3 – 4 July
Riga Contemporary programme of talks and demonstrations includes discussions with artists, curators, art market experts and art world icons on current trends and topics emerging this year.
Public Programme is powered by SORAINEN.
3 July
13:00-13:30
THE ROLE OF REGIONAL ART FAIRS
Moderator
Jeffrey Rosen
Co-owner of MISAKO & ROSEN Gallery, Tokyo
Speakers
Sonata Baliuckaitė
Artistic Director, ArtVilnius, Vilnius
Julie Quottrup Silbermann
CEO of CHART Art Fair, Copenhagen
Lilian Hiob
Artistic Director of Foto Tallinn Art Fair, Tallinn
Gilles Neies
Artistic Director, Art Düsseldorf, Berlin
13:40-14:10
COLLECTING FOR A PURPOSE: CORPORATIONS, CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS AND PRIVATE PASSION
Moderator
Kadi-Ell Tahiste
Director of Operations, Association of Estonian Art Institutions; Executive Director, Foto Tallinn Art Fair and Co-Founder of ELLELL Advisory, Tallinn
Speakers
Philippe Batka
Curator, VIG Art Collection, Vienna
Žaneta Fomova
CEO and Board Member, JCDecaux, Vilnius
Jaanus Samma
Artist and Collector, Tallin
Kristaps Urpens
Head of Baltic Private Banking, Citadele, Riga
14:20-14:50
ART MARKET: MUST KNOW ABOUT BUYING ART IN 2026
Moderator
Arun Kakar
Senior Art Marker Editor, Artsy, London
Speakers
Emily Watlington
Deputy Editor, Art in America (ARTnews), New York
Melanie Gerlis
Art Market Correspondent, Financial Times, London
15:00-15:30
MUSEUMS: POSSIBILITIES FOR A COLLABORATIVE ECONOMY
Moderator
Līna Birzaka
Head of the Latvian National Museum of Art’s Arsenal Department, Riga
Speakers
Saara Hacklin
Chief Curator, Collections, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma / Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki
Rasmus Stenbakken
Curator at ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art, Copenhagen
Sebastian Chichoki
The Head of Possible Art Studio at the University of Arts in Poznań, Warsaw
Anne Barlow
Director, Tate, St Ives
15:40-16:10
ARTIST PERSPECTIVE: HOW TO SUCCEED AS AN ARTIST (MUSEUM, BIENNALE, COLLECTION)?
Moderator
Dorian Batycka
Writer and Artist, Paris
Speakers
Andris Eglītis
Artist, Riga
Robertas Narkus
Artist, Vilnius
Flo Kasearu
Artist, Flo Kasearu House Museum, Tallinn
16:20-16:50
IN SEARCH OF NEW PLATFORMS, NEW POSSIBILITIES, NEW COLLABORATIONS AND NEW FRIENDSHIPS
Moderator
Juliana Halpert
Editor of e-flux Education, Writer and Artist, Los Angeles
Speakers
Audrius Počius
Curator, Director of Medūza Space for Art and Culture, Vilnius
Edd Schouten
Artistic Director and Curator, TUR, Riga
Marie Karlberg
Artist, Filmmaker, Performer, Gallerist at Beau Travail, Stockholm
Nicolaus Schafhausen
Founder-Director, KIN, Brussels
4 July
13:00-13:30
PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS AS A TOOL FOR ART SCENE DEVELOPMENT
Moderator
Vita Liberte
Founder of VV Foundation, Riga
Speakers
Ugnė Bužinskaitė
Director at TAAD Foundation, Vilnius
Margherita Belcredi
Director of Phileas, Vienna
Sarah Philp
Deputy Director of Delfina Foundation, London
13:40-14:10
GALLERIES ADAPT TO CHANGING LANDSCAPE
Moderator
Haynes Riley
Good Weather, Chicago
Speakers
Ani
Gallery Manager, Bukia Vakhania, Tbilisi
Polina Berlin
Founder, Polina Berlin Gallery, New York City
Sakari Tervo
Director, Pitted Dates, Helsinki
Nikolas Bernath
Director, VUNU, Bratislava, Vienna, Kosice
14:20-14:50
PRIVATE ART COLLECTION STRATEGIES
Moderator
Elīna Norden
Cultural Journalist and Creative Strategist, Munich
Speakers
Mari Indregard and Tord Rønning Krogtoft
Head of Adult Education, Harvik High School and Head of Harvik Cultural House, Oslo
Kateřina Havrlant
Founder of Havrlant Art Collection, Prague
Iida Kaisa Urm
Founder of Artopia, Tallinn
Māris Vītols
Art Collector, Founder of Vitols Contemporary Art Collection, Riga
15:00-15:30
THE EVOLUTION OF ART COLLECTION AND DIGITAL OWNERSHIP
Key-note Lecture by
Sebastian Sanchez
Digital Art Specialist at Brevan Howard (previously at CHRISTIE'S), New York
Q & A with Sebastian Sanchez Following the Lecture by
Michal Novotny
Director, Collection of Art after 1945, National Gallery Prague, Prague
15:40-16:10
FASHION AT THE INTERSECTION OF CONTEMPORARY ART AND CULTURE
Moderator
Tobias Kaspar
Artist, PROVENCE, Zurich
Speakers
Deimantė Bulbenkaitė
Fashion Journalist, Vilnius
MAREUNROL'S
Venice Biennale '26, Riga
Darja Popolitova
Artist, Tallinn
16:20-16:50
ART&TECH
Speakers
ArtTech Agency Lithuania, Vilnius
Vienna Cult Tech, Vienna