Karosta Festival 2024 , Another chance
WHEN? June 1st-9th
PHOTOS
PROGRAM:
JUNE 1 in Atmodas garden, Atmodas bulvāris 6a
16:00 Award ceremony for the photo competition "Paradox of Karosta" 2024
18:00 Opening concert of the season “Wake up and discover. Karosta sounds!”
JUNE 2 in Atmodas garden, Atmodas bulvāris 6a
13:00 Children's morning in collaboration with the family support centre "Miera Osta"
14:00 Concert with Madona town brass orchestra
JUNE 8
14:00 and 14:30 Guided tour of Karosta with the Libau Train, focusing on previous Karosta festival artworks. Departure from Karosta prison, ticket price 5 euros.
15:00 Opening for the works of art in Karosta prison
15:40 Train for the Festival artwork opening, starts at Karosta prison, finishes in Redan
In REDAN 14. novembra bulvāris 82/86
18:00 Liepaja Puppet Theater performance "Siren song"
19:00 Different games, performances, buffet and music
20:00 Concert of Miks Dukurs
22:00 Party and fire show
JUNE 9
16:00 Concert MIERS (peace) in Karosta Prison
PROGRAM:
Karl Jenkins "THE ARMED MAN/A MASS FOR PEACE", performed by Vilnius University choir, LMMDV orchestra, conductor Rasa Gelgotiene.
Pēteris Vasks "Landscape with birds", performed by Reinis Lapa
Donatas Zakaras "DA PACEM", performed by Vilnius University choir, LMMDV orchestra, conductor Rasa Gelgotiene.
WHERE? Redan, Karosta Prison, Karosta Arsenal, Atmodas darzs, Karosta Children's Day Center
THE ARTISTS
Daniela Nasoni
Daniela Nasoni will participate in the Karosta festival for the second time. Last year, the artist created a large-format mural in Liepaja Piemares Elementary School, which can be viewed at Lazaretes Street 8, in the school yard.
Daniela was born in Varese (Italy) in 1975, graduated from the "A. Frattini" art school and majored in painting at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan in 1998. Since 2000, the artist has devoted herself exclusively to painting, and several periods of her creative activity have been devoted to illustration. She has created both fairy-tale books for children and murals for public institutions, such as the Macchi Hospital Foundation in Varese and the Wincheringen State School in Germany.
Daniela draws her inspiration from fairy tales and introduces her audience to the world of imagination – traveling houses, living beings, dream images.
This year for the Karosta festival, the artist will paint a building in the Karosta children's day centre "Cerība bērniem" (hope for children). She will be inspired for this work by various fairy-tale characters that she associates with Latvia and Liepaja.
Monta Krafte
This year, Monta Krafte will join the group of artists for the Karosta festival. Until now, she has been involved in organizing art festivals, but this year she decided to participate herself.
Monta graduated from the Liepaja School of Applied Arts and also obtained a bachelor's degree in pedagogy as a visual art teacher in the Liepaja Pedagogical Academy.
This year, as part of the Karosta festival, Monta will create an installation "ILGAS" (longing) in one of the cells of the Karosta prison. What does a prisoner in a prison cell long for the most? Monta says about her idea: "When creating the installation, I think about the different roles of a woman in life. In my case – a woman, mother of three sons, manager of a prison. Quoting the psychotherapist Viesturs Rudzītis, "the breast is not a sexual object, but a sacred object". I invite people to perceive this work of art as such. The breast is the first thing in a child's life that provides care, warmth, security, food, satisfaction and tenderness."
Clara Cabrera
Clara Cabrera is a visual artist and writer from Spain who has been living in Liepaja for several years now. She will be participating in the Karosta Festival for the sixth time.
In 2015, Clara graduated in fine arts at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, then also took a professional illustration course at ESAT. She has participated in many exhibitions around the world and performed live painting shows in various European countries, such as Parallax art fair in London, Soho Haus in Berlin, Blue Balls festival in Switzerland, etc. Clara travels around Europe participating in art festivals and creating murals.
This year, as part of the Karosta festival, Clara will create an installation in the Karosta prison, combining the painting technique with LED lights. The light cubes she creates are beautiful paintings during the day and create a magical atmosphere in the dark hours of the day.
Elementton
Elementton is an artist from Karosta and is well-known and loved around Liepaja. For more than 20 years, he has been expressing his talent in various forms of visual art – graffiti, interior and facade painting, airbrushing, different paintings and wall decoration. His creations adorn the facades of buildings both in Liepaja and Riga, as well as in Germany, Denmark, Italy, etc.
Several works of art created by Elementton can be seen on the streets of Liepaja, such as the portrait of poet Mirdza Ķempe, the portrait of legendary composer Imants Kalniņš, the work "Against the Wind" created as part of the "Street Art Portraits in the Streets of Liepaja" project. The artist will participate in the Karosta festival for the fifth time, and the works created by him in previous festivals can be seen in the Karosta environment, for example, the large-format mural "Karosta 360" on the wall of a five-story house at Turaidas Street 8A.
This year for the festival, he will create a large-format floor painting in the cultural venue “Atmodas Dārzs”.
Andris Kreicburgs
Andris Kreicburgs is a multi-artist, a graduate of Liepaja Music, Art and Design High School.
This year, Andris will create an ecologically friendly large-format art installation in Redan. The theme of this year's festival is "Second Chance", and the artist will create his work mainly from reusable materials in cooperation with the local waste management company Liepaja RAS.
The topic of environment and ecology is close to Andris. Unsorted waste can enter water resources, causing serious environmental pollution, altering aquatic ecosystems, harming animals and humans. An ecological approach to solving this problem involves sorting, recycling and reusing waste, thus reducing the use of new resources and environmental pollution.
With his artwork, Andris wants to draw the public's attention to this problem and its possible solutions, stimulating changes in people's perception and habits, attitude towards the environment. To preserve clean water resources and a healthy environment for future generations, it is important to act now through individual and collective actions that limit the negative impacts of waste.
Agrita Cimermane
Agrita Cimermane is a ceramic artist from Kuldiga. In 2021, she graduated from the Department of Ceramics of the Latvian Academy of Arts. Ceramics has been Agrita's passion since childhood. She usually creates works by combining the sculptural and the functional, in both large and small sizes. This artist is inspired by nature, history and her inner world.
This year, as part of the festival, Agrita will create ceramic sculptures from stone mass and they will be on display in Redan, 14. novembra bulvāris 82/86.
Children and young adults of Liepaja
We want to introduce you to the largest number of artists who will participate in the Karosta festival – the children and young people of Liepaja and Southern Kurzeme! We are very happy about the activity and creativity of young people and educators, responding to our initiatives. This is already the third time that young people will delight us with their creative work – pre-finished chairs as part of the "CHAIR RELOADED" promotion and zero-waste lamps at the Light Festival have already proved to be favourites amongst the audience.
This year, we once again invited young people from surrounding schools and educational institutions to participate in the Karosta festival and create works of art – birds and insects, from reusable materials, thus drawing the public's attention to the challenges of sustainable development and ecologically friendly solutions.
The theme of this year's festival will be "Second Chance", and the works created by young people will symbolize eco-friendly art that is in harmony with nature. Birds and insects as works of art of the Karosta festival will be on display throughout the summer in Redan, 14. novembra bulvāris 82/86.
Agnė Muralytė
Agnė Muralytė is a physical theatre actress and performance artist from Lithuania, born in 1989. At the age of nineteen, she moved abroad, and has been creating and showing her performances all over the world ever since. This artist will participate in the festival for the second time.
Agnė cooperates both with theatre companies and also performs as an independent artist. She also works in educational and social fields. During her career, she has participated in many creative workshops, art festivals, art residencies and other events. The artist's goal is to use the actor's body as the main tool of expression and creation, replacing the usual actions the viewer is accustomed to with unusual behaviour.
This year, at the Karosta festival, Agnė will perform with a solo performance GAZE in Redan. Performance GAZE is about wanting to get something while running away from it. It is a game between being found and wandering aimlessly.
Performer Agnė Muralytė embodies two characters and tells a story through movements. The artist's partners in this performance are three objects – a net, a stick and a crystal ball. An actor's body is the main means of expression and creation. The idea of the performance was created at the residence "Theatre du Mouvement" in Paris, the artist was inspired by Dino Buzzati's novel "The Colomber".
Nobody and friends of the Internet
Nobody and friends of the Internet is an audio-visual performance group of Valdis Skarevičs and Dāvis Kristaps Aigars, which operates within the framework of various art projects and concerts.
So far, both artists have worked in various musical projects – “ILLA”, “The Wet Cigarettes”, “randomly” – and also created compositions as solo artists. Dāvis and Valdis have been active in various cultural spheres for many years - performing at concerts, creating visual content and providing technical support at cultural events.
This year Nobody and friends of the Internet participated in the festival “Illuminated Liepaja” and created the audio-visual installation "SHADOW GAMES".
At the Karosta festival, the group will incorporate the main theme of the festival "Second Chance" in its performance. Various items deemed unnecessary by previous owners will be given a chance to be reborn as musical instruments. Festival participants will be invited to participate in the performance with the musicians, creating both sound layers and percussive elements.
Andris Kreicburgs and Emīls Ašmanis
One of the visitors' favourite attractions at our festivals is always the fire show, and again this year you will have the opportunity to enjoy this evening performance on June 8 in Redan.
The Fire Show is a dynamic and spectacular performance that uses live fire to create effects of light, heat, colour and sound. The fire show will use various fire elements that always surprise and delight the audience. The artists have prepared a new performance for the Karosta festival this year and will surprise the audience with new elements of fire.
The fire show will be performed by Andris Kreicburgs and Emīls Ašmanis. After the show, the party will continue on the outdoor stage with DJ Ašmani.
Andris Kreicburgs is a multi-artist, passionate about extreme activities. One of them is to play with fire, creating a dynamic performance with unpredictable fire effects.
Traveling around the world, Emīls Ašmanis has brought home many different dance rhythms. By combining them with the saxophone, Emīls brings the listener into a world of sounds never experienced before. He will delight you not only with the fire show, but also with his sounds of music.
Concert MIERS (peace) at the Arsenal
On June 9, as part of the Karosta festival, a special event will take place – a concert MIERS (peace) at the Karosta Arsenal. It will be an acoustic concert in a very special place – an abandoned hangar in the forest, in the territory of Karosta.
This concert will be dedicated to the last decade since the people of Ukraine have been fighting against Russian aggression. This huge, dark and terrifying building has unique acoustics. Any loud sound there sounds like a terrible noise, while a softer melody amplifies and fills not only the room, but also the surrounding Karosta pine forests and dune meadows with wonderful sounds.
Concert visitors will be inside the hangar with the musicians. The concert will take place in the dark, and the artists will be illuminated with small flashlights. The feeling in this room might evoke associations with a bunker, a secret refuge during war.
Program of the concert:
Vilnius University choir will perform "THE ARMED MAN/A MASS FOR PEACE" by contemporary British composer Karl Jenkins, conductor Rasa Gelgotiene. The piece is dedicated to the theme of war, it is composed of five parts, creating a contrast where the sounds of war alternate with people's prayers for peace. The choir will be accompanied by the Liepaja Music, Art and Design Secondary School (LMMDV) orchestra.
Reinis Lapa, flautist of the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, will perform the composition "Landscape with Birds" by Pēteris Vasks.
At the end of the concert, the piece "DA PACEM" by the contemporary Lithuanian composer Donatas Zakaras will be played. The piece was created in 2022 and is dedicated to Ukraine. The composer himself will also take part in the concert.
Liepaja RAS (waste management company)
This year, the Karosta festival is held in cooperation with Liepaja RAS, and the company's creative employees have prepared an environmental object called "Radības vāks" (end of being) inspired by the theme of the festival "Second Chance".
Liepaja RAS is a company whose main goal is to ensure environmentally friendly, efficient and sustainable waste management in the city and region of Liepaja. The company also actively participates in public education on ecological issues.
At the Karosta festival, you will not only see an environmental object, but it will also be possible to participate in a game.
“By thinking about every purchase, we can change the world”. This is the main message embodied in the sculpture "Radības vāks" created by Liepaja RAS.
The sculpture is made of various materials that ended up in the landfill for destruction. It's like a reminder that everything has its time, and sooner or later everything you buy loses its relevance and ends up in the trash. The garbage container, from which the creature pours out, draws attention to the fact that what is thrown away does not disappear anywhere, that the space on the planet for garbage disposal is limited.
Therefore, this sculpture is not only a work of art, but also a guide. It invites us to think about how we choose to live and what mark we leave on this world. Each of us has the opportunity today to change the future by making small but important changes in our daily habits to create a home not only for ourselves but also for all the living creatures and nature.
The author of the idea of the sculpture is Liāna Palma, the technical executor is Aldis Silis. The sculpture can be viewed in Redan.
Lāsma Gailīte
Lāsma Gailīte graduated from the Riga Design and Art High School, and has devoted the last six years to the art of tattooing. Every day, the artist creates illustrations, commercial art, design, graphic works according to individual orders. Mainly, Lāsma creates her works in digital format, but she realizes her personal projects in a graphically surreal style on paper.
This year, as part of the Karosta festival, a digitized reproduction of her work "Dark Waters" will be exhibited in Redan.
About the idea of the work, the author says: "The roots of environmental pollution extend deep into history, even to the early days of the beginning of civilization. The methods used in agriculture, the development of the industrial revolution, the possibilities of efficient energy production, the provision of a sanitary environment, the progress of medical sciences, as well as the growth of the import and export industry are something that we can be proud of and define as a proof of human ability.
The victim of this growth is our planet, the gods of our ancestors, our brothers and sisters of other species, and the well-being of our descendants.
Demand creates supply, so there is no simple solution to man-made pollution. Consumer, producer, seller of a product or service – we must all bear the responsibility within the limits of our abilities.
The system for waste sorting, recycling, responsible product production and marketing has a significant impact. Humanity's primitive desire for comfort, happiness, fulfilment, social acceptance, physical and financial stability is associated with superiority over one another, with the ability to afford, buy, create, do more and more.
If we all realized that the possessions, technology, or objects we own do not define our worth, perhaps the world would not be surrounded by the rubble of indifference. We would not have to try to solve such a multifaceted, global, environmentally destructive problem if our society did not judge a happy person by how much he owns in material value.
There is noticeable progress in this joint system reform, be a part of it!"
Miks Dukurs
The beloved Latvian musician Miks Dukurs and his band will delight the audience with an evening concert in Redan on May 8. Miks is a passionate singer who can move the heart of any listener.
Miks Dukurs is not only a singer, but also a music author and producer. He was born in 1988 in a musical family – his father is a bass guitarist; his younger sister Paula is a singer. Miks himself started his musical career as a child – in 2003 he participated in the Latvian selection of the Children's Eurovision Song Contest. Miks has released several studio albums – "Summa", "Crew", "Promise" and "33".
This year at the Karosta festival, you will hear a wide musical repertoire at his concert in Redan.
The Karosta Festival is organized by the Karosta NGO and supported by Liepāja City council.