Inter | Action | Inter | Discipline
Viktoria Weber (TUR_telpa)
About cross pollinations between visual arts and music at TUR_telpa, Rīga
Within Riga’s context, TUR_telpa functions as an independent art space that values experimentation and process-based art. It is not only a supporter of contemporary art but invites creatives from different fields to react to ongoing exhibitions, the artworks within and the concepts behind it. These crossovers between different artistic expressions generated based on an exhibition are one of the trademarks of a space that functions as an experimental playfield for art. For the finissages of the winter series Eternal Ephemerals at TUR, the evening is accompanied by a selection of soups created by Rūta Rietuma warming not only to the in winter nearly unheated space but also reacting to the ongoing show. For the photographic documentation of the exhibition openings an artist is invited to capture the event through their own creative lens. Likewise stimulated by the exhibitions the live concert series seems to be the most mediated of these explorative cross pollinations.
Particularly in the contemporary art scene, the terms ‘interdisciplinarity‘ and ‘collaboration’ have recently been used excessively, leading to the emergence of numerous new university as well as exhibition programmes. However, already the teaching and experimental activities of Black Mountain College in North Carolina from 1933 onwards, inspired by the activities of Bauhaus members, have positioned explorative and interdisciplinary practices as groundbreaking for 20 th and 21 st century art. Initially connecting different areas of the arts - like visual art, sound, literature, music, performance and theater-making - this increasingly expanded to other scientific fields with the possibilities of crossovers being sheerly endless. Recent world exhibitions, such as documenta fifteen (2022) in Kassel, Germany, gained increasing interest due to their collaborative approach to curatorship and its impact on the authorship of a show. However, it remains important to reconsider the benefits of interdisciplinary and collaborative processes. Lately, the documenta fifteen faced criticism for exhibiting anti-Semitic works due to a lack of control over the selection process. More often the terms ‘interdisciplinarity‘ and ‘collaboration’ degenerate into vague, trendy phrases that have to be continuously questioned of their relevance. When is it appropriate to work in these modes, and can they contribute to the local art scene in Riga?
Originating from the concept of artist talks, the concert series at TUR_telpa curated by pianist and composer Robert Fleitz and initiated by curator Edd Schouten, invites different musicians to respond to the active exhibitions at TUR. For the series the artist talk, usually a mediated public dialogue between artist, curator, and audience, takes place between the artist and the musical curator Robert before the concert.
When Robert got involved with TUR_telpa around one year ago, his aim was to create a series of responsive, musical reactions as a way of amplifying the art while creating new pieces of expression. Robert uses his intuition in correlation to the exhibition to find musicians whose core ideas intersect with those of the artist’s. Each concert starts off with a clear connection to the artwork, a form of personal sonic interpretation of the visual landscape, before developing and taking on a life of its own. In his understanding the concerts function as unique gifts from one artist to another when musicians bring in a set of perspectives that can become a point of departure for the development of a piece. Not only is such an interdisciplinary contact between visual artists and musicians a unique addition to the cultural scene but also a unique platform for improvisation in Riga and beyond. Robert describes the concerts as his personal highlights of 2023 due to the intimate experience it generates between the participating artists, musicians, and the attending crowd.
Luīze Rukšāne and Līga Griķe recently had the opportunity to meet within the framework of the concert series for Luīze’s exhibition Folding Lines (19.01.2024 – 17.02.2024). Over a coffee as well as a tour of the show both realised that many of their interests in exploring family structures resonated and an artistic collaboration developed into a friendship. Luīze emphasised how this specific form of a public program gave her the opportunity to continuously stay connected with her exhibition as well as the audience. For the concert Līga, a contemporary Kokle musician, intertwined a composed as well as an improvised part whereby she herself but also the audience had the possibility to stroll through the space between the sonic pieces. Līga expressed how music is often used as a form of entertainment or accompaniment, even within art spaces, and therefore values the process of an enrooted collaboration with the visual arts. Hence, the auditive experience becomes a tool for a multidimensional perception of the underlying ideas of both practices about transgenerational knowledge transfers within family structures.
Heliä Mailiis Viirakivi, an improviser, flutist, and singer, has already before performing in TUR gained a multitude of interdisciplinary experiences and values the creation of immersive encounters. She defines TUR_telpa as an experimental space for expression that creates the suitable environment for these happenings. Being involved with Asbestos Art Space in Helsinki, Heliä appreciates programs in Asbestos Art Space as well as in TUR_telpa and elsewhere, that work at the intersections of arts and give space for improvised expression.
Through a carefully curated selection of cross pollinations, experimental art spaces prove they can broaden perspectives on art as well as the understanding of art as a practice. By doing so TUR_telpa specifically, refers to its roots, which are intertwined with the formerly associated space Tu jau zini Kur, and hence showcases the multitude of connections and conversations among art genres. The resulting public programme can be seen as an extension of the exploration-based artistic practice of the in-house curator Edd Schouten, who has been curating the space and its activities. Thus, far away from Kassel, North Carolina, or Helsinki, there is a contemporary art space at the heart of Tallinas Kvartals in Riga that reflects upon its usage of interdisciplinarity and collaboration, rather than using them as buzzwords.
Next Conceptual Concert at TUR_telpa: 05.03.2024 19:00 for Kaspars Groševs show Café de Paris.
Don’t forget to reserve tickets via tur.telpa@gmail.com
The author thanks all conversation partners, namely Edd Schouten, Robert Fleitz, Luīze Rukšāne, Līga Griķe, and Heliä Mailiis Viirakivi for their personal perspectives.
