Riga Contemporary Art Fair aims to cultivate new collectors in Latvia
The Riga Contemporary art fair's second edition took place from July 2 to July 5 in a renovated train warehouse close to Old Town Riga. This city-sponsored event showcased 41 international dealers, with participants from Chicago and Tokyo, alongside over a dozen from the Baltic region. Each booth cost €500, and admission was free, drawing a youthful audience. Misako & Rosen from Tokyo shared their space with Milwaukee's The Green Gallery, where Jeffrey Rosen sold four pieces on the opening night. The VV Foundation, founded by collectors Vita Liberte and Vilnis Štrams, is dedicated to promoting contemporary art in the area. Additionally, New Garden Gallery featured a speakeasy booth, serving cocktails priced at €9, with many artworks available for under €5,000.
Key facts
- Second edition of Riga Contemporary art fair held 2-5 July in a repurposed train warehouse near Riga's Old Town.
- Fair brought together 41 dealers from around the world, including Chicago and Tokyo.
- Booth costs were €500 for any size; fair was free to enter with advance registration.
- Jeffrey Rosen of Misako & Rosen and co-president of Nada sold four works on opening night.
- VV Foundation founded by Vita Liberte and Vilnis Štrams aims to be a leading patron of contemporary art in the region.
- Vita Liberte sits on Tate's Central and Eastern Europe Plus Acquisitions Committee.
- Tate currently has only one Latvian artist in its collection.
- Many artworks priced under €5,000; a QR code linked to buymyart.lv provided prices.
Entities
Artists
- Rūdolfs Štamers
- Eliza Ramza
- Marleen Suvi
- Indriķis Ģelzis
Institutions
- Riga Contemporary
- Unesco
- VV Foundation
- Tate
- Delfina Foundation
- New Garden Gallery
- MaybeMaybe
- Misako & Rosen
- The Green Gallery
- Nada (New Art Dealers' Alliance)
- Galerina
- Upé Foundation
- Vinted
- Kim?Contemporary Art Centre
- buymyart.lv
Locations
- Riga
- Latvia
- Old Town
- Pāvilosta
- Chicago
- Tokyo
- Paris
- London
- Milwaukee
- Estonia
- Lithuania
- Baltic states