming of the summer and ending in the pale brightness of the winter. Between an abandoned electric power station, ports, granaries, empty lots, hangars and a railway station, the visitor is invited to drift and discover a project built in close dialogue with the existing ecosystem, forming new relationships and collaborations with the site.

The journey starts with Bridget Polk’s performance work. The garden, planted in collaboration with Vija Enina, is home to works such as Ugo Rondinone’s Life Time, a monumental installation by Heinz Frank, and Lina Lapelyte’s outdoor intervention. The journey ends with the main venue, an 18.000 m2 three-storey former warehouse overlooking the harbour, surrounded by parklands for Riga’s citizens and guests. The venue also offers a bar, children’s play area, integrated education room, public program lecture hall, a bookshop and a café. Entry to this area is free of charge.

Opening up a wide territory that had been closed for years and bringing it back into the landscape of the city, and suddenly it all blossoms occupies this space for the imagining of collective futures within it.

The former Summer Residence of the Union of Architects of Latvia
Rigas iela 50/52, Jūrmala
Situated at the seaside town of Jūrmala, the Biennial’s second location is the former Summer Residence of the Architects Union of Latvia—a wooden residential building and garden, typical of the local style. Located in Dzintari, one of Jūrmala’s central neighbourhoods, this venue hosts a project by Pawel Althamer, developing a residency with Brooklyn-based cellist Jacob Cohen in dialogue with regional artists and musicians.

Selected by chief curator Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel, the venues reflect different aspects of the cultural and architectural history of Riga and its surroundings, juxtaposing a highly industrialised site in the city with the idyllic, leisurely resort town of Jūrmala.

Expanding the curatorial concept beyond the main exhibition venues, and suddenly it all blossoms collaborates with 3 local restaurants and their chefs—Mazā Terapija, Casa Nostra, and 3 Pavāru—who each dialogue with the curatorial concept by imagining the flavour of “re-enchantment” through vegetarian food. Their menus are available throughout the Biennial, extending its offering across the city.

RIBOCA2 brings together 46 visionary international and regional artists and collectives whose works challenge and expand traditional definitions of art. Full artist list here.

Architecture
Roland Reemaa and Laura Linsi are RIBOCA2 leading architects, whose proposal for the Biennial aligns with RIBOCA2 curatorial concept, aiming to be in harmony with its surroundings, utilising found objects, natural materials and recycling.

Visual identity
Working with RIBOCA2, The Laboratory of Manuel Bürger is developing a playful visual identity and signage for the Biennial, seeking to create new relationships between artworks, participants, and visitors’ imaginations across the edition’s venues.

International PR
Pelham Communications | T +44 20 8969 3959, Eleanor Gibson or Grace Englefield
eleanor [​at​] pelhamcommunications.com / grace [​at​] pelhamcommunications.com