First Riga Art Week taking place till June 1
Riga Art Week (RAW) is an exciting new art festival taking place from 26 May – 1 June 2025 in Riga, Latvia
“The fact that in its very first year, RAW features more than 40 different locations on the map demonstrates the tremendous trust we've received from the art community and our partners. We’ve begun building something that hasn’t existed before — a new kind of infrastructure within Riga’s art scene. This is an attempt to prove that a contemporary art week with international potential is possible in Riga, one that is rooted in collaboration, trust, and vision. Riga can become an exciting point on the global contemporary art map — and this is a significant step toward that goal. We are not only creating a new event — we are shaping the kind of environment we ourselves want to belong to,” says Tīna Pētersone, Riga Art Week Organizer.
With a diverse programme catering to art professionals and the broader public, RAW will feature art exhibitions, lectures, workshops, pop-up events, and international guests. Discover some of the highlights below. Over seven days, events will unfold across new and established art spaces, as well as within Riga’s emerging creative districts, integrating contemporary art into the city’s urban landscape.
Work by Indriķis Ģelzis at the Purvītis Prize candidates' 2025 exhibition
May 26—1 June 1: Exciting events running in parallel with RAW include Riga Photography Biennial - NEXT 2025, Riga Performance Art Festival Starptelpa, Veldze Art Fair and the Purvitis Prize nominees' exhibition at the Latvian National Museum of Art.
May 29: Gallery Late – 25+ art spaces will stay open until 21:00 with special events - curator tours, exhibition openings, artist meetups, and more. Featured event: MEATRACK installation by curator James Taylor-Foster and architecture studio ĒTER.
Participants: 427, AMINORI, ASNI, Backdoor Market Pop-up gallery, Birkenfelds, Chekhov Theatre Gallery, CUT ART, DOM, ISSP, Jēkabs, Kim?, Latvian National Museum of Art, LMS Gallery, LOOK!, M/Gallery, Māksla XO, MASA, Museum of Pacific and Oceanic Arts, Part Time, Pauls Stradiņš Medicine History Museum, PILOT, Pop-up art spaces, Projektu māja, RĀMIS, RIGA BOURSE, Riga Contemporary Art Space, RIXC, Signet Bank, Smilga, TUR.
Exhibition openings: 427, CUT ART, LOOK!, Museum of Pacific and Oceanic Arts, Pop-up art space in Bergs Bazaar, Projektu māja, M/Gallery, Birkenfelds (Zeiss office).
Start the evening with a slow performance “WHAT IS NOT ART?” by Eva Vēvere un Laura Prikule (creative group “Poētiskais Robotisms”).
Free entry to all galleries, apart from the Latvian National Museum of Art, RĪGAS BIRŽA, Paula Stradiņa Museum of the History of Medicine, and Riga Contemporary Art Space.
May 29 and 31: RAW Conversations – a talk with art, design, and architecture professionals
On Thursday, May 29, from 16:00 to 17:00 at the Art Academy of Latvia, Riga Art Week will host “RAW Conversations” – “Taming the Unicorn: Art Gallery Ecosystem in the Baltics” – a panel discussion on contemporary art galleries in the Baltic region.
Under the moderation of Auguste Petre, participants will discuss the role and positioning of contemporary art support structures and reflect on the significance of Baltic art initiatives in today’s cultural landscape. Admission is free.
Panel participants:
Lilian Hiob-Küttis, curator and gallerist (Hoib Gallery, Estonia; formerly Temnikova & Kasela)
Justė Jonutytė, art advisor, educator, and writer (Lithuania)
Elīna Drāke, gallerist, Chair of the Latvian Gallery Association (Latvia)
Šelda Puķīte, curator of exhibitions and international project manager at Kogo Gallery (Estonia / Latvia)
May 30: Official RAW Opening Night at Creative City “Grīziņdārzs” featuring video installation Eternal Return by Emilija Škarnulytė (LT), performance by Kitty Florentine (EE), live concert by Domenique Dumont (LV), followed by an afterparty hosted by Penthaus Calling Vol. 7 at Zuzeum.
The official opening of RAW will take place on Friday, May 30, from 7:00 PM at the creative city “Grīziņdārzs”, located at Zemitāna iela 9, Riga. Entrance to the event is free.
Evening Program:
19:00 Doors open
Throughout the evening: Video installation "Eternal Return" by Emilija Škarnulytė (Lithuania)
19:30 Opening speeches
20:00 Performance – Kitty Florentine (Estonia)
21:30 Concert and presentation of the newest album “Deux Paradis” – Domenique Dumont (Latvia)
During the opening event, and throughout the weekend on May 31 and June 1, visitors can view Emilija Škarnulytė’s video installation “Eternal Return” – a visually poetic work exploring the future of humanity, the infinity of time, and our deep connection to nature. The piece was first presented at the Tate Modern in London.
MEATRACK – jtf × ĒTER. Photo: Tom Dagnas (2024). Courtesy of Weekday
“MEATRACK” jtf × ĒTER
Join us for an experiment in collective intimacy around the MEATRACK, designed by jtf × ĒTER, at Slokas iela 52, Rīga.
The MEATRACK is a device writ large in space: part furniture, part topography, part dramaturgy. When you move, you move another. When another moves, you are moved.
The installation is on view for 3 days only:
May 29, 2025 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM (invitation only)
May 30, 2025 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM
May 31, 2025 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM
MEATRACK is an inhabitable installation commissioned by Weekday and first presented in Paris in 2024. Free entry.
May 31 at 19:00: SALONS x RAW. Episode #7 with Swedish Girls and James Taylor-Foster
SALONS x RAW episode with creative duo Swedish Girls and James Taylor-Foster will discuss how artistic interventions can act as a catalyst for the transformation of public spaces and explore new possibilities of using outdoor spaces to enable both individual and collective actions in the city. The event will be held in English. Gathering from 18.30. Location: Backdoor Market Pop-up Gallery, Creative Factory Veldze.
May 31 and June 1: Various exhibitions, workshops, talks and pop-up events will be held across the city, including the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art's 25th anniversary programme Time, Dawn, or a Passing Train.
Discover the full programme at www.rigaartweek.com
