Decadence is coming – Riga Photomonth will start on May 23
This year, the festival Riga Photomonth will start on May 23 and its theme will be “decadence”. The festival will offer an art and music program that will be direct, brutal, irrational, challenging, contiguous, inspiring, believing that this kind of art can help save humanity from extinction. The 2022 Photomonth is inspired by decadents from another century who believed that art should not serve the tastes of the masses, it should be freed from existing conventions, rationalism and logic, it should be true, creative and sensual. The program of the festival invites not only to give in to impulses and enjoyment, but also to reflect on our values, moral norms, the role of the artist in this era and the direction of development of Western society.
Riga Photomonth will take place in independent city galleries that operate outside the conventional institutional environment. The festival will start on May 23 at 19.00 with the opening of the scandalous artist Elīna Semane’s exhibition Mic Drop at the Masa studio (Alauksta 7A). The exhibition, created by the curator of this year’s festival, uses references to F. Nietzsche’s critical position on the distinction between good and evil, calling for a reassessment of generally accepted notions of values and moral norms. May 24 at 18.00 Ieva Stalšene’s solo exhibition Innocence will be opened at the Dom Gallery (Gertrudes 115), which will talk about the natural process of a person – the loss of innocence, but at 20.00 in the bar/bookstore Bolderāja (Avotu 29) – an exhibition of Evija Ābrama’s paintings Live Poop Die, which tends to ask the question – what is shitty art? On May 25, a solo exhibition I sold two paintings but it didn’t make me happier by Estonian artist Alexei Gordin will open in Smilga cultural space (E.Smiļģa 34A), where he talks about the artist’s moral challenges in the face of commercialization, hypocrisy and inequality. On May 26, at 17.30 exhibition Red Velvet of erotic photographs by young photographer Anna Dzerve will open at M/Gallery (A.Briāna 9), but 19.00 the group show Decadence that will feature the surreal photographs of Dmitri Gerasimov, known for his bizzare works for musician Tommy Cash, the expressive painter Tobias Klein (Germany), as well as the controversial Latvian artists Envija, Elīna Semane, Lee Chapman, Roberts Brastiņš and Ieva Stalšene. On May 27, at 6 pm in the Riga Highest Gallery, it will be possible to see Linda Vilka’s apartment, where the exhibition Crumb revolutions, yesterday’s resolutions will take place.
From May 26 to 27, at Tu jau zini Kur venue in Tallinas quarter the Decadence Music Festival will take place, where Latvian experimental, metal, punk, noise music bands such as Tesa, Batra, Svēte, Uguns, Pauls Raimonds, +K+M+B and others will take part. The music selected in the program with its directness, brutality and sound concisely complements the theme of this year’s festival.
The exhibitions of the festival will take place until June 22, when the closing events are also planned. Admission to the events is free.
Check the Opening week program on Facebook and join the festival events!
More info – https://rigasfotomenesis.lv
