Purvītis Prize 2021
Nominees have been announced
The Purvītis Prize is awarded biennially (since 2007) to an artist or a group of artists representing Latvia who have produced outstanding work that has been deemed to be deeply connected to the developments of the current era and forms a bridge between contemporary life, spiritual ideals, and intrinsic values. The author rated highest by a panel of experts and a special international jury is selected as the winner and is awarded a prize amount of 28 500 EUR (pre-tax).
The independent expert working group (Līna Birzaka-Priekule, curator of exhibitions at the Latvian National Museum of Art; Laima Slava, art historian and editor-in-chief of Neputns publishing house; Dr. art. Andris Teikmanis, Professor at the Art Academy of Latvia, Vice-Rector for Studies and Research; Kārlis Vērpe, philosopher; Alise Careva, founder and manager of Careva Gallery and Solvita Krese, curator, art historian, and Director of the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art) for the Purvītis Prize has completed its period of evaluating the creative performances of the 18 artists / artist groups who were selected for consideration based on their contribution to Latvia’s visual arts scene from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2020.
The eight finalists who will compete for the 2021 Purvītis Prize are:
Photo: Didzis Grodzs
SKUJA BRADEN for the exhibition Samsāra, featuring the central work Ilga’s Altar, held at the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design
Photo: Hedi Jansoo
VALDIS CELMS for the kinetic sculptures Rhythms of Life and Positron, shown at the 2nd Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art ‘and suddenly it all blossoms’
Photo: Ansis Starks
KRISTA and REINIS DZUDZILO for the work ZrwhdZ, exhibited at the Kim? Contemporary Art Centre
Photo: Kristīne Madjare
KASPARS GROŠEVS for the multimedia installation Different Room, exhibited at the Cēsis 2020 art festival
Photo: Ansis Starks
IEVA KRAULE-KŪNA and ELĪNA VĪTOLA for the two-year project Artist Crisis Centre at Low Gallery and the Kim? Contemporary Art Centre
RASA ŠMITE and RAITIS ŠMITS for the work Atmospheric Forest (2020) in the virtual exhibition Critical Zones – Observatories for Earthly Politics organised by the Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe
Photo: Andris Zieds
AIJA ZARIŅA for the solo exhibition Wake Up, Wake up, Free Spirit in the Cupola Hall of the main building of the Latvian National Museum of Art
Photo: Ansis Starks
AMANDA ZIEMELE for the solo exhibition Quantum Hair Implants at the Kim? Contemporary Art Centre
‘The second half of the 2019/2020 period was a challenge, and one that is still ongoing. Nevertheless, the art process has not stopped, and artists are working creatively even in this time of crisis – the expert working group discussed a total of 53 exhibitions / art events, nominating 18 works for the award,’ says Līna Birzaka-Priekule, head of the independent expert working group. In her opinion, this has been one of the most interesting lists of nominees and finalists in the history of the award: ‘This confirms that a strong and young generation of artists has entered the scene alongside the generation of classic contemporary artists. Several new non-governmental organisations have emerged or proven themselves as well, such as Look! art gallery and Low Gallery, and art is much more common now – not only indoors but also in the urban environment and in the virtual space. Among the nominees were also several procedural works of art that adapt to specific circumstances in terms of both ideological and formal solutions. This period is also distinguished by the fact that most of the nominees (and finalists) are women artists.’
The exhibition featuring the works of the finalists for the award will be on view in the Great Hall of the Latvian National Museum of Art from 4 June 2021. The winner of the Purvītis Prize 2021 will be named on 11 June.
The recipient of the Purvītis Prize will be decided upon by an international jury of seven professionals: Māra Lāce, Director of the Latvian National Museum of Art (LNMA); Jānis Zuzāns, patron of the LNMA and the Purvītis Prize, and Chairman of the Board of SIA ‘Alfor’; Kasper König, a founding director and long-term creative director of Skulptur Projekte Münster; Daniel Hug, Creative Director of Art Cologne; Sergey Popov, member of the board of Russia’s Association of Galleries, founder of Pop/Off/Art gallery, art historian and curator; Sandra Hegedüs, founder of SAM Art Projects (Paris); and Adam Budak, Director of Kestner Gesellschaft (Hanover).
