The Rothko Museum in collaboration with the Gallery SIVIA, invites applications for the 14th International Latgale Graphic Art Symposium, taking place from 23 February to 8 March 2026 in Daugavpils, Latvia.
This prestigious symposium serves as a dynamic platform for artistic exchange, bringing together leading graphic artists from around the world. Over the years, it has hosted more than 100 participants from nearly 40 countries, significantly contributing to the development of the graphic medium in the Latgale Region.
When: 23 February – 8 March 2026 Where: Rothko Museum, Daugavpils, Latvia Who Can Apply: 10 professional artists will be selected through a competition based on submitted application materials (application form, CV, and portfolio).
Be part of this esteemed international event celebrating innovation and excellence in printmaking.
The exhibition is dedicated to Basil Alkazzi (1938–2025) and serves as a tribute to his generosity and lifelong dedication to art, recognizing his role as a true friend and patron of the National Museum in Gdańsk. For ten years, Alkazzi supported the museum by donating his own artworks, works by international artists, and by funding the acquisition of pieces by emerging Polish painters.
The exhibition presents 26 works by Basil Alkazzi, gifted to the museum. They include abstract oil paintings from the 1980s and 1990s, as well as pieces created after 2000. Many of them, painted on handmade paper, are intended for intimate and contemplative viewing. Recurrent motifs in Alkazzi’s work include triangles, pathways, seascapes, flowers, and elements of nature.
Alongside Alkazzi’s own works, the exhibition also features donated artworks by artists he admired or supported throughout his life, organizing exhibitions for them or granting awards in his name. The collection includes 134 works by artists from the United Kingdom, the United States, South Korea, Japan, and Latvia.
Among these are works by internationally recognized names such as John Hedgecoe, David Hockney, Joe Tilson, Paul Huxley, and Keith Vaughan, as well as younger-generation artists. The Latvian artist Māris Čačka is also represented in this collection. His paintings LA (Lady in Orange) and EM (Evening Meeting) were exhibited alongside these renowned creators, forming part of this important international exhibition.
The donated works reflect Alkazzi’s artistic sensibility and values, a deep and mindful approach to the world, refined craftsmanship, and a sensitivity to form and expression.
The exhibition is open at the Pałac Opatów, National Museum in Gdańsk, from 25 October 2025 to 1 March 2026.
On 18 September at the Art Gallery (Respublikos St. 3) the exhibition “Relationships… Painting as Dialogue” by Latvian artist Māris Čačka was opened. The display will be available to visitors until 19 October 2025.
In his works, the artist sees painting as a form of dialogue – with the world, the viewer, silence, time, form, and himself. Each canvas emerges as a response to a feeling, thought, or conversation, transforming into spaces where the viewer is invited to observe, sense, and participate. The idea of painting as dialogue becomes the foundation of the exhibition, reflected in the structure, form, titles, and in the very experience of the audience.
Māris Čačka (born 1976 in Varakļāni, Latvia) is an artist, curator, and since 2020 the Director of the Rothko Museum in Daugavpils. He has participated in more than 90 exhibitions, including over 40 solo shows in Latvia and abroad.
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.
From 17 to 23 June 2025, Latvian artist Māris Čačka is taking part in the ARTEFORA Residency Program, preparing a solo exhibition for the festival “The Hill Always Comes Out”. Set among the rolling vineyards of Langhe and Monferrato, the festival will bring together 22 artists, over 40 artworks, international residencies, workshops, and site-specific installations across six municipalities: Castiglione Tinella, Santo Stefano Belbo, Castagnole delle Lanze, Neive, Barbaresco, and Alba.
The solo exhibition is on view from 21 June until 20 July 2025 at ARTEFORA, Castiglione Tinella (Langhe, Piedmont, Italy).
SIVIA Gallery was pleased to welcome Norwegian artist Beate Gjersvold for an individual artist residency in Daugavpils from April 28 to May 17, 2025. During her stay, Beate created new works inspired by the landscapes and culture of Latgale, connecting artistic communities in Latvia and Norway.
Artist Residency in Daugavpils – Beate Gjersvold Revisiting the city of Daugavpils and the Rothko Museum always brings me good feelings and memories. This was my seventh stay in Daugavpils. Previously, I have had many solo exhibitions in museums and galleries in Latvia and have been involved in artistic collaborations since 1998. I value the Mark Rothko Painting Symposium 2015 and my solo exhibition at the Rothko Museum in 2017/2018 as important highlights of my artistic career. This time, I was invited by Gallery SIVIA to participate in their individual artist residency in Daugavpils. The stay took place from April 28 until May 17, 2025. I was very excited about this opportunity to gain new inspiration and experiment with new watercolor techniques. The studio in this residency was beyond all expectations: SIVIA offered me a huge studio and beautiful living rooms, where I had access to all the necessary resources for my project.
Every morning, I woke up with a view of the beautiful Daugava River, and on some days, I could have breakfast on the balcony overlooking the river. These moments brought me a sense of peace and creativity. During these three weeks, I was filled with impressions and inspiration: excursions, visits to artists and workshops, visits to museums and galleries (both in Latvia and Lithuania), concerts, and travels through landscapes so different from the Norwegian scenery. Not least, I gained new experiences and knowledge about ceramics by following the artists in Ceramic Laboratory 2025 at the Rothko Museum. A good atmosphere, wonderful surroundings, and new friends made my stay unforgettable.
In the spacious, light-filled studio, I created four new paintings, investigating how genuine pigments in new layers can give special expression, and trying out new forms and colors inspired by the landscapes we traveled through. My project explored both nature and the concept of TIME. My paintings became full of lines, which for me are a symbol of timelines. Two of the works “By the River of Daugava” and “Spring Blossoming” will be included in the permanent collections of the Rothko Museum.
“By the River of Daugava” was inspired by the colors along the river: the green meadows and yellow rape fields, and also the beautiful view to the river from the studio and balcony–a river that seems eternal and infinite.
“Spring Blossoming,” a pink and peach-colored painting, was inspired by the flowering trees, and also connects to the theme of time and renewal.
First of all, many thanks to Māris Čačka and SIVIA for a stay full of experiences and for ongoing cooperation– both artistically and between our two cities, Daugavpils-Trondheim, and our two countries, Latvia-Norway. Many thanks to all friends at the Rothko Museum and in Daugavpils, and to Aivars Baranovskis and Valentīns Petjko, who included me in excursions together with the participants of Ceramic Laboratory 2025.
For me, Latvia has truly become my second homeland.
We are pleased to share that Latvian artist Māris Čačka has recently completed his artist residency at L’Esparrou, as part of the ACCR–Heritage Sites for Culture residency programme. During his stay, he immersed himself in the light and atmosphere of the French Riviera, developing a new body of work that reflects his encounters with the local community and landscape.
Working in his signature technique that merges painting and printmaking, Čačka created a series of expressive acrylic compositions—his personal visual journal of the South of France.
The resulting artworks are on view from 2 to 13 April at the Librairie Victor & Madeleine, Canet-en-Roussillon. 📍 Free admission.
This residency was supported by the French Ministry of Culture and coordinated by the ACCR (Association des Centres culturels de rencontre) network.
From 10 to 22 March 2025, Daugavpils hosted the 13th International Latgale Graphic Art Symposium—a key event in the region’s cultural calendar and the most important international gathering dedicated to the graphic arts in Latgale. The symposium was initiated and organized by SIVIA, in collaboration with the Rothko Museum.
Over two weeks, selected artists worked in the museum’s printmaking studios, exploring traditional and experimental techniques while drawing inspiration from the local landscape and history. This year’s participants, chosen by an expert jury, represented eight countries: Ana Vivoda (Croatia), Anatolijs Šandurovs (Latvia), Antonia-Styliani Taralli (Greece), Caterina De Nisco and Michele Bernardini (Italy), Martyna Rzepecka and Łukasz Koniuszy (Poland), Lilli-Krõõt Repnau (Estonia), Sioban Piercy (Ireland), and Sirkku Ketola (Finland).
The symposium concluded with a public exhibition opening on 21 March at the Rothko Museum, showcasing the results of this intense and inspiring creative exchange.
Supported by Daugavpils City Council, Latvia’s State Culture Capital Foundation, Caparol, and Devona.
On Friday, February 7, 2025, the latest solo exhibition by Māris Čačka, Neuro-Pathways, opened in Warsaw, Poland. This is the artist’s second exhibition in the city, presented at Galeria DAP1 and DAP2, part of Dom Artysty Plastyka. Curated by Dariusz Mlącki, the exhibition showcases Māris Čačka’s poetic approach to painting, where technical precision merges with personal experience. His multi-layered works, shaped by emotions and memories, carry a sense of tenderness and romanticism while also evoking moments of existential reflection.
The opening event was attended by Ambassador Juris Poikāns from the Embassy of the Republic of Latvia in Poland, highlighting the importance of cultural exchange between the two countries.
The exhibition runs until March 2, 2025, offering visitors the opportunity to explore Māris Čačka’s deeply expressive and thought-provoking work.
The Rothko Museum, in collaboration with the GallerySIVIA, invites applications for the 13th International Latgale Graphic Art Symposium, taking place from 10–22 March 2025 in Daugavpils, Latvia.
This prestigious symposium serves as a dynamic platform for artistic exchange, bringing together leading graphic artists from around the world. Over the years, it has hosted more than 100 participants from nearly 40 countries, significantly contributing to the development of the graphic medium in the Latgale Region.
When: 10–22 March 2025 Where: Rothko Museum, Daugavpils, Latvia Who Can Apply: 10 professional artists will be selected through a competition based on submitted application materials (application form, CV, and portfolio).
Be part of this esteemed international event celebrating innovation and excellence in printmaking.
