Creative city “Grīziņdārzs” continues to establish itself as a meeting place for creativity, ideas, and culture. This autumn, one of Riga’s most significant contemporary art events will take place in our space. From August 30 to September 28, we will host the annual international festival Survival Kit 16 with the exhibition House of See-More. For the first time in the festival’s history, the event will be held in a dynamic and modern premises – a departure from its tradition of occupying abandoned or unused buildings, which has been a defining part of its identity until now.

The concept for the Survival Kit 16 exhibition, House of See-More, was developed by curators Slavs and Tatars and Michal Grzegorzek, drawing inspiration from the mythological bird Simurgh, known in the folklore of the Eurasian region. The exhibition reflects on the complex realities of transnationalism across the territory stretching from China to the northern borders of Ukraine, presenting the figure of the Simurgh as a liberating symbol, both spiritually and politically. The Simurgh serves as a metaphor for questions of belonging, borders, and collective identity, themes that are becoming increasingly relevant in today’s world.

The exhibition also references various historical and literary examples in which birds and winged beings – from Aristophanes’ play The Birds and Farid ud-Din Attar’s The Conference of the Birds to the Latvian folk song cycle The Wedding of the Birds – come together to transcend individual boundaries and collectively achieve something greater and more powerful than themselves.

This year’s exhibition will feature works by 23 artists and artist collectives from various countries. Among them are feminist activist Oksana Shachko, the Ukrainian artist duo Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk, textile artist Filipka Rutkowska, and Latvian artist Luīze Nežberte. The exhibition will showcase both classical forms of contemporary art and works that blur the boundaries between performance, installation, and textile art.

For more information about the festival, please visit the official Instagram and Facebook accounts.

We invite everyone – art enthusiasts and those curious to explore “Grīziņdārzs” – to come, experience, and discover this unique event!