Colours Born in Latgale: 9th International Painting Plein Air “Valdis Bušs 2025”

From 21 to 31 July 2025, the town of Viļaka in northeastern Latvia will host the 9th edition of the International Painting Plein Air “Valdis Bušs 2025”. Rooted in the cultural landscape of Northern Latgale, the plein air is both a tribute to the renowned Latvian landscape painter Valdis Bušs and a contemporary artistic dialogue between place, people, and colour.

This year, the plein air will welcome six professional artists: Devdatta Padekar from India, Ziyi Huang from China, Jelena Vragovic from Serbia, Ernesto Heen from Germany, Valentinas Varnas from Lithuania, and Baiba Priedīte from Latvia. During their stay in Viļaka, the artists will work both in natural environments and in studio settings, interpreting the Latgalian landscape through their unique artistic perspectives. The plein air encourages intercultural dialogue and offers a shared space for reflection, experimentation, and creative exchange.

Alongside the professional programme, a visual art competition for children and young people is being organised to promote awareness and appreciation of painting among the younger generation. The best works will be presented on 30 July at the opening of the final exhibition at the Viļaka Museum exhibition hall (Klostera Street 1), together with the paintings created during the plein air. On the same day, a virtual exhibition of the youth competition winners will be launched under the title “The World Is Truly Multicoloured – You Just Need to Learn to See It – Valdis Bušs.”

Valdis Bušs (1924–2014), a native of Latgale, was one of Latvia’s most distinctive landscape painters and colourists. Deeply connected to the northern Latgalian terrain, Bušs’s paintings are marked by expressive rhythm, emotional saturation, and a philosophical approach to nature. His work transcends literal representation, turning landscape into an introspective and sensorial experience that continues to inspire painters in Latvia and beyond.

The plein air is organised by the Balvi Municipality in collaboration with the Rothko
Museum, and is produced by the creative organisations SIVIA and SAVI.