The theme of the 2022 exhibition is “Consolation.”

The third decade of the 21st century has began dramatically. For two years the daily life around the world was impeded by Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022 the Russian invasion and war in Ukraine has shaken the region to its core. The ongoing war has shattered our dreams and hopes that mankind is striving towards more humanity, and brutal warfare is a thing of the past; we are becoming fundamentally disillusioned. It is a radical break. Uncertainty about the future. Suffering and death. A traumatic experience that we cannot pretend not to see or feel. We all have to confront it - the Ukrainians who experience it directly, and everyone else who empathizes with them. But how should we react to it, what should we think and do with this experience?

This year's theme invites artists to connect with the experiences, either private or global, that have been impactful for them and look for solace or offer means for consolation to others. Often, the process of work itself is healing, it can be a way of resolving difficult issues, the opportunity to work out and reorganize experiences and emotions, and understand one's own attitude or position. Perhaps not only the process of work - the transfer of thoughts and feelings onto material - but also the themes expressed by the artwork can become a consolation. That is the aim of this exhibition - to give people solace. We hope to provide opportunity to create human connections by artwork-mediated communication among people bonded by the same experience.

The submitted work must have been created in the last two years. The material used in making the submitted work must be porcelain. Other materials may be used to assist in exhibiting the works or as supplements to the installation (for example as a base, platform or stand) if these do not exceed 30% of the overall volume of the work. The dimensions of the submitted work (or the total dimensions of a group of works) must not exceed 21 cm x 21 cm x 21 cm. The minimum size of the works must be not less than 13 cm in at least one dimension.

Artists shall declare they are participating by sending a completed application form and a photograph of their work to rpm@riga.lv.

For further questions, please, contact Curator of the exhibition Ieva Nagliņa - ieva.naglina@riga.lv.

In the picture: Artwork "Head-leg" by Ilona Romule (Latvia). 2012. Foto: Gvido Kajons.