On September 5, the exhibition “No White Flags” was and is open up to September 27. The exhibition completes the international art residency “SustainARTability” which brought together 17 young artists from around Europe to show their commitment not to surrender nor stop working against climate change.
The art residency is a co-project by the Art Academy of Latvia and the EU National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) inviting art students from Latvia and from other European countries – Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Finland, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom – for a ten-day workshop to exchange ideas and create artworks with a white flag, the symbol of surrender, as a starting point. The task was to create an artwork on the topic of sustainability reflecting their individual position on the matter.
Sharing different experiences in culture and sustainability can pave the way for collaborative capacity building, co-creation and the development of international cultural relationships. Artist Ieva Stalšene, one of the mentors, elaborated on the idea behind the project:
“The exhibition does not claim to change the world with a snap of a finger, nor does it overwhelm with tables or complex data. Instead, it invites dialogue, a shared emotional experience, and communicates in the language of contemporary art through materials, sound, video, graphics, painting and installations.”
The project is intended to engage viewers, promote public understanding of sustainability issues and spark discussion on this pressing topic. There was no specific intension for the final outcome, but together they embarked on an adventure to create remarkable art pieces. Ieva noted that the inspiration for the exhibition comes from her childhood vision of a bright future, contrasted with today’s news, which is filled with one adversary after another. Giving the speech at the opening of the exhibition she reflected on the ongoing dilemmas that define our present reality:
“It appears that while I am trying to survive financially, I am dying ecologically.”
On a positive note, she emphasised that through this residency, one can pause reality, set aside daily concerns, take a deep breath and fully confront what is happening in the world. By dedicating time and attention to the works of these talented young artists one can sense the pain, determination and humanity within their creations. By bringing together young artists from different countries together in Latvia, the project fosters collaboration, strengthen relationships among countries and encourages the exchange of values through shared experiences.
Each piece in the project is unique, with every artist offering a distinct interpretation of the theme. The artworks range from depiction of turtles and fishing nets to symbolic white flags. One approach to addressing the environmental issue was through a video collaboration, created by three students from Finland, Latvia and Italy. The three students represent different artistic disciplines: the Latvian – painting apartment, the Finn – visual arts and the Italian – video installation, making the art piece not only international but also cross-disciplinary. They created a vocal story about the Baltic Sea using imagery and characters from the Latvian mythology – Jūras mate, ‘Mother of the Sea’, weaving a net out of the white flag. Participation of the Finnish young artist Pihla Väisänen was supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers office in Latvia.
“We became friends on the first day, we knew from instant that we should work together,” shares one of the artists. “People used to offer gifts to the Mother of the Sea to ensure sailors’ safe return, but nowadays we give the sea only pollution – mostly from agriculture.”
The symbolic white flag is a thread linking together all the pieces of art made during the residency. Through their artwork, they can bring a powerful message back to their home countries, spreading the call to resist “waving the white flag” refusing to surrender in the fight against climate change. Ieva Stalšene put it explicitly in her speech, leaving the audience with a motivational aftertaste:
“We hold onto the hope that our refusal to surrender might just save us.”
The exhibition is open until September 27.
Venue: Art space DUO, 4 Kronvalda bulvāris.
Working hours: Monday to Friday 12:00–6:00 P.M.
Entrance: free of charge.
The project is organised by the EUNIC Latvia in collaboration with the Art Academy of Latvia and funded by the EUNIC Cluster Fund. The EUNIC is a network of organisations engaged in cultural relations. Together with its partners, it brings cultural collaboration to more than 100 countries worldwide through a network of 140 clusters, drawing on the wide experience of its members from all EU Member States and associated countries. The project strengthens relationships on both institutional and personal levels. It builds a network of collaborations among students, European institutions and universities.
In Latvia, the EUNIC partner organisations are the British Council of Latvia, the Danish Cultural Institute in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Goethe Institute in Riga, French Institute in Latvia, the Embassy of Austria, the Embassy of Greece, the Embassy of Italy, the Embassy of Spain and the Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Latvia.
Photo: Didzis Grodzs
